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

It’s bad enough that yoda is shilling for Cup Noodle, but “boil japan”? even for broken English, that’s a bit ominous, isn’t it?

via stick a fork in it

Honolulu’s Gomaichi Ramen returns with their tantanmen and sung hong men, a spicy & sour ramen.

(oops, somehow I missed that Gomaichi will be at Costa Mesa tomorrow, Thurs to Sun 10/27 to 10/30 -updated 9:33pm)
Next Thursday through Sunday 11/4 to 11/7 at Mitsuwa San Jose.

Nakamura-ya makes their debut with their shio ramen with “a tender and grilled cha-shu.” Mmm. Sounds tasty.

Nakamura-ya appears this Thurs to Sun 10/27 to 10/30 at the Torrance location, and next Thurs to Sun 11/4 to 11/7 at their New Jersey store.

Store locations and more info here.

Hypernatraemia: dehydration caused by Ramen?!

The L.A. Times on 5 ramenyas to try in L.A.

Follow along on a Hawaii Ramen Quest – Part I

Hello Kitty cup noodles. Is anyone really surprised? (You’re gonna have to scroll down a bit on the page to find it)

Philippines ramen, and recipes!

Have yourself a soju slurpee with your ramen in Buffalo.

L.A. vegan Japanese restaurant serves up a new ramen menu.

Denver’s channel 9 newscaster seems ready to launch a new ramen venture.

Toki Underground sounds better and better.

Ippudo Midtown is revealed.

Portland ramen is heating up.

Have you read the first ramen-filled issue of Lucky Peach?

Flower Boys of the Ramen Shop, “the story of good-looking and unique men and their stories that revolve around the ramen store they run.”

Apparently this ramen restaurant serves “pig-fish.”

Ramen in SF goes “underground.”

Boy, is Portland ramen heating up. And now with customized ramen.

The new cup noodle museum is a success!

Another one (ramen shop, that is) for New York.

Pop-up ramen, steamed Taiwanese buns, and a top secret DJ all in our nation’s capitol for 2 days only! (10/14-15)

The above photo courtesy of the Star Online

The “Nothern California ramen” was created by OpenRestaurant’s Sam White in collaboration with the folks at Chez Panisse and features pork and vegetables.

Act now! One time slot is already sold out, but tickets are still available.

via SF Gate

More choices for ramen in Brooklyn, including a Ramen pop-up.

Hybrid ramen, anyone?

Ramen in Wheaton, MD.

Ajisen Ramen opens in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam.

Visit Hapa Ramen in SF, leave with a charcuterie kit.

Atlanta had a ramen demo last week. Hopefully there’ll be more to come.

Momofuku Koki, yes, son of Momofuku Ando, declares that “…we’ve only explored 40 percent of Cup Noodle’s potential.”

Phoenix’s Cherryblossom Noodle Cafe serves up Hakata ramen.

And ramen continues to take over the world: halal ramen.