I’ve been waiting for Mizuki to open since something like last October, when they ran a cryptic ad in a local Japanese magazine announcing a new ramenya in Irvine…with no address and no opening date. Oh, and they were hiring. Excited that a new ramenya was opening in my back yard, I put on my sleuthing hat and pretended to be interested in a job in order to get more info…I got nothing. (Note to self: forget about becoming a private eye.) Another ad popped up in January announcing a February opening. This time there was a phone number…and a mention of legendary ramenteur (is there such a word?) Sano Minoru, the “ramen demon.” My interest reached a fever pitch. Sano Minoru!?! Involved in a new ramenya!?! In Irvine?!? WOOHOO!

Several phone calls and several different misleading grand opening dates later, it’s finally open…to mixed reviews. Fellow food blogger Exile Kiss went so far as to email me to warn me off. “it’s mazui (bad)…I wanted to warn you (to save your money).” Gulp…

Undeterred, the wife and I set off for Mizuki for lunch. Mizuki occupies a large space in the back corner of the Park Place plaza in Irvine and has a good-sized outdoor seating area in the front. The menu claims that the “interior was designed to reflect Old World Japan, reminiscent of the 1920’s and 30’s.” Now, I wasn’t around in 1920’s and 30’s Japan, but I find it just a bit hard to believe that any Japanese ramenya or restaurants back then looked anything remotely like a trendy L.A. hot spot. But I digress…

MIzuki offers a plethora of ramen offerings, from the basic shoyu, shio, miso, and tonkotsu, to the exotic (soy milk ramen), to the pseudo-exotic (teriyaki chicken ramen, anyone?). I had my eye on the shoyu ramen, but the very friendly waitress recommended the “much richer flavor” tonkotsu. That, and orders of gyoza and Mizuki fried rice completed our order. (Note: there are lunch combo specials, only available on weekdays, darnit!)

The gyoza came out first, followed by the ramen, then the fried rice. The gyoza was lightly flavored. When I say lightly flavored, I mean a bit on the bland side. The predominent flavor was cabbage, and if there was any garlic in the mix, I couldn’t taste it. The fried rice, on the other hand, was tasty. The chunks of pork gave the fried rice a nice smoky taste and smell.

Before I get to the ramen, I have to spend one moment to compliment the service. Every person, we dealt with, especially our waitress, was extremely friendly, courteous, and patient. At times, they were almost too friendly, as they kept placing bowl after bowl of different ramen that we didn’t order on our table…ok, maybe there’re still a few kinks to work out. (“Or maybe they want us to try different kinds of ramen?” we mused.)

There are two things you’ll notice when the ramen gets to your table:
1. Wow, the ramen barely fills half the bowl!
2. Wow, that’s one large renge (soup spoon). Seriously, that spoon probably weighed a full pound. I think I could use it as a weapon.
Ok, let me finally get to the ramen itself. The tonkotsu soup was pleasantly hot and smooth…and good…yet… It was rich, but without depth. The soup falls squarely in the category of “good but not outstanding.” Maybe it was too smooth…like a well-dressed guy/gal with a forgettable personality. The thin, straight noodles worked well with the soup and the bits of kikurage mushroom and sprinkling of sesame seeds, but was a bit overcooked. The menma was marinated but not crunchy. The single slice of chashu lurked like a glacier: at first I was disappointed in its small slice. Later, I realized that only a small part of it was floating on the surface. The size of the chashu wasn’t enough to overcome the disappointing flavor though. The chashu had a nice texture…not tough, but not melt-in-your-mouth tender, but it lacked flavor. The pork flavor was aggravatingly dull and meek.

Mizuki offers a solid, if slightly expensive bowl of tonkotsu ramen (hey chef, how about a bit more soup, at least?). Admittedly, I went in with low expectations, but it was good enough that I will go back and try their other ramen (and the 10% off coupon they offered certainly doesn’t hurt). Any new halfway decent ramenya is a wonderful thing, especially one with ambitious plans, and I’ll be cheering Mizuki on. Their tonkotsu ramen gets an above-average 6 out of 10.

Mizuki Japanese Cuisine & Noodles
2981 Michelson Dr., Ste E
Irvine, CA 92612
949-251-0555

Open 7 days from 11am to Midnight (365 days a year!)

On a side note, I just want to establish my “ramen chops.” Not only did I walk for 45 mins to get here, I forced my poor wife to come with me. Then again, it was cold, and slightly uphill, but I can’t say I was barefoot, and it wasn’t snowing.

