get shaved.

lilikoi and melona with condensed milk :)

the ramen tour, stop #7: santouka ramen.

santouka ramen is located in the food court of mitsuwa marketplace in torrance. it is part of a chain of ramen shops in japan, serving hokkaido style ramen, and they have several locations in california. lucky for me! as it is by far one of my favorite ramen places in and around the home digs. my friend y and i, neither of us are very big on ramen (she likes it less than i do) and even she likes it, so i think that's saying something. my favorite ramen there currently is the miso chashu ramen, and of course i have to order the seasoned egg on the side.

there are several slices of yummy roasted pork, along with some menma (bamboo shoots), kamaboko (fish cake), kikurage (woodear mushrooms), and of course, negi (green onion). for me, the broth totally has that umami factor.



you can get shio (salt) broth, shoyu (soy sauce) broth , or miso (soybean paste) broth for your ramen. santouka uses a pork broth as a base for all of their ramen. they have two bases as the miso ramen uses a different pork broth base than the others.



of course, given that the miso chashu ramen is my current favorite at santouka, that's what i ordered. c ordered the shio ramen. the shio ramen is topped off with an umeboshi (salted plum). we barely made it there in time to order our ramen - although the marketplace is open until 8pm, most of the stalls in the food court close earlier, and we both learned that day that santouka takes their last order at 7:15pm.

there's no question that i will go back!

santouka ramen @ mitsuwa marketplace * 21515 western ave. * torrance, ca 90501

the ramen tour, stop #6: hakata ramen shinsengumi.

a week after our visit to yamadaya, and since our list of ramen shops wasn't very long to begin with, we'd come to the point where there weren't many places that were new to both of us, only one of us. c was driving us around for stop #6 and not wanting to go too far, we ended up at hakata ramen shinsengumi, which for reasons neither of us can fathom, is always crowded. however we got lucky and were able to be seated right away at the communal table. i'd only been there once and i can't even remember how long ago that was, and while c had probably been there more recently than me, she couldn't remember when that was, either.

their communal table has the most umcomfortable benches. maybe i have a big butt (ok, i DO have a big butt) but no matter what size your body, those benches are not comfortable. given that, maybe it helps them turnaround their customers quicker but let me just say that there was a couple (not sure if they were just friends or a real couple) who were done eating already when c and i sat down, but were still there when we left. and the conversation to be heard was not always good. the highlights? donkey poop and killing del taco tacos. it was like, please, we're eating here. but i digress.

we both ordered the combo that comes with the ramen, rice, a half order of gyoza, one side dish, and a soft drink. as such, choices abound! first it was how firm would we like our noodles? how much oil? is green onion and ginger ok in your ramen? which side dish? white rice or fried rice? and finally, what drink would you like? as we were both getting the same ramen, we both ordered different side dishes. c ordered the cheese tsutsumi age, and i opted for the nanban chicken karaage.



our gyoza and rice came out first, quickly followed by our fried side dishes. the gyoza wasn't bad, but some of them were really garlicky - as if the filling was not well mixed and/or the garlic in the filling was very coarsely chopped and not entirely cooked through. we definitely got the bitterness of raw garlic when we bit into it. the cheese tsutsumi age was interesting - it's a piece of mozzarella cheese wrapped in an egg roll wrapper and deep fried. who doesn't love anything deep fried? the only thing is if you eat it too slow or wait too long to eat it, the cheese isn't nice and gooey and melty anymore! the winning side dish at hakata ramen for me was the nanban chicken karaage. the fried chicken was probably good on its own, but with that salty and sour sauce on it, it was just that much tastier.



finally - the important part. the ramen itself. the broth of the ramen definitely did not have that umami factor, and reminded me of why i had stayed away. c said it was only a bit above making top ramen yourself. at least to us. to me, it was just salty - no umami - no layers of flavor or richness - but i'm sure there are tons of people out there who would beg to differ and swear by how GOOD hakata ramen is. they are all entitled to their opinion as i am to mine, they must be doing something right to have the crowds that they do. the noodles are just noodles - but i do like the fact that they ask to see how firm or soft you want your noodles. thus far on the tour we haven't encountered that decision, and if chewy noodles are what you want you can certainly get that here.



