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.

Ramen Jinya

I love good ramen. And I am always looking for good options closer to home. I first read about Ramen Jinya on Rameniac's blog.

He gave it a very good rating and I was excited. It's located in a strip mall on Ventura Blvd., in Studio City. It seats about 20-30 people inside and has patio dining as well. I was surprised at how much they promote sushi in the restaurant, I thought it was a specialty ramen restaurant.



I started with a tomato and avocado salad which I thought was an odd item for a ramen restaturant. I also ordered the classic tonkotsu ramen. The salad wasn't special, but it was what I expected. The tonkotsu ramen came in a large ceramic bowl, with a ginormous spoon for slurping up the earthly broth. Oil from the pork shimmers on the surface of the cloudy broth. Two thin slices of chashu float along with spinach and a pickled radish of some sort. The noodles were good, but I prefer the noodles at Santouka. The star is the well balanced, deep flavored broth.

A good option ramen option, closer to home. I'm happy.

Santouka Ramen - Torrance, CA Mitsuwa Market Food Court

4 Stars

Finally made it out to the Torrance Mitsuwa market and go to the try Santouka Ramen. There are a lot of options in this food court, but Santouka is definitely one you should try first.



I ordered #31, which is the regular sized Hot Miso Ramen. Their trademark shio ramen was perfectly cooked and the spicy miso broth was delicious. The ramen is served with thick slices or roasted pork belly, green onions and naruto. This was a superior bowl of noodles.

I look forward to visiting the West LA location and trying another version of their delicious ramen.