the ramen blog & other goodies!

Shin-Sen-Gumi is a restaurant chain in Southern California that features hakata style ramen in a tonkotsu broth. They also have a robata restaurant next door. Both places are always packed so be prepared for a wait.

Upon entering the tiny (seats maybe 20 people) restaurant, you’ll be greeted with a loud chorus of “irrashai-imase” (welcome!). Part of the attraction of Shin-Sen-Gumi is no doubt the hospitality and service. These people seem to love what they’re doing and it shows. Whenever I go to there, I actually feel like I’m stepping into a little ramen stand in Japan. Ah, memories. But I digress…on to the food…that’s what you came here for. (more…)

I’ve been going to Ebisu ramen for around 20 years now, so when my wife recently asked me why I haven’t reviewed them yet, all I could do was give her my best deer-caught-in-headlights look.

Ebisu Mendokoro is owned by the same company that owns the Ebisu supermarket and the Bon Marche bakery in the same plaza. The restaurant is clean and well-lit, and it’s always crowded on the weekends. Ebisu isn’t just a ramen restaurant: they have a wide variety of offerings, and their rice is especially good. Even though I enjoy their ramen, I often end up getting their tentojidon (tempura with egg on a bowl of rice) with cold soba. Their fried rice is excellent, with lots of chunks of pork, lots of egg and onions, and fluffy Japanese rice perfectly done. Now on to their ramen! (more…)

For those of you who watch Unwrapped on the Food network, check out the Cheap Eats episode for a segment on Maruchan ramen. Fun tidbit: Maruchan produces 81 million miles of noodles per year!