anyways, if katanaya's still there, itd be on the corner of judah and 6th. if youre real nice to the lady across the street at that corner store, she'll give you some candy.
UPDATES: Where Katana-ya once stood, is now "Tikka Masala." There's a sushi joint next door but no noodles and frankly, it looked kind of .
I drove down to LA and back last weekend and hit up Daikokuya (down in Little Tokyo) for dinner after a day spent on the road, fiending for ramen. It was good, very satisfying...though not necessarily the best ramen I've ever had (Santa Ramen's tonkotsu still gets the nod) but regardless, it was good. We're in LA this weekend so I'm going to try Shinsengumi tomorrow.
not necessarily all tonkotsu but these are the best 3 ramen spots in the city by far. Trust me on this....
Only been to Shinsengumi (torrance) and Daikokuya (downtown LA), but these spots are definitely bomb.
Odub, out of the Sawtelle spots, Ramenya is by far the best. From sawtelle, just go West on Olympic Blvd, and you'll see it on your right. I recommend the Tenshinmen, which is an omelet-like topping with shrimp, onion, egg, etc. over ramen. The soup is good too. The fried rice there is pretty bomb too.
excuse the ignorance, but I never knew ramen was "restuarant food" (more of an udon fan), but the one in the pic dont look like the dehydrated 10 for a dollar nonsense...any place you recommend on sawtelle (doesnt have to be for ramen) for a vegeterian that doesnt dig spicy food?
Ok, so me and the fam hit up Shinsengumi tonight and shit was proper.
It was not THE best ramen I've ever had in terms of the broth or noodles but it was mostly definitely above average. The broth, which is pork bone-based, has a hint of richness that complements the saltiness well. It's not as full-on rich as a tonkotsu broth but was good nonetheless. My wife got the spicy miso add-on which allows you to put as much in as you want and that actually gave the broth a nice spicy complexity.
The noodles can be ordered to whatever depth of chewiness you want: soft, regular, hard. We tried the regular and that seemed fine but the serve thinner noodles here than at other ramen spots and personally, I like thicker ramen noodles. That said, I wasn't disappointed by it.
What really helps elevate the eating experience are the combos and add-ons, including these cute, tasty gyoza (smaller than I've ever seen) as well as some broiled mackerel with ginger that was excellent. The fried rice is good too. And it's all very, very reasonably priced - the same meal back in S.F. would have cost at least double what we paid.
Best of all, the kid's meal is awesome: half an order of ramen, a rice ball, orange slices, yogurt drink...AND A BALLOON which is genius to me because after my daughter had several yards of noodles shoveled into her, we could let her play with the balloon and enjoy the rest of our dinner. Believe me, when you're trying to eat out with a young child, these small touches mean everything.
So yes, I'd definitely go back again. I'm still not positive it's better than Santa Ramen though though maybe it's not a fair comparison. Santa's tonkotsu broth is pretty insanely good and neither Shinsengumi nor Daikukuya serve a true tonkotsu even if all three have pork-based broths.
btw, I had lunch today on Sawtelle - Hurry Curry (pretty good though a bit pricier than I'd expect for curry but whatever). A few doors down was a pho place called "Phoreign" which I thought was pretty funny. It's not as good as "Pho Real" though.
excuse the ignorance, but I never knew ramen was "restuarant food" (more of an udon fan), but the one in the pic dont look like the dehydrated 10 for a dollar nonsense...any place you recommend on sawtelle (doesnt have to be for ramen) for a vegeterian that doesnt dig spicy food?
they have veggie options at ramenya. i think mantan ramen or some sort of mountain veggie thing. um, dude, you realize that udon is made from a fish broth. ramen is usually made from some sort of animal stock too like the tonkotsu is made from porkbone or something. just FYI, i dont know how far reaching your vegetarianism goes.
btw, I had lunch today on Sawtelle - Hurry Curry (pretty good though a bit pricier than I'd expect for curry but whatever). A few doors down was a pho place called "Phoreign" which I thought was pretty funny. It's not as good as "Pho Real" though.
there's a pho joint in ktown called "what the pho?". i think its a chain. and of course, cant front on this
I went back to Santa Ramen today which is not a convenient trip, by any means.
Totally worth it. Hands down better than the two ramen spots I went to in LA so far (though that's not a strike against either Daikokuya or Shinsengumi).
I went back to Santa Ramen today which is not a convenient trip, by any means.
Totally worth it. Hands down better than the two ramen spots I went to in LA so far (though that's not a strike against either Daikokuya or Shinsengumi).
