Mention ramen to any casual observer and, inevitably, their mental picture conjures up an image of some bullshit pack of 50-cent instant noodles. That’s to be expected since real ramen noodle shops, meaning establishments whose primary or sole purpose for their existence is essentially about making a serious bowl of ramen is almost unheard of in the United States outside New York, the Greater Los Angeles area, the San Francisco Bay area and a few other Japanese communities such as in Honolulu. Unfortunately, growing up and living in Chicago hasn’t afforded me a proper education when it comes to knowing what a first-rate bowl of ramen is supposed to entail. But I say that anyone in the same boat that has tried a good one knows what they’re starring at.
I visited Japan a number of years ago and ended up basically doing virtually nothing else there but eat ramen almost every day. When I returned home, noodle soup was the first thing to leave my mind and my innate love for ramen, unfortunately, lay dormant for years after.
It wasn’t until my recent visit to Los Angeles that my resurgence for ramen was happily restored with my primary motivation for going there to taste a wide array of regional as well as more commonly found Japanese ramen styles.
Ramen is commonly thought to originate from China. Although it was being served in street stalls
(Yatai) starting sometime in the Meiji period (1868-1912) by returning Japanese from Mainland China, it was World War II Japanese soldiers who’s longing for it upon their return provided the impetus for its popularity back home. The ability to buy cheap imported flour from the West after the war also helped ramen proliferate there. Over the subsequent decades, many regional styles have (since) spawned throughout Japan.
Traditionally, there are three basic styles of ramen:
shio (salt),
shoyu (soy), and
miso, also known as
tare. In more recent years, a high-boiling, long-cooking, milky rich pork broth known as tonkotsu, has become extremely popular in many areas throughout Japan.
Many expatriates from Japan complain vociferously that virtually any ramen noodle found here in the United States lacks the depth of flavor due to the absence of
kansui, a highly alkaline mineral water found in Asia that contains elements that other water generally lacks. From this
Kansui, noodles that are typically white take on a yellowish appearance. Although many fresh
(nama) noodles are yellow, this is usually because what is being served is nothing more than an egg or
chijire noodle (which there is nothing wrong with, at least to this novice Caucasian palette).
My main objective on this L.A. trip was to try some of the more highly touted and/or interesting regional-style ramen noodle houses.
The following noodle houses were places that I found the most intriguing after researching L.A’s ramen culture. I was heavily influenced by the amazing body of work found at
rameniac.com, an
incredible ramen food-blogger from Los Angeles who was a major informational resource on the subject as well as big-time inspiration. This is easily one of the best food blogs out there. Rameniac’s “2009 King of the Ramen Bowl” top-ten list comprises 9 of the 10 places I visited. Pardon my lack of discovery/imagination but since this was my maiden voyage for ramen in L.A., I thought I would yield to the master’s thoughtful favorites.
•
Hakata Shin Sen Gumi Ramen (LA)•
Umemura Ramen & Shisen Ramen (Gardena/Torrance, CA)•
Shin Mama Ramen (Torrance, CA)•
Gardena Ramen & Foo Foo Tei Ramen (Torrance/Hacienda Heights, CA)•
Daikokuya Ramen (LA)•
Chin-ma-ya Ramen (LA)•
Santouka Ramen (Chicago & Torrance, CA)•
Asa Ramen (Gardena, CA)•
Ippudo (New York)•
Monta Ramen (Las Vegas)•
Ramen Jidaija (Gardena,CA)•
Tsujita LA (LA) •
Mottainai Ramen (Gardena, CA)/Ramen California (Torrance, CA - CLOSED)•
Fresh Ramen Kits at HomeThanks for the inspiration, Erik.
Last edited by
PIGMON on October 14th, 2014, 12:43 pm, edited 4 times in total.