I hate going into L.A. because of all the traffic, but on the plus side, I get to try out new ramenyas. I chanced upon Ramen Ajido Izakaya recently and was excited to give them a try. Even though the small restaurant was non-descript from the outside, I was greeted warmly by the lady (owner?) in charge when I walked in, who seemed to be a one-woman army (she was the only person tending the front). I also immediately noticed the boisterously loud group of Japanese customers in the corner, which made me feel like I was back in Japan.
I was really in the mood for a nice bowl of shoyu ramen, but prompted by the sign on the wall that proclaimed it “Repeat No. 1”, I decided to get the Black Shisen Ramen set, which comes with an order of gyoza and fried rice.
I tried the gyoza first. It had a nice garlicky flavor with a chive aftertaste. Tasty!
The ramen came next, and the first slurp had a lightly spicy, garlicky and oniony flavor. The chicken-based (if I remember correctly) soup was well balanced and delicious…not too spicy and not too garlicky. The noodles were a tad on the soft side, and unfortunately kept getting softer pretty quickly, so I had to eat quickly. The chashu was lean and looked dry, but surprisingly flavorful and tender. It was a great bowl of ramen!
Last but not least, the fried rice was my favorite part. It had a great, strong flavor that complemented the ramen well. And the best part was that the rice was just slightly hard and barely burnt, which I really like.
Ramen Ajido Izakaya is a warm, friendly place to get a hot bowl of ramen. I’d love to go back to try their other selections.
Ramen Ajido Izakaya
1730 Sepulveda Blvd #6
Torrance, CA 90501
Tel: (310) 534-1698
Hours: M-F 11:30 am to 2:00 pm, 6:00 pm to 1:00 am
Sat 11:30 am to 2:00 pm, 6:00 pm to 11:30 pm
Sun 11:30 am to 2:00 pm, 6:00 pm to 9:15 pm