overall though, neither of us were really intrigued by the noodle offerings at hakata ramen shinsengumi. i'm not in any particular hurry to go back, and neither is c. we may never go back, at least on our own cognizance.

hakata ramen shinsengumi * 2015 w. redondo beach blvd. *gardena, ca 90247

the ramen tour, stop #5: ramen yamadaya.

mere days after our stop at ramen california, c and i found ourselves at ramen yamadaya, located in north torrance on 182nd street, just off crenshaw. this made stop #5 on our ramen tour. we both ended up ordering combos - you pay a few extra dollars on top of the price of the ramen you order. c got the tonkotsu ramen with gyoza and kimchi fried rice, while i got the kakuni (pork belly) tonkotsu ramen with chicken karaage and chashu bowl. it was also choices, choices, choices when we ordered. which side dish? which rice dish? do you want thin noodles or thick noodles? we both opted for the thin noodles.



the side dishes came out first. the gyoza here was forgettable in my book. pretty bland and the worst part? soggy. i mean, really soggy. one side of the gyoza has the nice burnt crust, but the rest of it was just mush. when i bit into it, it just released some water and soggy filling. blah. however, the chicken karaage was really tasty and probably one of the best things i ate that night. c liked it a lot, too.



c's kimchi fried rice and my chashu bowl were the next items to come out. the kimchi fried rice was ok - but i could do better on my own. the chashu bowl didn't leave a lasting impression either - as it was just seasoned pork on top of rice and wasn't anything special. between the two, i think i preferred c's kimchi fried rice, but again, i don't think i'd go back for that.



the ramens came out last. i ordered the ramen with the pork belly and while good, i think next time i'll just stick to the regular cha shu ramen. the tonkotsu broth was flavorful and had some depth to its taste. also, you might want to consume the ramen quickly - the fat on the broth starts to skim on the surface. we were sitting right by the door too so that might have had something to do with the broth cooling so quickly.



c and i managed to finish our ramens and our side dishes - the gyoza and the karaage. the rice dishes were leftover and i ended up taking the both home, and combined them with some ingredients i had at home to make my own fried rice for lunch the next day.





ramen yamadaya * 3118 w. 182nd street * torrance, ca 90504

the ramen tour, stop #4: ramen california.

a few days after our ramen experience at shisen, c and i found ourselves at ramen california, located in the torrance crossroads. it wasn't very crowded when we walked in, so we were a little skeptical. compounded by the fact that we had both heard that their ramen isn't necessarily traditional. however, once we perused the menu, they did have some ramen in the traditional style, and still others that were the "signature" california ramen. c ended up ordering the chashu ramen - which came in a chicken broth. the chicken broth is the base for most if not all of their ramen broths. i got the masala ramen, one of their "signature" ramens. basically, it was the ramen noodles in a chicken curry broth. i got it with a side of cheese, which was topped off with crispy black garlic. they don't offer gyoza on the menu (hence, nothing to compare to the other places we have tried thus far), so we ended up sharing the italian style edamame - which turned out to be edamame tossed and coated with basil pesto.





c let me try some of the chashu on her ramen - while flavorful, it really didn't seem like the chashu that we're used to. to me, it was more like a ham with some asian spices coated on it for the sake of it. the broth was good though, and definitely a lighter, refreshing alternative to the porky, fatty tonkotsu of other places. the curry broth of my masala ramen was good, and the chicken on the ramen was so flavorful, and there was plenty of it on top of my noodles. the noodles here are also on the thin side. the one thing that was a little different was the spring greens sitting in my bowl. it definitely added a different texture to the dish.

in terms of the overall ambiance, it's another new experience. up until this stop, we've been going to eat ramen in tiny places that are sometimes kinda dark, and this place is bright, roomy, and airy.

after our visit to ramen california, i read some reviews on yelp that the tsukemen is the thing to try here. therefore, ramen california is definitely on my list of ramen shops that i would go to again.

as a sidenote - ladies, make sure you wear sunglasses when visiting the ladies facility - you'll need it to shield yourself from the neon pink walls.

ramen california * 24231 crenshaw blvd. suite c * torrance, ca 90505