Kintaro serves tonkotsu-based ramen several ways: with shoyu, shio, miso, and cheese…cheese!? According to the menu, it’s actually a tonkotsu-miso ramen with “exquisitely balanced special miso sauce and two kinds of cheese. Ladies just lo-o-o-ve it!!” I guess Vancouver ramenya try real hard to please the ladies. As we were leaving, I saw someone (a lady, yes) with a bowl of ramen with a mound of shredded cheese on top and a slab of cheese on top of that. It looked really tempting, and it almost made me regret what I ordered, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The menu claims the tonkotsu-miso as “Kintaro’s BEST!!” but unfortunately I wanted something lighter. I decided to order the BBQ pork shio instead, thinking that it’d make a better comparison with my Benkei tonkotsu-shio experience. Having just stopped by a coffee shop to have a pastry, my wife opted to just order the gyoza. This apparently prompted a quick discussion among the waitresses on whether the $7 per person minimum needed be met by the actual per person spending (i.e. each person had to order at least $7 worth of food), or could be averaged out (e.g. a $10 dish + $4 dish = $14, divided by 2 = $7). Luckily, they let us get away with averaging it out.

By the way, Kintaro allows you to customize your order by choosing a rich, medium or light broth, and fat or lean chashu. I chose medium, and fat. The ramen came out quickly, and I let out a gasp. The chashu slices were HUGE. Each slice of chashu was easily the size and thickness of a hamburger patty. Before I get to that, though, I’ll just breeze through the toppings. The tonkotsu shio ramen comes with basic toppings: sprouts, menma, green onions, and a hard-boiled egg. Sprouts are sprouts, the menma was average and the hard-boiled egg was just a decent, lightly-marinated, very hard-boiled egg.

The sign on the outside says “hand made” tonkotsu ramen. I’m not sure if that applies to the “entire” ramen or just the noodles. I’ve read a few people say that Kintaro’s noodles are hand made. Maybe they were, but to me, they were just decent, slightly-curly egg noodles. The noodles were chewy, but could’ve been just a touch harder.

At this point, I’d like to introduce a guest reviewer. To help us review this highly acclaimed ramenya, we’ve enlisted the help of the world-famous Swedish Chef. What? You don’t know who the Swedish Chef is? Go ahead and click through that link first and read up…maybe Google a video clip or two…we’ll wait. Ok, back already? Mr. Chef…or can I call you Swedish? How would you describe the chashu?

Pørk! Pørk! Pørk!

Um…don’t you mean Børk! Børk! Børk!

No! Pørk! Pørk! Pørk!

The thick, cold Pørk! Pørk! Pørk! slices (apparently straight from the fridge) were not only huge, they were…well, fatty as hell! About a third to a half of each slice of chashu was pure fat. I guess they weren’t kidding when they let you pick “fatty” pork. Some of you might be wincing in disgust. To those people I say: Kintaro is not for you. The fatty chashu was darn tasty, and I felt a bit animalistic as I tried to wolf them down, slurping down the fat while gnawing on the lean parts.

So, Mr. Chef, how was the soup?

Pørk! Pørk! Pørk!

I see…we’re back to that again, eh?

Pørk! Pørk! Pørk!

Ok…well, I’ll fill in some more details, if you don’t mind. The soup is very rich, and yes, very “pork!” There were bits of congealed pork fat floating all over the place, and this was just the “medium” broth. My wife actually asked me if there were clumps of minced radish in the soup. The broth was rich, and satisfying, but where was the salt? The salty component blended too well. It really took a back seat to the pork and pork bone flavors.

The more I drank soup, the more I thought back to Benkei’s more subtle tonkotsu-shio and the sea-salt aftertaste. This was something Kintaro was missing: subtlety. I felt like I was being clubbed over the head with pork…excuse me, Pørk!, then slapped around with Pørk!, then given more pork to wash it all down with. It was enjoyable! But I felt a bit depraved enjoying it.

Oh yeah, in all the excitement, I almost forgot the gyoza. But then again, it’s probably fitting. The gyoza wasn’t really memorable. The skin was a bit limp, and the filling was decent.

If your idea of “hog-heaven” (ugh, just put me out of my misery now) is Pørk! Pørk! Pørk! followed by more Pørk! Pørk! Pørk!, you’ll love this ramen. If reading this review and looking at the pictures makes you feel the slightest bit queasy…then you might want to try something else. Kintaro ramen was a deliciously satisfying experience, but it loses a bit by being too heavy-handed with its flavors. It gets a 7 out of 10.

Kintaro Ramen Noodle 金太郎
788 Denman St
Vancouver, BC V6G 2L5
(604) 682-7568

Tues-Sun: 12:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Closed Mondays.

Cash or Debit Card only, with a $7 minimum per person.

