Tai Sei Ramen

Honolulu $ ***
Tai Sei Ramen is conveniently located on the edge of downtown. The food is decent, but they give a lot of freebies: a free drink if you spend over $5; a $3 kids menu... The service is friendly but a bit slow.
My ramen came with an abundance of vegetables, but the noodles were somewhat bland. However, I did appreciate the large portions. Our gyoza was delicious, but I have never had bad gyoza.
Tai Sei Ramen (downtown)
800 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Mon-Thu 10:30am-10:30pm
Fri-Sat 10:30am-11:30pm

Yotteko-ya

Honolulu $ *****
This is possibly the best ramen I've ever had. Possibly. Also called Kyoto Ramen, this bright neon red restaurant is located at McCully Shopping Center. Its menu claims that their ramen will make you look younger due to their unique collagen rich stock. Alright, whatever you say. Regardless of whether I wake up looking like a 9-year-old the next morning, their ramen is amazing.

They offer three different broths: shoyu, paitan and tonshio (clear and salt-based). As usual, I ordered the shoyu and was glad I did. The noodles were the perfect texture, and the char siu practically melts in your mouth.

You will never go back to that Top Ramen crap you buy from the store.
Yotteko-ya (McCully)
1960 Kapiolani Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96826
Lunch: Mon-Tue, Thu-Sun 11am-2pm
Dinner: Mon-Tue, Thu-Sat 5-11; Sun 5-9pm

Ramen Nakamura

Honolulu $ ****
Think it's impossible to find cheap, authentic food in Waikiki? Well... maybe it is. But Ramen Nakamura is probably as cheap and authentic as you can get.
This is a simple ramen place located on Kalakaua Avenue. It's right next to Burberry, but don't let that intimidate you. The waitress is extremely welcoming (but maybe that's because we're Asians?), and our ramen was delicious. I had the typical shoyu ramen. It was huge, with pieces of char siu, bean sprouts, and other goodies. My friend also ordered some gyoza, and our waitress made some sauce for it right in front of us.
If you're from Hawaii, they give you a discounted kama'aina rate. Now I know where to eat in Waikiki!
Ramen Nakamura (Waikiki)
2141 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, HI 96815
Does not take credit cards

Goma Tei

Honolulu $ ****
My family and I finally tried this place since we were stuck at Ala Moana for the Fourth of July fireworks show. It looks very fancy on the outside, but the dinner prices are a good deal, considering this is Ala Moana. Their specialty is ramen, and there are all sorts of ramen that you can choose from. I ordered the char siu shoyu ramen. Lots of char siu, and the serving size was huge. You also get to use the coolest spoon I've ever seen - it's a long wooden spoon (or laddle?) with which you can easily drink the soup. The waitstaff is very nice, and the atmosphere feels very clean, despite the restaurant's location right next to the busy food court on the dirty bottom floor.
Goma Tei (Ala Moana)
1450 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96814