Saturday, September 26, 2009

Hakata Ramen Shinsengumi

My friend had been telling me how this was his favorite Ramen place in LA, so of course I was hankering to try it.

the ramen bar


We came here last night around 6:30 pm and there was no wait. Sat down at a communal table and started perusing the menu. I was a bit confused as to how to order the Ramen, since there were all these add ons. I guess the ramen comes with green onions, ginger and some pork char siu, but you can add veggies and other stuff to it for $1 or so more PER item.

My daughter had the kids meal for $5 which came with half an order of ramen, 3 gyozas, small ball of rice, orange, Yakult, and a lollipop. It was cute presentation wise, but very small. This is definitely a meal for someone under the age of 5.



I had ramen ($6.95) with medium oil, soft texture, medium soup base and added spinach and bamboo at $1 extra per veggie. So, really my ramen was $8.95. If you think about it, the ramen here isn't that cheap considering it just really comes with noodles and pork. However, I must say, that damn broth was pretty addicting! I slurped it all up!



My buddy had the ramen with a side of hot satay sauce that cost $1.

We also ordered a side of 6 gyozas for the 3 of us. OMG. They were the smallest gyoza ever! I think we were pretty disappointed. Tasty, but way to tiny.



Overall, Hakata has really good broth, but I'm still on my best ramen in LA quest.

Dinner for 3 was $33 after tax and tip. And this place was loud as fck! Every time someone came in, they would yell something and also when they left. Too bad we had no idea what they were saying.

Hakata Ramen
2015 W Redondo Beach Blvd
Gardena, CA 90247
(310) 329-1335

5 comments:

Daniel S. said...

I've got to admit the kid's meal is very cute with the lollipop and Yakult; was your daughter full from her dinner? Your bowl of ramen looks good, and yes the gyoza is indeed small but it looks so delicious--pan-fried to a nice golden-brown color!

Have you tried the noodle places in Mitsuwa on Centinela? My coworkers and I sometimes head there for lunch and I usually end up with a bowl of udon noodles from Sanuki, which I really enjoy. And yeah what is it about our cravings for hot soups and noodles during these hot summer days!? Nice work.

Pandalicious said...

haha, no she wasn't full. she was fighting me for the gyoza!!

yes, i tried Santouka and didn't like it. way too salty for me. but, will have to try Sanuki.

have you been to chabuya? one of my faves.

Tricerapops said...

the gyoza @ hakata are a weak spot - nothing to rave about. the ramen is the strong suit, so it's good that you at least got to try that. i would give santouka a whirl within mitsuwa on venice/centinela (as daniel s. suggests). i'm more of a hard noodle guy myself, super al dente.

keep hitting up these places though - and sharing - all of it is appreciated!

Tricerapops said...

whoops, just saw you already tried santouka. hee hee. maybe california ramen for that non-traditional route? there was also that top 10 list published by LA Weekly recently....

Pandalicious said...

T- California ramen? hmm.. never heard of it. will have to check out that list! thx!