I saw this Noodle Restaurant after lunch while walking down to the Waterfront to see the Olympic cauldron. I was too full to eat, but still had to poke my head in to look at the menu.

The good: there was about a dozen different types of ramen available.
The bad: for each type of ramen, there was a corresponding udon. e.g. Shoyu Ramen or Udon. Miso Ramen or Udon.
The ugly: Really? Ramen or Udon? Ramen or udon purists out there know that you can’t just substitute noodles like that and call it a day.

Or, maybe I’m completely wrong and the Sapporo Ramen Shogun geniuses somehow manage to make it work. The place was pretty crowded. If anyone would care to enlighten me, maybe I’ll try it out on a future trip to Vancouver.

Sapporo Ramen Shogun
518 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC
(604) 684-2922

At the waterfront:
What’s the excitement? Who or what’s on the other side of the fence? Is it a celebrity ramen chef?!

Oh, it’s the “imprisoned” Olympic Cauldron!

That fence is in the way. Here, let me help you with that.

Much better!

It’s the 2010 Winter Olympics, so we’ll be reporting from Vancouver this week! First up…Benkei Ramen. Benkei Ramen is considered to be one of the top ramenyas in Vancouver, with 4 locations throughout the city, including one in “ramen central” (more on this later). That location was a bit far for me, so I went to their newly-opened Thurlow St. location.

Inside, there’s a horseshoe-shaped community table facing the kitchen, and several booths on the sides. Benkei’s interior has a nice, clean Japanese aesthetic, with soft lighting throughout the restaurant. This would be a decent place for a ramen date! デート！デート！(That’s an obscure joke for anyone who’s watched the Dr. Slump tv series. Remember the ramen date episode? Anyhoo…)

Benkei offers five styles of ramen: shoyu, shio-tonkotsu, miso, shiro-tonkotsu, and akaoni (spicy miso). I ordered the shio-tonkotsu on the waiter’s recommendation, and an order of pork gyoza (the gyoza is also available with shrimp or vegetables). From the menu: “Shio Tonkotsu Ramen contains a lot of collagen and calcium, which is a source for beautiful skin and strong bones. This Ramen is especially popular with women.” The menu also calls this a “Heavy Tonkotsu” ramen which, to me, makes it sound less appealing for anyone wanting “beautiful skin.” But then, what do I know.

One nice thing about Benkei is that their extra toppings are relatively inexpensive. Extra toppings are only 50 cents Canadian (or half a Loonie. See, I’m speaking Canadian already!) per topping, or you can opt for “everything.” “Everything” in this case is green onion, spinach, bamboo shoots, butter, nori, corn, boiled egg, kimchi, and bean sprouts. That seemed a bit much…not to mention a bit odd for a bowl of shio-tonkotsu ramen, so I opted for what looked like a hanjuku egg half. (The picture on the menu looked like a hanjuku egg, and the waiter confirmed that it was a half-boiled egg.)

The gyoza was good. That’s all. The charred skin had a slight crunch to it, and the finely minced meaty filling was heavy with a sharp onion flavor and lightly garlicky.

The ramen came out within 10 minutes, piping hot, with basic toppings: green onions, bean sprouts, menma, two slices of thin chashu, and my hanjuku egg, looking almost-but-not-quite hanjuku. I really enjoyed the crunchy tasty menma, and the chashu, while not grilled, as the picture on the menu might lead you to believe, was lean and decent. The chashu was actually just fatty enough to give it some additional flavor, so I’d still rate it as above average. I was disappointed in the egg though, since it turned out to be as hard-boiled as it looked, though it had a lightly marinated flavor. Still…I really wanted that hanjuku egg!

Instead of thin hakata noodles typical for tonkotsu-type ramen, Benkei uses curly egg noodles for their shio-tonkotsu ramen. The noodles were nothing to write home about: they were properly al-dente, absorbed the soup well enough, and otherwise tasted like factory-made curly egg noodles. Don’t get me wrong. I like factory-made curly egg noodles. But they really take a back seat to the star of this ramen: the soup.

You could see little bits of pork fat floating in the otherwise watery-looking “heavy tonkotsu” soup. Did that sentence even make sense? Yes, the soup looked both heavy and light. As it turns out, that is a good description. The soup is full of flavor, yet not too thick. You can taste the pork and pork bone flavors, yet it’s not overwhelming. And remember, this is a shio-tonkotsu soup, but it wasn’t too salty. The sea-salt flavor lurks in the background, giving the broth a subtle salty undertone until after you’ve gulped down a spoonful. Once the soup trails down your throat, it leaves behind a distinctly pleasant swirly sea-salty aftertaste. The soup was surprisingly subtle, and I really enjoyed it.