I went back to Santa Ramen today which is not a convenient trip, by any means.
Totally worth it. Hands down better than the two ramen spots I went to in LA so far (though that's not a strike against either Daikokuya or Shinsengumi).
oh shit! a lil LA/mateo rivalry!
Well, it's not a completely fair comparison insofar as Daikokuya and Shinsengumi use pork-based broths but neither is a formal tonkotsu (as far as I can tell) unlike Santa Ramen. They might vaguely taste alike but Santa has a notably richer (and saltier) broth but you can't really say they're trying to be the same broth.
I thought Daikokuya was good and I really enjoyed eating at Shinsengumi with the family (I'd go back there in a heartbeat, especially since it's close to where my sister-in-law lives).
Comments
UPDATES: Where Katana-ya once stood, is now "Tikka Masala." There's a sushi joint next door but no noodles and frankly, it looked kind of
I drove down to LA and back last weekend and hit up Daikokuya (down in Little Tokyo) for dinner after a day spent on the road, fiending for ramen. It was good, very satisfying...though not necessarily the best ramen I've ever had (Santa Ramen's tonkotsu still gets the nod) but regardless, it was good. We're in LA this weekend so I'm going to try Shinsengumi tomorrow.
Only been to Shinsengumi (torrance) and Daikokuya (downtown LA), but these spots are definitely bomb.
Odub, out of the Sawtelle spots, Ramenya is by far the best. From sawtelle, just go West on Olympic Blvd, and you'll see it on your right. I recommend the Tenshinmen, which is an omelet-like topping with shrimp, onion, egg, etc. over ramen. The soup is good too. The fried rice there is pretty bomb too.
da-ng i'm getting hungry again...
excuse the ignorance, but I never knew ramen was "restuarant food" (more of an udon fan), but the one in the pic dont look like the dehydrated 10 for a dollar nonsense...any place you recommend on sawtelle (doesnt have to be for ramen) for a vegeterian that doesnt dig spicy food?
It was not THE best ramen I've ever had in terms of the broth or noodles but it was mostly definitely above average. The broth, which is pork bone-based, has a hint of richness that complements the saltiness well. It's not as full-on rich as a tonkotsu broth but was good nonetheless. My wife got the spicy miso add-on which allows you to put as much in as you want and that actually gave the broth a nice spicy complexity.
The noodles can be ordered to whatever depth of chewiness you want: soft, regular, hard. We tried the regular and that seemed fine but the serve thinner noodles here than at other ramen spots and personally, I like thicker ramen noodles. That said, I wasn't disappointed by it.
What really helps elevate the eating experience are the combos and add-ons, including these cute, tasty gyoza (smaller than I've ever seen) as well as some broiled mackerel with ginger that was excellent. The fried rice is good too. And it's all very, very reasonably priced - the same meal back in S.F. would have cost at least double what we paid.
Best of all, the kid's meal is awesome: half an order of ramen, a rice ball, orange slices, yogurt drink...AND A BALLOON which is genius to me because after my daughter had several yards of noodles shoveled into her, we could let her play with the balloon and enjoy the rest of our dinner. Believe me, when you're trying to eat out with a young child, these small touches mean everything.
So yes, I'd definitely go back again. I'm still not positive it's better than Santa Ramen though though maybe it's not a fair comparison. Santa's tonkotsu broth is pretty insanely good and neither Shinsengumi nor Daikukuya serve a true tonkotsu even if all three have pork-based broths.
they have veggie options at ramenya. i think mantan ramen or some sort of mountain veggie thing. um, dude, you realize that udon is made from a fish broth. ramen is usually made from some sort of animal stock too like the tonkotsu is made from porkbone or something. just FYI, i dont know how far reaching your vegetarianism goes.
there's a pho joint in ktown called "what the pho?". i think its a chain. and of course, cant front on this
Totally worth it. Hands down better than the two ramen spots I went to in LA so far (though that's not a strike against either Daikokuya or Shinsengumi).
oh shit! a lil LA/mateo rivalry!
Well, it's not a completely fair comparison insofar as Daikokuya and Shinsengumi use pork-based broths but neither is a formal tonkotsu (as far as I can tell) unlike Santa Ramen. They might vaguely taste alike but Santa has a notably richer (and saltier) broth but you can't really say they're trying to be the same broth.
I thought Daikokuya was good and I really enjoyed eating at Shinsengumi with the family (I'd go back there in a heartbeat, especially since it's close to where my sister-in-law lives).
BUT IT AIN'T SANTA!