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…)

Mentatsu ramen house opened recently in Costa Mesa, near the Mitsuwa plaza. It’s a tiny place with a nice atmosphere. Everyone from the chef to the wait staff greet you when you come in. Well then, right on to the food. I ordered fried rice, shoyu ramen, and gyoza. The fried rice was nicely done and the gyoza was good and garlicky. The ramen had decent chewy noodles, but were a bit on the bland side. The soup was quite good, rich in flavor. The fried rice and gyoza get a 7. The ramen gets a 7. I’ll definitely be back to try their other selections.

Ramen House Mentatsu
688 Baker St #7
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-979-2755

I’ve been looking forward to trying Ryowa in Berkeley, and I recently just had the chance to go up there. I’ve read a lot of good reviews from various web sites and I have to say…I’m disappointed. I had the Ryowa ramen even though I was sorely tempted by the shoyu ramen. The sesame soup base sounded intriguing. Well, the soup was just ok. The sesame was nice…strong but not overpowering, but a bit on the bland side. The noodles were a very nice texture, but they were really bland. The vegetable gyoza, however, were excellent! The gyoza were cooked perfectly and had a really nice blend of flavors. I didn’t miss the meat at all! I’ll probably come back if I ever get the chance and try the shoyu ramen. The Ryowa ramen gets a 6. The gyoza gets a 9 though!

Ryowa Ramen
2068 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 883-0667

sorry i don’t have a picture. and actually, the last time i went to ezo was over a year or two ago. this is the ezo noodle cafe in irvine, at the tustin marketplace. so why am i rating it? because it’s the worst ramen i’ve ever had. it’s even worse than most instant ramen i’ve had. the staff is very friendly, but the food is just so bland. admitedly, i’ve never had their signature miso ramen. i’ve only had the chashu ramen twice (twice because i wanted to be sure it was that bad). the soup is bland. the noodles are soggy. it’s just tasteless. i’ve had their fried rice a few times. it’s also bland, but with a *ton* of black pepper, it’s salvageable. the ramen gets a 3…just in case i come across something worse. the fried rice gets a 4.

Ezo Noodle Cafe
13256 Jamboree Rd
Irvine, CA 92602
(714) 544-5075

drove all the way up to little tokyo for this. our first choice was daikokuya, which got rave reviews on assorted web sites, but unfortunately it’s closed temporarily on sundays. we ordered the shoyu ramen with a half order of chahan (fried rice), and an order of gyoza. the atmosphere was ok…nothing really special. the ramen was not bad, but not great. not as good as ebisu in huntington beach, that’s for sure. the noodles were decent and chewy, but the soup was flat. not bland, just very one-dimensional. the fried rice was pretty yummy, with tiny pieces of meat. the gyoza was very boring.
the ramen gets a 6. fried rice gets an 8. the gyoza gets a 5.

Kouraku Restaurant
314 E. 2nd St.
Los Angeles, CA
213-687-4972