Benkei is a place I would eat at regularly if it was nearby. It’s got a friendly “real Japanese ramenya” vibe and friendly staff shouting greetings and instructions to each other at regular intervals. They even gave me a frequent customer card: buy 10 bowls of ramen, get one free! Sure I was disappointed by the not-hanjuku egg and not-grilled chashu, but the ramen was tasty, and I noticed a distinct grilled-pork flavor taunting me every time I licked my lips after I left (where the heck did that come from?). On the technical side, it gets a half-point knocked off for the WYSINWYG (what you see is not what you get) egg and chashu (yes, I’m still going on about the egg) but makes up for it on the artistic merits of its soup. It ends up with a respectable 6.5 out of 10.

Benkei Ramen 弁慶
747 Thurlow St.
Vancouver, BC, Canada
(604) 568-8371
Min $5 per person

Sorry, I didn’t get their hours. If someone can report back on their hours, I’m sure everyone would appreciate it!

2/28 Update: Here’re the hours, thanks to Alexa and MBO
11:00am to 3:45pm
5:00pm to 10:45pm

Anyone who’s been to Wonton Forest or Sapporo-Ya will feel right at home: the decor and layout is exactly the same. Yukino Ya offers all four popular types of ramen: shoyu, tonkotsu, shio, and miso. I asked the extremely friendly waiter which soup was the house specialt (tonkotsu) and decided to order the Yukino Ya Tonkotsu ramen with a side order of “mixed rice.” I played with the garlic press while waiting for my ramen: there’s a container of shoyu-marinated garlic cloves and a garlic press at each table!

Yukino Ya takes great care in their presentation. The carefully arranged toppings include green onions, beni shōga (red ginger), menma, moyashi (bean sprouts), naruto (fish cake), 2 pcs of yaki-nori, and 2 slices of beautifully fatty chashu, plus a hanjuku egg half. Whew! I could look at this ramen all day…but I’d rather eat it.

The first sip of soup was a bit surprising: the creamy-looking tonkotsu soup was more porky than creamy compared to what you’d find at other So Cal ramenyas. Actually, the soup had a sort of “Chinese-taste” to it. It reminded me more of something you’d find at a Chinese restaurant, but I enjoyed the bolder pork taste. However, the firm, thin noodles were unexceptional and there was a slightly noticeable baking soda taste.

The fatty-looking chashu fell apart when I picked them up with my chopsticks. This should be good. I bit into the first slice, and was delighted by the juicy, tender texture, but…where was the taste? The chashu was very mild…almost bland. There was only a hint of marinade and the chashu didn’t have enough of a pork taste. The second, more fatty piece, on the other hand, was delicious! It had a rich, pork taste that all but melted in my mouth!

I saved the hanjuku egg for last. I’ve been having an odd craving for hanjuku egg for the past few weeks and was happy to be able to have one. I wasn’t disappointed. Yukino Ya’s hanjuku egg was tender and delicate, and had a well-balanced flavor…lightly marinated with a hint of sweetness, and the yolk had a great jello-texture. I’m now kicking myself for not ordering a dozen of these delights to go.

The “mixed rice” also deserves mention. This colorful creation was a simple bowl of rice topped with pickled vegetables, scallions, pork, and shredded yaki-nori. The mixed rice also reminded me of a Chinese dish: pork sung rice. The rice bowl was light, refreshing, and pleasant to look at.

I’m always excited by new ramenyas, especially ones like Yukino Ya that have attentive and friendly service to complement the good food. I hope they’re here to stay, even in such a back-of-the-plaza location.

Yukino Ya Ramen gets a 7.5 out of 10.

Yukino Ya Ramen
18230 E. Gale Ave.
City of Industry, CA 91748
626-581-8420
Lunch: Tues- Sun: 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner: Tues-Sun: 5:30pm – 9:00pm
Closed Monday

Cash Only

If you have a hankering for “the best ramen in Hawaii,” according to Honolulu magazine, you have one more day to head down to Mitsuwa to try Gomaichi Ramen.

While the Gomaichi stand was offering three different types of ramen, I chose the specialty they’re known for: the Tantan ramen. Gomaichi’s tan tantan men comes with a thin layer of chili oil, giving it a bright orangish-red hue which makes it look spicier than it actually is.

The soup was very rich and nutty. The chili oil added a nice touch of spiciness but didn’t overwhelm the flavor. It’s a very oily soup, which lets it ease down your throat with a warm sensation. Unfortunately, the noodles don’t pull their own weight. The thin starchy noodles were chewy but bland, and seemed unable to absorb any of the rich soup flavor.

The pork was lean, a bit dry, and surprisingly bland. The cha shu tasted like it was cooked in a plain water bath that leeched away its natural flavor.

