the ramen tour, bonus stop: kitahama shoten.

i tend to read the food blogs on oc weekly and la weekly pretty regularly. so on one particular reading session of oc weekly, i came across a snippet about the "gourmet food festival" at mistuwa marketplace at both the costa mesa and torrance locations. both locations were going to feature kitahama shoten ramen. once i read about it, i told c right away so that we could hopefully add it as a bonus stop on our ramen tour. so on the saturday morning of the festival, we stopped in at mitsuwa in torrance for an early lunch - and got in line for the kitahama shoten ramen. the line wasn't very long when we got there, so we were able to order pretty quickly. c ordered the shio ramen, and i ordered the shiro miso ramen.



it cost about $10 each...but imho it was totally worth it. the soup had umami - and you could taste the delicate shiro miso... i always thought the shiro (white) miso to be so light on flavor - and when i make miso soup at home i usually combine the shiro miso and the aka (red) miso. but the broth of the shiro miso ramen was so tasty... i consumed it all. the toppings included roast pork, marinated poached egg, menma (bamboo shoots), negi (green onions), and a piece of nori (seaweed).



it was so good, i ate it all.



they also had gyoza as part of the gourmet food festival, so we bought the two kinds being offered - veggie and seafood - and for the price, i expected better. they were both a bit of a disappointment even though they were cooked fresh. the skin was a little too thick, the filling a little too mushy. i could totally do better...i think.

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

the ramen tour, stop #3: shisen ramen.

a week after our stop at asa ramen, the ramen tour brought c and i to shisen ramen, in torrance. while over the years i've known many of my old co-workers to go to shisen for lunch or dinner, i myself had never been. i know it's mostly due to the fact that i'm not that big on ramen to begin with. (but let it be said that i'm enjoying the tour so far...)

after going over the menu for a bit (it's the most extensive menu we've encountered so far on the ramen tour), c decides to order the paiko ramen, i order the chashu ramen, and we also get some gyoza and daikon salad to share. our ramens are essentially the same, except for the protein. the paiko, which turned out to be deep fried pork - but not breaded, was seasoned with what i think was five spice. very tasty, but at the same time i know it's the kind of taste that i would get tired of quickly and not eat anymore after a certain point. the chashu was decent but not the best i've had. the signature broth is on the spicy side. i really liked the fact that there was lots of veggies in the topping, but i hated the fact that my noodles were like a big tangled mess in the bottom of my bowl under the soup and the veggies. lots of manipulation with chopsticks and swishing in the broth were required to set my noodles free for consumption.





the gyoza here was a disappointment. tiny, and a little on the mushy side. looking at the gyoza, it looks good - the skin has a bit of color on it and looks like it would be decently crispy. however, three shops down on the tour and the gyoza from gardena ramen is still my favorite. the daikon salad was refreshing, and the little bit of seaweed and katsuo (bonito) shavings on top of the daikon strands added a different yummy-ness to the salad. it was probably the best thing i ate that night.



i don't think i need to go back to shisen ramen anytime soon. or possibly ever...

shisen ramen * 1730 sepulveda blvd. #6 * torrance, ca 90501

the ramen tour, stop #2: asa ramen.

a little over a week after our first stop at gardena ramen, the second stop on our tour brought c and i to asa ramen, which is, literally, across the street from gardena ramen. if you're familiar with sanuki no sato, then you can definitely find asa ramen. it's a tiny shop with only about 4 tables and 8 counter seats. on the menu, asa ramen lists two different kinds of broth for their ramen - kotteri (rich and fatty) shoyu, and assari (light and less fatty) shoyu. we placed our order for ramen - c got the assari shoyu and i got the kotteri shoyu, as well as an order of gyoza and an order of the original takoyaki (a doughy ball with a piece of octopus in the middle, usually covered with sauce, aonori sweaweed flakes, and shaved bonito) to share. after which, we noticed the "specials" board that advertised a shio (salt broth) ramen. perhaps on the next visit.





