About a half hour away in Wethersfield, Connecticut, Kaliubon Ramen is serving up tasty meals for diners. The quaint restaurant is likely the best place in Connecticut to serve authentic ramen that will make you throw away the instant noodles tucked away in your cupboards.

Feng Asian Bistro Executive Chef Raymond Zheng, Kevin Xu of Ginza Japanese Cuisine in Wethersfield and, Bill Chen, one of the founders of the Ginzan group worked together to create Kaliubon. According to the owners, their focus is on noodles. Using a “state of the art machine” from Kagawa, Japan, they are able to achieve “great control of flavor, firmness, thickness, color, and aroma of the noodles.”

“Kaliubon” comes from Xu’s hometown of Fuzhou in China, which means“great friends.” According to the website, “the wish is for the Kaliubon Ramen to become a place where great friends and family gather around delicious food.”

And the two times that I have been to the restaurant in the past month, I have enjoyed amazing food with loved ones.

The first time I went to the restaurant, I was welcomed whole-heartedly by the hostess and seated right away. Fortunately, there was no wait, but I imagine that during peak periods that this could become an issue. The restaurant is rather small, but offers booth seating, tables, and separate bar area. The restaurant itself is well-lit and has a number of Asian artifacts.

The menu offers a variety for diners, with a number of ramen options but also poke bowl meals and cold and warm appetizers. My friend and I both decided to skip the appetizers to leave room for the noodles given that from our table we had the vantage of seeing others eating their soups, which seemed to be large in size.

I decided to try the Miso Ramen since it was not listed as spicy and had a variety of toppings, allowing me to try new things. My friend ordered the signature Kaliubon Ramen as he is the opposite and absolutely loves spicy foods.

My ramen was absolutely delicious. While I was, at first, a little turned off by the al dente noodles, I ended up liking the little bite that it had as it contrasted nicely with the softer elements in the dish: the corn, chashu, menma, and the seasoned egg. The soup was not overly salty and had great flavors that were well-balanced against each other. The sweetness of the corn especially was appreciated next to some of the bitterness of the scallions and the roasted garlic.

On the other hand, my friend liked the flavor of his ramen, but admitted that the soup was a tad too spicy, which for someone who loves to add hot peppers to his foods, meant that the soup had some serious heat.

However, spiciness aside, he enjoyed the creaminess of his broth and the combination of both the chashu and the ground pork alongside the seasoned eggs and noodles.

Next time I go in, I plan to try the poke bowls as something new, but have not been able to go there without getting ramen. If you are looking for a spot to not be disappointed in, check out Kaliubon. It is worth the trip.