The Gomaichi Tantan ramen could’ve been a contender, but the parts just don’t mesh. The bland noodles and cha shu distracted from than supported the tasty soup. This ramen gets a slightly above-average 6.

Gomaichi Ramen
(inside Mitsuwa Supermarket until 10/25)
665 Paularino Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 434-1101
Cash only

Pei Wei Asian Diner, the “pan-Asian cuisine” chain owned by P.F. Chang’s has been heavily pushing ramen for the past few weeks. They’re on a “mission to redeem Ramen’s good name as a noodle dish” and want to “upgrade” your ramen with their Japanese Chile Beef Ramen “hot from our wok.”

They had a “Great Ramen Exchange” during which you get a bowl of discounted ramen in exchange for a pack of store-bought instant ramen, which they then donate to the food bank along with a cash donation. Nice. That was on Sept 9th, though…

But for tomorrow: Hey- I thought you and your readers would be interested in some fun ramen things Pei Wei is doing. On September 14, Pei Wei is giving ramen-freaks the chance to create their own ramen recipe. You can submit your recipe on Pei Wei’s Facebook page and other fans will vote on their favorite. The winner will receive the ultimate ramen luxury experience for themselves and 9 friends which includes a dinner of ramen packed with Kobe beef, Tempura Lobster, Shiitake Mushrooms and Lotus Root.

Now, let’s go back to that first paragraph. If you are a true ramen fanatic, a few choice words and phrases may bother you…like “Asian Diner,” “pan-Asian,” and “hot from our wok.” I’m not sure what ramenya’s they’ve been frequenting, but unless a ramenya serves other dishes, or offers sauteed veggies or something similar on their ramen, I usually don’t see any woks around. But at least they’re putting their money where their mouth is, and they’re offering a free bowl of ramen to the first 30,000 people who “sign” their petition on their facebook page.

I got my coupon in the mail just a few days later, and went in to try it. I’ve eaten at P.F. Chang’s before, but I’ve never been in a Pei Wei. The restaurant is nice, with a clean, simple decor, and high tech (!), from an animated LCD menu board to a fancy touch-screen drink dispenser. Neat! The cashier happily accepted my coupon and gave me a number.

As you can probably guess from the picture of the ramen on the coupon card, this ramen is soupless. It’s got slices of red chili peppers, beef, and carrots, some brown onions, a few small pieces of green onions, and it’s topped with moyashi, cilantro and a wedge of lime.

The “ramen” is cooked in a soy-mirin glaze, and everything has a slightly citrus-y (from the lime) mildly mirin-sweet taste that’s dominated by the chile sauce. It reminded me more of a Chinese/Thai hybrid than anything Japanese, especially with the cilantro. The noodles were soft and looked and tasted like spaghetti noodles. The beef was tender and delicious.

Overall, this was a good bowl of “Asian” noodles. Let’s face it: only a corporate marketing department would call this “ramen.” I sure wouldn’t. But kudos to Pei Wei for marketing this like crazy and making it fun. Let’s hope that this does bring more attention to real Japanese ramen somehow, and maybe they’ll come up with something in the future that’s a bit more…Japanese.

Pei Wei Asian Diner
Located throughout the U.S.

A busy schedule and a bout of whininess (“it’s hot”…”it’s so far”…”my stomach feels funny”) almost stopped me from going to the Mitsuwa Kyushu & Okinawa Fair this weekend. But a combination of reading some positive reviews from bb’s (“blogger buddies”) Go Ramen, Waseda-ramen, and Exile Kiss this morning and a craving for mackerel sushi and custard cream puffs put me over the edge. Who kind of nut forces his wife to go with him on a 50-min drive (one way) for ramen? Ahem…(thanks for indulging me, sweetie!)

Before we left on our adventure this morning, I spent some time reading up on Tatsunoya (the Dragon’s House) ramen. Tatsunoya is one of those “renowned” ramenyas that hail from Kurume, epicenter of Kyushu ramen. Chef Tajiwara Ryuuta uses only pork bone (from the pig’s head!) and water for his tonkotsu soup, and lovingly boils it for 20 hours, creating and “splendidly rich and mild taste.” Hmm…rich and mild. The noodles are homemade using an especially fine flour. And the chashu is supposedly cut from a perfect balance of lean and fatty meat, and simmered for 5 hours. This was going to be a loooong drive!

The line was surprisingly short when we got there, and I had my ramen a few quick minutes later. The ramen comes with an abbreviated version of the toppings they serve in Japan: a piece of nori, green onions, moyashi, and 2 pieces of succulent-looking chashu. There were no kikurage, beni shōga, or sesame seeds. But there was a small spread of their homemade spicy miso paste.