the noodles at asa are rather thin - and i'm sure if you let the noodles sit too long in the soup, it would be a soggy, mushy, mess. of course, c and i didn't let that happen as we quickly enjoyed our noodles. if you really like the fatty soup for your ramen, i highly recommend the kotteri, but if the fat isn't your thing the assari is just as good. the gyoza here was good, but not as good as the gyoza at gardena ramen. they were probably about the same in size, but the flavor of them didn't blow me away. the takoyaki hardly reminded me of the ones i ate as a kid, but still enjoyable. i think it's because as a kid, i loved them smothered in sauce and seaweed and here they held back on the sauce. they serve it with a dollop of mayonnaise on the side.



i'm not sure how long asa ramen has been here - but i've heard about them for over a year now. in the beginning it sounded like all they had was ramen and takoyaki - but they now had several izakaya style items on their menu, such as chicken karaage, and also about 4 or 5 different variations of their takoyaki. i think asa ramen is definitely a place i would go back to, for the noodles. and let's not forget that they are open until about 1a - with last call around 12 midnight.

asa ramen * 18202 s. western ave. * gardena, ca 90248

the ramen tour.

back in march, my friend c and i were having dinner at chin-ma-ya of tokyo in gardena. it was a cool night, the kind of weather that makes you want to eat a big bowl of soup. it was my first time there, and she explained to me that their signature ramen is tan tan men, it's good, and that we'd get to choose how spicy we'd want our broth. at the time i was trying to get over a cold, so i opted for spice level one, since i wasn't sure what to expect and what effect it would have on my nose and throat. it wasn't quite what i had thought it would be, but tasty nonetheless. for those of you that are curious, their spice meter for their tan tan men goes up to three, and their soup is kind of thick. as you can see in the picture below, it's topped off with spinach, soboro (seasoned ground pork), and menma (seasoned bamboo shoots).



this meal actually became the "warm up" for our ramen tour -- we decided that we'd hit the noodle shops close to our home digs. we verbally put together a rough draft list of the shops we wanted to check out. anything new to both of us went to the top of the list, then shops that only one of us had been to after those, and anything we had both tried previously rounded out the list. we both like noodles in salty soups - and we both have our preferences, and to be honest, ramen isn't one of mine. i much prefer udon or pho over ramen. but the idea of going to eat ramen - some in shops that at least i'd never been to, was appealing. i could add them to the list of places i'd been to, and of course, slurp bowls of noodles in a steamy, salty, and sometimes fatty, soup with a very good friend. as she was prepapring for a big milestone in her life, we decided that we'd start our tour after that event was done. and thus, a few weeks ago, we began our project tour.

our first stop was gardena ramen - located on the southwest corner of western avenue and 182nd street. (sorry, we were both so hungry we didn't take any pics!) c had been there many times for lunch before. it was my first time. she had told me beforehand that their menu was very minimal. and it was. they offer up shoyu ramen, miso ramen, gyoza, and hiyashi chuka - which is a cold ramen dish. for a dollar more you can double your noodles. she got the shoyu, i got the miso, and we shared an order of gyoza. it was just a simple bowl of noodles, with a great chewy texture, and the gyoza has been my favorite out of all the stops on our tour thus far as i write this. the filling was flavorful, and the gyoza skin was crisp and chewy.

i don't know how soon i'd go back for the ramen, tho. while good, it isn't great - but they are certainly a good value for the money. $6.50 will buy you a bowl of ramen, a decent portion at that. the yelp reviews are mixed and even my friend said that chashu on top has been off in her past experience. but at $10 for each of us, including tax and tip, it's been the cheapest shop on our list so far. but i'm sure part of the reason is because their menu has also been the most minimal.

chin-ma-ya of tokyo * 18537 western ave. * gardena, ca 90248

gardena ramen * 1840 w. 182nd street * torrance, ca 90504