the ramen blog & other goodies!

L.A. hipsters rejoice. The 3rd St location of BreadBar is turning into a ramen popup restaurant. From June 8 to July 24, 5-10pm (except Sundays), BreadBar will be offering a ramen yatai (food stall) menu, featuring standard shio, shoyu, and miso ramen as well as specialty ramen such as ox tail and foie gras ramen. More details at Thrillist and BreadBar.

Yatai @ BreadBar
8718 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310 205 0124

via Neko Ramen Facebook page (yes, I got ramen news from a comic book character).

It’s been a while since my last trip to New York. It’s been so long that instead of having to go to Ippudo, New York again, Ippudo came to Costa Mesa. So how did the Costa Mesa experience compare to “the real deal” in the Big Apple? Read the rest of this entry →

Those of you who missed out on Ippudo Ramen’s first California appearance…all I can say is, you missed out! The ramen was delicious, and as tasty as the ramen served in their New York location. Since I’m determined to write up the review for their New York location this weekend, I thought it’d be redundant to write a duplicate review. Instead, I offer this slide show with commentary to tide you over. (Those of you reading this on RSS will need to click through to the article to see the slide show captions.)

For those of you who did make it to the food fair, what did you think?

Ramen fans might’ve heard of Ippudo, Shigemi Kawahara’s (aka the “Ramen King“) famous hakata ramen chain in Japan. With one location in New York, West Coasters have been left out…until now. For 4 days only, Ippudo’s original Shiromaru Motoaji Ramen will be available at the Costa Mesa Mitsuwa supermarket during their Japanese Gourmet Foods Fair.

…I guess it’s about time I write my review of Ippudo NYC from my ramen escapades in New York…

Dates: 5/27 Thursday to 5/29 Sunday
Location: Mitsuwa Marketplace
665 Paularino Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 557-6699

Maruchan Roast Chicken vs. Sapporo Ichiban Original

We’re down to the championship game. Sapporo Ichiban Original gets the tip off. Sapporo Ichiban Original plays deliberately and slowly. They like to set a slow-paced game with their subtler flavor. As before, their uniqueness lies in their blended taste. If you have to put a label to it, it would be something like miso-shoyu. Maruchan Roast Chicken, on the other hand, picks up the pace every time they have the ball. They are roast chicken without a doubt. But they announce this respectfully, without an “in-your-face” attitude. Some of the other schools try to be showy, and eagerly slam dunk when given half a chance. Maruchan Roast Chicken, though, plays steadily, like the disciplined team that they are.

Beyond the miso-shoyu of Sapporo Ichiban Original (SIO) and the roasted chicken of Maruchan’s namesake team (MRC), both teams bring supporting flavors. SIO has their onion and white pepper supporters, while MRC’s celery/herb flavor cheers loudly, next to a smaller spicy-black pepper cheering section. SIO also has a few scattered onion bits on the bench, but they usually don’t see much action.

By the fourth quarter, SIO’s rowdy MSG fans are starting to get a little out of hand. MRC also has some MSG fans on their side, but they’re more subdued and not as noticeable. By the last few minutes of the game, the two teams are even comparing noodles. Both teams have very similar tasting noodles, that’s to say, on the bland side. Both noodles are also similarly textured, but SIO’s noodles started off just a bit chewier and ended up just a touch softer.

It’s been an incredible run. Both SIO and MRC are strong competitors with very different approaches to the game. SIO’s tactics have been based on having varied flavors combined to become an “Original” flavor. MRC, on the other hand, focuses on being true to their name and presents itself as Roast Chicken…nothing more, nothing less. It’s close! The game ends with the final score:
Sapporo Ichiban Original: 6.0
Maruchan Roast Chicken: 6.5!

And Maruchan Roast Chicken is the champion!!!
Read the rest of this entry →

Whew! We’ve come a long way from the original 16. We’re down to the championship match, which will take place tomorrow night. Meanwhile, here’s a bracket view of the results so far. (Click on the bracket for a full-sized version.)

So does anyone have any money riding on this?

9:23pm: oops, I have the wrong ramen showing on the final 4 and championship…
9:29pm: ok fixed!