The soup was fantastic! It’s amazing what Tajiwara-san can do with pork bone and water! The soup is rich enough that you can even see small clumps of pork fat floating on top, yet not overwhelmingly “porky.” I finally get what the Mitsuwa ads mean by “rich and mild.” And when you mix in the miso paste, it releases a touch of nuttiness into the mix. The miso really isn’t spicy at all, but it added just a hint of chili pepper to the flavor.

The homemade noodles were nice and firm, as they should be, and served their purpose as something for the broth to cling to, but hakata ramen noodles have never excited me as much as the curly, thicker noodles found in shoyu ramen. The chashu was both good and disappointing. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I found the lean and fatty parts of the chashu to be too distinct. With really good chashu, the whole piece just blends together like a perfectly harmonized duo. The lean parts of the Tatsunoya chashu was too distractingly dry, and a piece of it was too jerky-like in texture, while the fatty side was good for the most part, but not spectacular. These are nit-picky criticisms, though, and the chashu is definitely above-average compared to the chashu at most of the ramenyas around here.

Skip this paragraph if you don’t care about anything not ramen-related…I must have a star-crossed relationship with the Kazuya Mackerel sushi. This is the 3rd Mitsuwa fair I’ve gone to that advertised this gorgeous-looking sushi. At the first fair, I was just too stuffed to try it. Ok, strike 1 was my fault. At the last fair, I found a hand-written sign saying that the sushi had problems clearing customs and wasn’t available. Strike two. Today, the sushi was sold out. Sigh. But at least I was able to try the Pie Fresh Custard Pudding on Choux from Kikuya before they sold out. That was good, but a bit too light-flavored for my taste. I’m still a Beard Papa loyalist, I guess. And we wanted to try Iron Chef Sakai’s roll cakes, but again…all sold out! So, dear readers…has anyone managed to try either the Mackerel sushi or the Sakai roll cakes? Were they good? Am I missing out?

Tatsunoya’s tonkotsu ramen was great, and worth the almost-hour drive. I don’t want to sound like a Mitsuwa food fair shill, but if you missed out this weekend…well, you missed out, but Jersey residents get their taste of Tatsunoya next week. Tatsunoya gets an 8 out of 10.

Tatsunoya 龍の家
(inside Mitsuwa Supermarket)
21515 Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 782-0335

After months, and I mean months of dealing with just about every major problem that an aspiring restauranteur could face, my good buddy’s shabu-shabu dreams have finally come true. Yes, I said “my good buddy” and “shabu-shabu,” not ramen, so I’m going to go out of my way to be biased here. You’ve been warned! California Shabu-Shabu celebrated their grand opening last weekend, and today, the wife and I decided to pay an overdue visit.

For those of you who’ve never been exposed to the world of shabu-shabu, shabu-shabu is a Japanese hot pot. You start out with a boiling pot of water flavored with kombu, add in assorted veggies, and cook thin slices of meat, usually beef, in the water by swishing it around. Because the meat is sliced so thin, it cooks in the time it takes for you to say “shabu-shabu” (which translates to “swish-swish). Two types of dipping sauce are usually provided with shabu-shabu: a citrus-y ponzu sauce and a sesame-based sauce. Also something that can surprise the uninitiated: you cook your own food!

Actually, California Shabu-Shabu has been around for years in Fountain Valley, a few doors down from the Ebisu ramen house. Anyone who’s eaten there already knows the story: long lines of hungry shabu-shabu devotees eager for their next fix. This newly opened Costa Mesa location is over twice the size of the Fountain Valley location and decorated like a trendy hotspot. After Leonard, the co-owner, gave us the nickel tour (ok, so the bathrooms have cutesy little footprints by the stalls and toilets. Creative…no, really! But can we not hang out in the bathrooms and go eat instead?), we sat down and barked out our orders.

Today’s shabu meal centered around the prime beef. Call me picky, but years of eating at the Fountain Valley branch has conditioned me to spend a few extra dollars and order only their prime beef. It’s not that their regular beef isn’t good; the prime beef is just so much better. Marvelously marbled, decadently delicious, and tantalizingly tender, the prime beef melts in your mouth and is as rich, buttery, and flavorful as any good chashu. If prime beef isn’t prime enough for you, CSS (I’m going to call this place CSS for short from now on. The name is just too darn long!) also offers Kobe beef. We wanted to try the Kobe beef, but unfortunately they haven’t gotten their supply yet, dammit!

