Ramen Zac

Chuka Soba @ Venice Ramen

By zac on Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Venice Ramen is one of the few places that prepares everything from scratch. Daily fresh soup, noodles, chashu, and gyoza. They are consistently delivering amazing ramen. When people ask me for recommendations this is one of the places that I short list for folks visiting. On this particular visit I tried the Chuka Soba. I …

Ramen Review

Wonton Chicken and Karaage Chicken Ramen @ Jinya Ramen Bar in Santa Monica

By zac on Sunday, August 25, 2019

Situated on a bustling Main Street and just a block away from the beach is Jinya Ramen Bar. They have an extensive menu of ramen, frequently serve seasonal ramen, and a long beer list to choose from. I’ve never had a bad experience here. I believe this is my third visit. It’s was hot summer …

Ramen Review

Chashu Nagoya Mazesoba @ Menya Hanabi in Arcadia CA

By zac on Friday, August 2, 2019

Menya Hanabi is bringing soupless ramen to eastern Los Angeles. Their grand opening was July 28th. I recommend that you check this place out. It’s one of the few places in which it’s soul focus is soupless noodles. Perfect for a hot day in Los Angeles. Hanabi means “fireworks” in Japanese. This means that when …

Ramen Review

Shio and Shoyu Ramen Santouka in Santa Monica

By zac on Sunday, July 21, 2019

Sankouka started in the early 80’s with their shio ramen. The owner is once quoted in the beginning as saying “I’m going to make delicious ramen”. And to this day, you can tell they put love and respect into their ramen. This early attitude can be attributed to their ramen dominance. Santouka has locations all …

Ramen Review

Negi Ramen @ Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle

By zac on Thursday, July 18, 2019

This shops signature is the tsukemen. Pronounced “Ski – Men” and it’s dipping noodles, rather than noodles served in the broth. You can check out a previous post on it here. On this visit however, I wanted to try something different. I went with their negi ramen. It’s their traditional tonkotsu style pork broth with …

Ramen Review

Koku Tonkotsu @ Tatsunoya in Silverlake

By zac on Saturday, June 29, 2019

Tatsunoya has recently opened their second location. More conveniently located for those of us on the west side of Los Angeles. But it’s not too far from their original location in downtown Pasadena. They’ve keeped their menu simple and their store small. I think that’s a smart move for them. Focus on the menu and …

Ramen Review

Spicy TanTanmen @Chinchikurin Hiroshima Okonomiyaki

By zac on Sunday, June 23, 2019

What most people come here for is the Okonomiyaki. You can read more about that here. Now, on with the noodles. Don’t confuse this with the spicy tantan ramen, this Hiroshima style TanTanMen is a soupless noodle dish that has various levels of spiciness and contains sansho pepper. You can choose from 1 of 4 …

Ramen Review

The EAK Ramen @ EAK Ramen on Melrose Ave

By zac on Thursday, June 20, 2019

EAK is known for the “IEKEI” style ramen. It’s a popular style of ramen that combines chicken and pork broth with thick round noodles and is topped with spinach, garlic paste, and onions. From the outside. It’s on a busy street. Needed a beer on this hot day in Central LA. Their gyoza has strong …

Ramen Review

Black Garlic Ramen @ Kashiwa in Costa Mesa

By zac on Saturday, June 15, 2019

On my previous visit, I had their chicken ramen. On this visit, I had the opportunity to meet up with a fellow ramen head to discuss our passion for ramen. From the inside, they’ve got some cool signage all over their walls. Part of the menu. I love places that allow you to order like …

Ramen Review

Tonkotsu Ramen @ Hakata Ikkousha in Downtown LA

By zac on Tuesday, June 11, 2019

I’ve visited the other two locations for Ikkousha. There is a Torrance and Costa Mesa location. At this third location the ramen and karaage is just as good as the other locations. This location is in the Little Tokyo area of Downtown. This place has never let me down. I’ve been to all their locations. They …