Daikokuya

In my attempt to visit the top ramen restaurants in Los Angeles, I had high expectations for Daikokuya. It was a Saturday afternoon and the crowd outside was dense. We were told the wait would be about 45 mins. An hour later, we were seated.



My friend brought a bottle of Riesling and the restaurant did not have a problem with that. But they didn't have wine glasses either. I guess that should have been expected. We ordered teriyaki chicken, gyoza, and pickled vegetables to start. For my entree I had the Daikokuya Ramen combination with the Unagi Bowl.



All of the starters were delicious, nothing amazing but very good. The ramen on the other hand, was spectacular. The noodles were perfectly cooked and had nice chew. The pork was tender and unctuous and the broth was savory and rich. Each of the accompaniments green onions, marinated boiled egg, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and sesame seeds added either texture or another dimension of flavor.



Let's not forget about the Unagi bowl. The fatty eel with the Kabayaki Sauce was delicious served on top of rice. I understand why I waited an hour and why Daikokuya has always been mentioned as one of the best ramen restaurants in LA. Can't wait til next time.

Kouraku

I can see why this place is such a favorite for late nighters. A friendly environment and staff, with simple Japanese food.



My sister has been here plenty of times and was excited to have me experience the place. She ordered her usual, Chicken Katsu. I had a hard time deciding, I ended getting the Koraku Tenshin Chahan. It's basically a large shrimp omelette served over a huge mound of fried rice. It also comes with a small bowl of soup. I was told the process was to dip a spoonful of the rice and omelette into the soup. It was pretty darn good. It would been even better if I was drunk.



I don't know when I'll be back with so many options downtown. But I'm happy I was finally able to try one of my sisters favorite places.