Dejected but not beaten, we opted to try their chicken and salmon. Frankly, I’ve never had any kind of shabu meat except for beef. I’d always thought that chicken shabu was for “those” kind of people…the people who, for whatever reason, do not or refuse to appreciate the goodness that is beef. I swished a piece of chicken, then swished it some more (salmonella, I banish you!), dipped it in my sauce, and expected to taste a dry, bland piece of white meat chicken. Instead, I was surprised that it was pretty darn good. It’s not prime beef by a long shot, but it was both tender and tasty.

While I was experimenting with the chicken, my partner in crime went ahead and tried the salmon. “Ooo! It’s so good! Try it! Try it!” Unsure of how long to cook salmon shabu-shabu, I swished it around for about 5 seconds and gave it a light ponzu bath. It’s official: from now on I’ll be ordering a prime beef/salmon combo. The salmon was delicious. Even cooked, it retained the same buttery richness as a fatty piece of salmon sashimi. Despite Leonard’s warning not to eat it raw, my wife apparently couldn’t resist temptation and (kids, don’t try this at home!) popped half a piece of raw salmon in her mouth. Shh…don’t tell the health department!

Yes, I am biased. Yes, I was already a fan of the Fountain Valley CSS. Yes, this is a blatant plug. And yes, shabu-shabu is probably not the first thing that comes to your mind when choosing a summertime meal. But if you’re looking for a “fresh, healthy, and fun” meal in a trendy yet friendly atmosphere, this is the place for you. Stop by, give it a try, and say “hi” to Leonard and his partner Ash. California Shabu Shabu gets a 9.5 out of 10 (a half point off for the wet rice. Sorry guys!)

California Shabu-Shabu
801 Baker Street, Suite A
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-540-1888
lunch daily from 11:30am to 2pm
dinner Sun-Thurs: 5pm to 10pm, Fri-Sat: 5pm to 11pm

I’ve always had an instinctive aversion to “experimental” type restaurants. Over the years, I’ve managed to associate terms and phrases like “fusion,” “nouveau,” “a new take on x,” and “inspired by y cuisine” with chefs who’ve never quite managed to figure out the essential essence of the cuisine he or she is trying to replicate. But recently, the thinking part of my brain had a minor epiphany: hello, dumb-ss…ramen is a fusion food! Ramen (and gyoza!) is the Japanese take on a Chinese dish, remember? How is that not fusion? Hello!

A few days ago, Go Ramen invited me to check out Rameniac’s new find, Ramen California, with a few fellow food bloggers. “Rameniac’s been raving about it! It’s the next evolution of ramen!” Uh oh…did he say what I think he just say? Call me stodgy, but I like my ramen traditional. I have very set ideas of what a bowl of ramen should be. Give me a good bowl of shoyu or tonkotsu ramen, keep your fancy schmancy “inspired” ingredients out of my bowl, and stay off my lawn thank-yew-very-much.

But Ramen California has a pedigree. It’s not just some random ramen-ya opened by some random chef with a random dream. Ramen California stars the Shigetoshi Nakamura, a revered ramen deity in Japan. If Iron Chef ever decided to add a Iron Chef Ramen, surely Nakamura-san would be the first choice! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to meet up with my foodie cohorts that night, but spurred on by the superlatives from two of the most respectable ramen fanatics in Southern California, my wife and I decided to ventured out of the Orange Curtain today.

Ramen California is situated in the corner of a huge plaza, sandwiched between a dentist’s office and a Pick Up Stix, an unlikely location for a place Rameniac bills as “most groundbreaking new restaurant in America today.” During their soft opening, Ramen California is only serving ramen during lunch hours, so you won’t be able to try any of their acclaimed side dishes, but one great feature at Ramen California is that they offer a mini-sized ramen, perfect for light eaters and commitment-phobes.

Despite my wife’s insistence (“what do you mean, you don’t want to try their signature dish”), I decided to go for broke: I had my heart set on the Reggiano Cheese Tofu ramen. If I was going to buy into the whole “fusion ramen” concept, I wanted to try their most un-traditional offering. For my wife, the tomato-lover, the Heirloom Tomato ramen was an easy choice, and we decided to decide on the third choice in our little tasting menu later.

Before I move on to the ramen, I have to say something I never ever in a million years thought I would say, especially within the confines of a ramen blog: the salad dressing was in-cred-i-ble. The dressing had a lightly salty taste partnered with a very mild sesame oil, and a hint of a tangy-spicy aftertaste. Let me be clear: I am not a salad-lover: has anyone ever offered you a bowl of freshly mowed lawn? Yep, that’s my reaction to most salads. But this one…I considered keeping the plate for an occasional lick when the waitress tried to take it away.

