Argh. Well, it does look like they’re almost finished…here’s hoping…

(Imagine the “adult voices” in Charlie Brown cartoons)…wah wa wa wah Santouka limited edition spicy miso tsukemen, wa wah 20 bowls a day wah wa wah wa wa Torrance Mitsuwa only, Thurs to Sun 4/19-22, and again on 4/26-29 wah wah wa. Enjoy!

via io9

Rhianna (yes, that Rhianna) eats ramen too.

Cup Noodles meets Dali, apparently.

Minneapolis ramen roundup.

“Nom” some ramen in Philadelphia.

“Girl on fire?” How about ramen on fire in Kyoto.

Yay, L.A. gets another ramen shop.

One of the first things you’ll notice when you at Ikemen is the posters proclaiming their mantra: “No Ramen, No Life.” Owned by Shigetoshi “Sean” Nakamura, also known as one of the “Four Ramen Devas” in Japan, Ikemen is no run-of-the-mill ramen shop. I’ve been looking forward this for months after rameniac broke the news of its opening.

The second thing you’ll notice is the time-warping jazz club vibe. Why are the staff wearing fedoras? What year is this? Where exactly am I? What am I in for?

Ikemen specializes in tsukemen, or “dip ramen,” a ramen with the noodles, toppings, and soup served separately. The noodles are meant to be dipped in the “soup,” which is really more of a sauce…a soup concentrate. Of course, being a Sean Nakamura production, there are plenty of unique selections, from the more traditional Ikemen Dip, to the Johnny Dip (with tomatoes and Italian Basil), to the new Ghost Buster Dip (roasted marshmallows?!? In a tsukemen dip?!?). I picked the popular Zebra Dip, with an Onsen Tamago (literally “hot springs egg”) topping, and a mushroom umami-slider.

First, a quick word about the slider. It’s a “bun” pattered after the gua bao, a Taiwanese “burger” that’s becoming in the U.S. And yes, that’s an “Ikemen” brand on the bun. Chef and General Manager Takashi Adachi personally served the slider, apologizing that the mushrooms are slippery and are hard to keep inside the bun. That should give you some idea of how seriously they take their food here. But it didn’t matter to me that I had to pick up a few loose mushrooms with chopsticks. The mushroom slider was still delicious, with succulently sauteed mushrooms and a light and tangy miso(?)-vinaigrette sauce.

The “Zebra” Dip, which I’m sure gets its name from the dark stripes of “Zebra Garlic Seasoning” floating on top of the Tonkotsu “Au Jus”, was just…wow. It was an explosion of umami-savoriness with a good deal of roasted garlic flavor surrounding it. I let the chewy almost-udon-like thick noodles soak in the sauce to get the full effect and almost regretted not ordering “Genuine Ramen” (that is, noodles in soup). I practically drank–no, I did end up drinking the the leftover dip when my noodles disappeared in a flurry of slurps. You can ask for some hot water to be added to the dip to finish it as a soup. Me, I enjoyed it enough to down it as-is. My cardiologist may not approve, but my tastebuds sure did. On the slight downside, the chashu, while tasty, had texture reminiscent of ham, and wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. The blowtorch-charred edges enhanced the flavor, though, and you can always dip it in the Dip for an extra burst of flavor.

The incredible edible onsen tamago…

As you might guess from its name, an onsen tamago originated as an egg cooked in a hot spring. Since hot springs (the ones you can soak in, anyway) are hot, but not boiling hot, the temperature effectively slow-cooks the egg until the egg white has an ethereally delicate texture. Ikemen’s tamago was so good that I ordered a second serving, which lead to a revelation. I had trouble scooping my first egg off the plate in one piece, and ended up almost licking up the remains like a hungry dog. The second onsen tamago was served in its own small dish. Bidden by my wife (the unsung hero of this dinner) to “just eat the whole thing,” I picked up the dish, tilted it to my mouth, and slurped down the egg in one gulp as if it were a raw oyster. And the lightly sea-salt dusted egg had such a delicate and ocean-y taste that it did remind me of eating a raw oyster. So the revelation? Ask to have your egg in a separate container. You won’t be sorry. The next time I’m at Ikemen, I’m going to be tempted to just order 10 of these and call it a night.

One last tip about Ikemen. If you’re a L.A. regular, you don’t need a reminder that parking is atrocious. You might want to look for street parking in the residential neighborhoods behind Ikemen’s plaza. Ikemen is worth the drive, even from Orange County, and I’m already dying to go back and try everything else. The Zebra Dip with onsen tamago gets a 9 out of 10!

