Kopan Ramen is a tonkotsu ramen chain that has multiple locations in L.A. county. They have one location in Fullerton, which is where I headed. The ramen is customizable: you pick the size, spice level (0 to 3), the choice of meat (pork belly chashu, fatty pork, or chicken breast). All ramen come with green…
plumeria cafe – laguna niguel, ca
Raise your hand if you go to places that specialize in Hawaiian and breakfast dishes and you order the ramen instead πββοΈ Is it just me? Plumeria Cafe is a cafe nestled in the Laguna Design Center that was created by the people behind Stacks Pancake House. They recently introduced a Yokohama-Style ramen that’s a…
yoshiharu ramen – orange, ca
Yoshiharu is another ramen shop that specializes in tonkotsu ramen, but interestingly enough, they don’t seem to offer a “straight” tonkotsu ramen. They have tonkotsu shoyu, tonkotsu miso, a tonkotsu spicy miso, tonkotsu black, and a tsukemen. And a vegetable ramen. They also offer a few options on the accoutrements. You can order the chashu…
ramain39 ramen izakaya – huntington beach, ca
Another day, another new ramen shop! Ramain39 (named after the intersection they’re on), opened just a couple of months ago and still has a slight “new store” smell. Ramain39 specializes in tonkotsu, so I went with the black ramen version. I was warned it’s spicy. Bring it! The fully loaded ramen comes with black bonito,…
fukusuke japanese ramen dining – fountain valley, ca
Fukusuke opened last year in a location that seems to be cursed…there’ve been at least 2 different restaurants there in the past few years. Fukusuke offers a wide variety of ramen, including the majors: shoyu, miso, shio, and tonkotsu. I decided to go with the “Tokyo Style” Shoyu, with a side order of soft boiled…
hironori ramen – irvine, ca
Irvine has a new fancy food hall, and it has a new ramen shop! HiroNori, a “Craft Ramen” shop, is the brainchild of partners Hiromichi and Tadanori (get it?), two Japanese natives who’re apparently making everything from scratch, including their noodles. Intrigued? So am I! First, the TRADE Food Hall plaza, where HiroNori Rame is…
ramen & chanko dining torizo – fountain valley, ca
A new ramen shop…in Orange County…that *doesn’t* specialize in tonkotsu ramen?? It doesn’t even serve tonkotsu ramen??? YES! As much as I like tonkotsu ramen, I’m still a shoyu guy. But hmm…Torizo has yuzu shio, which is tough to find around here. And speaking of tough to find, Torizo can be tough to find from…
4th of july weekend roundup
“Man assaulted after refusing to eat ramen noodles.” Now kids…be good and eat your ramen! Michelin starred instant ramen…complete with egg?!? Lucky Peach keeps cranking out the ramen recipes. If you’ve got the time and skills, these look delicious. New ramen shops are always exciting, especially when they don’t specialize in tonkotsu for once. Chicken…
kikka sushi/whole foods – irvine, ca
I know, I know…I really shouldn’t be expecting much from a sushi place, let alone a sushi place inside a supermarket. But I mean, it is a Whole Foods, and I’ve had decent to great food in their food court. I ordered the spicy tonkotsu ramen, and watched them make it to order. That’s a…
hakata ikkousha ramen – costa mesa, ca
Popular Japanese ramen chains have been slowly breaking into the American market and recently Hakata Ikkousha has joined in with with the soft-opening of their award-winning hakata ramen. They offer 5 types of tonkotsu ramen…a standard tonkotsu, shio (salt) tonkotsu, black tonkotsu (with fried garlic), miso tonkotsu, and the fearsome-sounding “god fire” with 4 levels…
ramen quick review: ken ramen β costa mesa, ca
Ken Ramen opened up about a month ago near Triangle Plaza in Costa Mesa and today’s perfect ramen weather! I tried the ramen trifecta: gyoza, fried rice, and the tonkotsu ramen. The gyoza was really good: perfect texture and a juicy and meaty but not too dense filling. And the fried rice was great. The…
ramen quick review: ramen zetton β costa mesa, ca
Another new ramen place in Costa Mesa! Zetton Ramen, located in a tiny plaza behind “the Camp”, is one of the only new ramenya in Orange County to not specialize in tonkotsu ramen (that’s exciting news!). They serve a regular and kotteri versions of a shoyu or shio ramen, a spicy miso ramen, and a…