The Heirloom Tomato ramen came out a few minutes later: the presentation was lovely, if a bit underwhelming. “Oh, it’s just soup noodles with some tomatoes and flowery bits. The soup doesn’t even look tomato-y” A sip of the soup changed our minds. “Wow…it’s so…clean and fresh tasting!” Did I mention that all the ramen at Ramen California are chicken-soup-based? There was also a dab of salty pureness to the soup, as if the chicken was one with the sea. I could just picture the chickens used in the soup base lounging on spa beds, on a raft, in the middle of the ocean…immaculately clean, with a masseuse hovering over and a manicurist at each foot. Oh yes, and the chickens need to have some basil sprinkled on them…and some other herbs I couldn’t quite pick out…and don’t forget the flowery bits, the chickens need to have a light floral scent.

But no, there wasn’t much tomato flavor in the soup itself, which was what made the ramen more amazing. The pre-dominent flavors are are chicken and herbs, with only a mild underpinning of tomato. But take in a mouthful of noodles, plop a tomato in your mouth, sip some soup at the same time, then chew. When the fresh-from-the-farm tomato squirts its juicy goodness into the mix, the effect is surprisingly smile-inducing. Is it mindblowing? No, not quite. Is it delicious? Yes, absolutely. Could I eat this every day? I’m not sure, but I’m willing to try!

And the noodles? Ramen California uses a thin, straight, springy noodle. After our first bite, my wife and I looked at each other and said “rubber band noodles!” Anyone who’s ever had a proper bowl of wonton noodles at a Cantonese restaurant will know what we’re talking about. The noodles have a very similar texture to Cantonese egg noodles, but there’s a certain…slipperiness to them that’s different. The noodles were good, and paired well with the soup. I certainly didn’t mind not having “more traditional” ramen noodles. I couldn’t wait to try the next dish!

The Reggiano Cheese Tofu ramen comes with the cheesy-tofu goodness right on the soup spoon. I usually start my ramen tasting with a sip of the soup, by itself, and mild-panic set in as I tried to decide how I was going to accomplish this with that…thing on my renge. Luckily, there was a metal spoon at the table, and I took a sip of the soup sans the cheese. Without the herbs and tomatoes, the soup was an even cleaner, purer, chicken soup than what was in the Heirloom Tomato ramen, delicious in its simplicity. After that important first step, I had to make another crucial decision: what the heck do I do with the cheese tofu? Do I let it ooze into the soup a little at a time as not to overwhelm the assari soup? Should I just dump it all in, mix it up, and place my faith in Nakamura-san’s expertise? I looked at my wife pleadingly, as if I was trying to make the most important decision of my life. She looked back, rolled her eyes, and went back to her tomato ramen. Alright then! I overturned the renge and mixed the cheese into the soup. I mixed the cheese into the noodles. I mixed the cheese into the veggies. The result was surprisingly…un-cheesy. The cheese added a richness and texture to the broth, then blends into the background, its job done. With the noodles and veggies, however, the cheese springs back out, adding a more noticeable cheesy edge to the flavor. The contrast between the hidden cheese and the crouching cheese (yes, I *did* just write that, sorry) was an interesting, and enjoyable touch.

After devouring the two small bowls, we decided we needed some meat. Both the Heirloom Tomato and Reggiano Cheese Tofu ramen come with veggies, veggies, and more veggies, but no meat. Being carnivorous by nature, the meal didn’t feel complete without some meat, so we topped off our little ramen tour with a bowl of the Grilled Chicken ramen.

I was expecting a pleasant but low-key finish to our lunch with the Grilled Chicken ramen. After all, you might say it’s just chicken soup noodles with chicken on top. What I wasn’t expecting was that it’d my favorite soup of the day. The grilled chicken itself was good, but nothing spectacular…it was simply good grilled chicken. But what the chicken slices contributed was their “grilled-ness.” The already-good chicken soup became that much richer and full-bodied with both the aroma and taste of charcoal-grilled chicken. I can say with confidence that this was the absolute best chicken soup I have ever had.

Ramen purists and foodies looking for the next new thing should head for Ramen California while the ramen master himself is still presiding over his domain as Nakamura-san is going back to Japan in a week. Keep in mind that Ramen California is still in “soft-opening” mode, and while their official lunch hours will be 11:30am to 2:30pm, they’re only opening till 1:30pm for the next few weeks. The grand opening should be happening within the next week or two, and I can’t wait to try their side dishes. I’m not going to give Ramen California a rating because of the soft opening, but I can say it was well worth the hour-drive, and I will be back!

Ramen California
24231 Crenshaw Blvd, #C
Torrance, CA 90505
(310) 530-2749

Tues-Sun: 11:30am-2:30pm lunch, 5:30pm-10pm dinner
Closed Mondays