A funky island spot with personality makes a fine makeshift bowl of ramen. 

After my rant on the disappointing “just good enough” ramen I’ve experienced in Seattle, this post may surprise you. My hopes for Seattle ramen were/are high. But any opinion is based on expectations, isn’t it? So with expectations muted, I ordered the ramen at Hi-Life on Bainbridge Island, where I’d previously had some very good Japanese and Hawaiian-inspired meals and snacks.  

Bainbridge Island is a 35-minute ferry ride from Seattle. Hi-Life is in a reconverted gas station steps away from the Bainbridge ferry terminal. The place is bare bones funky and friendly with colorful menus and a welcoming vibe; seating is picnic tables outside or a few indoor spartan tables.

It has a varied menu, offering poke bowls, poke by the pound, curry, onigiri, bento boxes, chowder, spam musabi and several Japan-sourced packaged food items. 

With its menus displayed in posters, you’re immediately taken with all the choices. Japan and Hawaii are the food themes, with poke as the main draw. But tucked into a corner menu you will often find two ramen offerings: spicy pork and Tokyo curry.

Given the many items, I wondered how they could pull off a good bowl of ramen. I ordered the spicy pork version. It became clear they don’t try to duplicate the full ramen experience.

The broth has not been cooking for 12+ hours and there’s no chashu to be found. It’s a simple, clear shoyu and pork broth. The meat component is ground spicy pork. There are sesame seeds and a bit of dried chili. The wheat noodles, from known provider Yamachan, are plentiful and good. 

Some fried tofu chunks are added for texture, plus some chopped scallions. I also ordered the egg, which was a delight; not the usual 6-minute lava-like yoke, but closer to soft boiled. It added a luscious element to the bowl.

The broth was simple and tasty. The ground pork added an umami that worked very well with the other elements; it was medium spicy. Some thought went into this bowl, as the chef knows how to work within the limits of this establishment and still provide a satisfying ramen experience. It wasn’t close to the “pinnacle of umami” to which Ramen Club strives, but this “good enough” makeshift bowl managed to hit the spot on my two ramen visits there.

I should also mention that I’ve had some delicious poke bowls of salmon, Hokkaido scallops and tuna, as well as a black miso cod bento box that rivaled offerings at Bainbridge’s high-end restaurants at far less the cost. The owners also know how to hire, as staff are always friendly and efficient. 

I love hole-in-the-wall places that do things well and with style. Hi-Life is a winner, and judging from its Yelp rating and how busy it usually is, it will be a Bainbridge fixture for a long time.  

Ramen Club 5-Star Rating System:

Food:                                  3.0 stars 

Service:                              4.00 stars 

Atmosphere/Comfort:        3.0 stars

          *     RATINGS LEGEND:     1 star: weak     *    2 stars: just ok     *     3 stars: good     *     4 stars: very good     *     5 stars: superb or special      *