Boy was this place far and hard to find. I saw an ad of this ramen place in Japanese free paper and it says they are “female-by-herself-friendly.” I was by myself one day and thought I could check it out. It’s located in a giant strip mall all the way out at Lomita; you can’t see the sign of this place unless you drives into the strip mall. After making several wrong turns I finally managed to find it. It’s a tiny place with few tables, I’m not sure how they’re “female-by-herself-friendly”, but there were lots of families when I was there.
It was a little overwhelming to have so many choices on the menu. I was afraid to pick the wrong one and be stuck with a big bowl of bland ramen. One side of the menu features “regular ramen” (like shoyu, miso) and the other side features more “gourmet” ramen and seasonal specials. I ended up choosing the steak ramen. The menu said how they have special teriyaki sauce for the steak etc. The meat were tender and flavorful. The ramen broth with the steak and teriyaki sauce turns out to be more tasty than I expected too. I especially like their noodle, so springy and “fresh” tasting. As much as I like Santouka‘s ramen, their noodle is always kind of “mass produced” tasting to me. I also like the york of the egg was not completely cooked (who still remember 5-6 years ago Daikokuya‘s egg used to be perfectly half-boiled?)
I wasn’t sure if I made the right choice, but I know it definitely wasn’t the wrong one since I enjoyed my bowl of ramen till the end. I read that their miso ramen is good, but then I was never a fan of the miso ramen (neither is soy sauce) so it wouldn’t be my choice. I would say definitely try their seasonal specials ramen since they sound more interesting.
Mama ramen
24631 Crenshaw Bl., Torrance, CA 90505
(310) 517-9099
Looks like a good find. At a speech last year, Jonathan Gold mentioned how useful it is to sift through foreign-language newspapers to find new restaurants. Seems like it paid off in this case.
This ramen looks good! I am a big fan of Santouka and Shinsengumi in Torrance. Daikokuya not so much… Went there twice and the noodles were hotter than the soup! Haven’t they seen Tampopo?
Anwyways… Have you tried Orochon? I never went, but its definitely on my list next to Asa.
Hi!
I LOVE your blog! I’ve been following it for a long time 😀
I hope you don’t mind that I linked your blog from my site! Thanks for keeping me up-to-date with food in LA
Hey Potatomato, if you ever get a chance to go back to Mama Ramen, try their onomichi ramen or Tokyo Shinasoba ramen. Onomichi has a mixture chicken and fish broth while shinasoba is a Chinese style ramen. You’ll enjoy both of these ramen bowl when you do make a return trip.
Nice review by the way!
hahaha, I’ve been trying to find a goof way to translate
「女性のお一人様」!!(￣∀￣)
is “female-by-herself-friendly” an established term nowadays???
The first time I ever went to Daikokuya, I LOVED the half-boiled egg … I’ve been there twice since and its fully boiled now … so disappointing!