Ikemen
1655 N. La Brea Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 800-7669
Mon-Thurs: 12pm-2pm, 6pm-12am
Fri: 12pm-2pm, 6pm-4am
Sat: 6pm-4am
Sun: closed

I usually don’t mention price when it comes to my reviews, but holy cow: 8 packs for 99 cents! That lowered my expectations quite a bit. But I was a bit surprised by what came out of the packet. Look, a real red pepper!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. The noodles were a bit on the skinny side and nothing too exciting, but the soup was pretty decent. I could barely smell shrimp, but the tangy, slightly sour soup was nice and light, and just a bit spicy.

Not bad…not bad. Crying Tiger’s spicy chili shrimp ramen gets a slightly above average 6 out of 10. Ok, I’ll tack on an extra half point for the red pepper. 6.5.

You want this. You need this. Make your own papercraft ramen stand calendar. As a bonus, you get a yakuza figure. What a way to start the year!

via Paperkraft.net

“The new phone book’s here! The new phone book’s here!” That was my reaction when I found out that Ramen Yamadaya finally opened in Costa Mesa. The renowned ramen shop opened its first store in Torrance almost a year and a half ago and is already on its 4th location, finally, in Orange County.

Set in a generic strip mall, Yamadaya specializes in tonkotsu ramen, the pork bone-based ramen that seems to be sprouting up in every new ramen shop. They proudly proclaim “20 hour tonkotsu ramen,” a testament to the amount of time it takes to boil, simmer, and prepare the deeply rich soup base. Boy, did I say rich? Yamadaya’s tonkotsu soup is almost like a thin pork shake, with oily thick kotteri goodness. It’s like liquid pork in a bowl. After the initial porky explosion hits your taste buds, you might close your eyes and try to focus on the flavors…it’s more than just fatty piggy pork. There’re some complex nuanced flavors in there…something kind of fishy…something kind of ocean-y…something kind of nutty.

When you order the ramen, you’ll be asked if you want skinny or thick noodles. “Skinny” is the right answer. The chewy skinny noodles are both a great complement and a great contrast to the oily, clingy soup. But slurp quickly: the noodles get soft with time, and nobody likes soggy noodles.

The namesake Yamadaya ramen, which I ordered, comes with 2 types of pork and 2 halves of a marinated egg. That’s in addition to the standard toppings of green onions, nori, kikurage, menma, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Want a bit of a kick? Fresh crush-your-own garlic is also available. While all the toppings work well together with the soup and noodles, the egg needs a few extra words. Teasingly close but not a hanjuku egg, the marinated egg is delicious, and the egg white is delightfully jello-like.

And the pork? And the pork? If Yamadaya has an achilles heel, it’s the pork. The chashu slices are tasty, but a bit on the dry side. It’s definitely above average, but a letdown compared to the wonderful soup. And the thick slab of kakuni was similarly average…not quite rising to the occasion but “good enough.”

Not in the mood for a hot bowl of ramen? Try the tsukemen. The tsukemen comes with an even thicker dipping sauce that has an satisfyingly deep flavor with a strong bonito element. The thick noodles soak up the deliciously smoky sauce with abandon. Be sure to scoop up the small pieces of chashu hiding in the bottom of the sauce.

I haven’t been this excited by a new ramenya in OC in a long time, and Yamadaya didn’t let me down. I’ll be back to try the tonkotsu shoyu…and the tonkotsu kotteri (even more rich and fatty than the regular tonkotsu!)…and the tonkotsu spicy. This is going to be a good year. Ramen Yamadaya gets an 8.5!

Ramen Yamadaya
1175 Baker St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Open every day: 11:30am to 3pm, 5:30pm to 9pm

Whadya know, Irvine finally has good ramen. Santouka ramen and Mitsuwa supermarkets go hand in hand, and with Mitsuwa’s new Irvine store follows a Santouka in the food court.

Be warned, though. The store is tiny, and the food court tinier. Here’s a tip: park in the back and avoid the place during lunchtime. Or maybe this will start a trend of people eating ramen over the hood of their car…

Mitsuwa Marketplace
14230 Culver Dr.
Irvine, CA 92604

Found another video in the Cup Noodle boil Japan campaign. “Keep boiling Japan!” Err…or maybe that should be “Keep boiling, Japan!” See how important a comma can be, boys and girls?

via Japan Probe