Santouka - Mitsuwa in Torrance, CA

Santouka inside Mitsuwa in Torrance, CA has a crazy line!  Fortunately the service was fast and the Ramen was delicious:

The Tokusen Toroniku Shio (at the bottom of the photo) comes with the toppings on the side and has a nice smooth broth, while the Miso Ramen (top) has a similarly smooth broth but with the added flavor of fermented soy.  The noodles were thick and held the broth well.  The narutomaki and menma added welcome texture and flavor.  It was definitely not salt forward as I had initially  thought it would be.

Personally, at Santouka I would order the Toroniku Shio again as opposed to the Miso due to the lightness of the broth and the abundance of meat.  However both were excellent and worth the wait!

Thank you Santouka for a delicious bowl, I will definitely be back!

Shinsengumi (Fountain Valley, CA) today!

Today, lunch was at Shinsengumi in Fountain Valley, CA.  They specialize in Hakata Miso Ramen, and honestly I didn't see any other type of Ramen on the menu.  They have side items, and a pretty good variety.  The gyoza were small but tasty, and the Nankotsu (chicken cartilage) was crunchy and full of flavor.

Six Piece Gyoza at Shinsengumi - Fountain Valley, CA

 

Hakata Ramen from Shinsengumi - Fountain Valley, CA

The Hakata Ramen was broth was dense, not to heavy, and packed with flavor.  In this style of ramen the noodles are thinner and some of the more common toppings are absent (ie: menma, cabbage).  As for the toppings that were present the chashu was decent (Umenoya has better chashu in my opinion), and the eggs were too well done for my taste but that was probably because I didn't check "poached" egg on the little check mark sheet they have you use to order.  Service was great and the Izakaya atmosphere adds a nice layer of authenticity.

Overall, the food and the experience was great and I highly recommend anyone local or passing through Orange County on the 405 stop and grab some great Ramen!

Reading About Ramen

Recently I have been reading everything possible written on ramen.  From cookbooks, to websites, blogs, to restaurant pages.  Reading is key because there are so many people out there who have been doing this longer than me and have WAY more knowledge about the detail and subtleties that go into a quality bowl of ramen. 

One of the most concise and educational articles I found is this one:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/09/the-serious-eats-guide-to-ramen-styles.html by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt who writes for SeriousEats.com.

This article covers the main ramen types and ramen styles and goes through the common side dishes, toppings, seasonings, found in most ramen joints. The author is thorough, and the article is comprehensive and well written; exemplified by the following description of Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen as "...the no-holds-barred meatsplosion of porcine pleasure."  haha!  Who doesn't love a good meatsplosion?  ESPECIALLY a no-holds-barred one.

I found this article a great read and I'll be looking out for more articles by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt in the future and I recommend you do the same.

Go Ramen!

Tokyo is an amazing place.  All of Japan is for that matter but as a person who lived in Manhattan for 4 years while in school I feel justified in saying that, to an American, Tokyo feels like 8 manhattans, each with their own unique culture, food, nightlife, etc.

Takeshita Dori

In 2003 I thought moving to New York from So Cal was tough, but it's nothing compared to what Keizo Shimamoto did! He literally quit his job and dropped everything to move there and become a Ramen chef!  All for the love of a delicious noodle...   That takes some serious guts. It looks like it's working out for him though.  

His story of becoming a top Tokyo ramen chef, and then moving back to the states and taking on even tougher challenges has been one of my main inspirations in starting www.ramen.guru .

Check out his story on his blog Go Ramen! (http://www.goramen.com), you won't be disappointed!

First Post! About Me and my Dreams for Ramen.guru

Today is an exciting day!  It's the first post in what will hopefully be a long and productive adventure into the World of Ramen!

The intent of this blog is to document, explain, and try to better understand the World of Ramen, the culture behind it, to find and review the best Ramen Joints in each city and to share them with the world!

But first a little about me.  My name is Ryan and I'm a Ramen Addict.  The idea for this site came relatively spontaneously but not before a gradually building affinity for Ramen that has progressed into a borderline obsession.  I'll try to explain why as briefly as possible.  I'm an American, marrying into a Japanese family.  To bridge the culture and language barrier I have been learning Japanese (speaking, reading and writing), I have been to Japan twice in the last two years, and I have begun enthusiastically exploring the world of cooking Japanese food.

Temaki Sushi at home

About three months ago I found the book "Japanese Soul Cooking" by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat and it has changed my perspective on food, health, cooking, and how I appreciate food of all cultures!  Its an incredible book with excellent recipes and explanations of the history and subtleties of Japanese food both iconic and some less well known.  I highly recommend it!

Through my adventures cooking Kara-age, homemade Gyoza, Oyakodon, Gyudon, Kani Cream Korokke, as well as cooking with the future "in-laws," the intricate yet straight forward method of Japanese recipes and cooking opened my mind to new ideas and my palate to amazing new flavors! 

My attempt at Oyakodon

Some of the most delicious and most complicated recipes in the book Japanese Soul Cooking are the Ramen Noodle Soup recipes, and after reading them countless times, making the dashi (soup), and realizing it was nothing even close to what a REAL Ramen chef makes on a daily basis, I couldn't help but have developed an overwhelming respect for them and for the amazing detail that goes into their craft.  Finally, three weeks ago I realized I wanted to eat Ramen once a week at a minimum.  I will most likely eat it more often in the pursuit of creating the website "Ramen Guru" (www.ramen.guru) and in creating a thriving community around it but my personal preference is for "fattier" ramen types (ie: miso, tonkotsu ramen) and I am trying to exert some form of self control and limit myself to only a couple bowls a week if possible.

The Real Deal

But I digress...

When I realized three weeks ago that I LOVED Ramen and wanted to learn about it, appreciated all of its types and flavors, and eat it as much as possible I knew my enthusiasm had become and obsession.  One thing led to another and I founded ramen.guru on february 15th in hopes of creating a place where Ramen Enthusiasts can get REAL reviews (not watered down reviews from people eating Ramen for the first time on a review site that reviews everything....) And a place that will hopefully grow into something bigger.  Ramen Guru will hopefully be a community of people who love Japanese food and exchange their thoughts and tips on restaurants, recipes, etc, united by their love for the most delicious food on the planet.... Ramen!!!

I would love any input, advice, or help on creating this community, specifically with website design and restaurant recommendations and reviews.  Please feel free to leave a comment or send an email!

- (Your Aspiring) Ramen Guru