Like many Japanese-Americans, I grew up eating ramen since I was very young. Although we always used the instant ramen, she often made it Japanese-style, accompanying the ramen with a hard-boiled egg or a few slices of cha shu. Of course, like most “starving college students,” I ate a lot of ramen throughout college, and my pantry is never without a few packages of instant ramen. Yet even with all this ramen I ate, I have never been to a ramen house. Never, until now.
Yotteko-Ya is known for their cha shu ramen, so I knew we would have to try that here in Hawaii. Son and I decided to visit on Monday night, after a day of visiting the tiny aquarium and walking along the beach near our hotel. The restaurant is very quaint. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought we were walking into a little ramen house in Japan’s countryside. From the moment you see the door, the place looks very traditional. Inside, the illusion is only marred by the view of a Taco Bell right outside the window.
When Son and I go to restaurants, more often than not we eat family-style. (Actually, I can’t think of the last time we didn’t eat family-style.) We always order two or three dishes, and then share everything so we get to try more types of food. At Yotteko-Ya, we decided to get the Garlic Chahan (pork fried rice with minced garlic, topped with garlic chips), Gyoza, and the Kakuni Paitan Ramen (ramen in a rich broth, topped with a block of chashu).
The gyoza… *shrugs*… nothing special. The garlic chahan was good… Son, who adores anything garlic, loved it. I liked the pork scattered throughout and the fried garlic chips on the top, but while I enjoyed it, the rice wasn’t anywhere close to my favorite meal of the night.
But the ramen… oh my gosh the ramen! Thick, rich broth in which just al dente noodles floated, pieces of chashu so tender they would fall apart in your mouth. Oh. My. God. I don’t know what I’ve been thinking all my life, but I must find a ramen house this delicious back home. I’m considering going out for ramen every day for the next year to make up for the years of the instant stuff. I’m kidding of course, no way could my budget afford going out for ramen every day. But seriously people, instant ramen? Doesn’t even compare.
Mochi in Hawaii - Sushi Day - Sushiday.com 09/25/2008 at 02:52pm
[...] place is hell to find. After dinner at Yotteko-Ya on Monday, it must have taken us a good half-hour to find Bubbie’s, even though it [...]
Nate 09/25/2008 at 03:45pm
I’m glad you liked it! I had the exact same response to tasting their special broth – OMG. I wish we had gone there on the first day of our vacation instead of the last (which reminds me, I still haven’t put up a post about it). I might have kept going back, but then again there were still lots of places for us to eat.
Did you make it to Mana Bu’s Musubi yet?
Nate’s last blog post… Charentais au Porto
Allison 09/25/2008 at 04:10pm
Oh I know, the broth is amazing. Haven’t made it to Mana Bu’s yet, but we’re hoping to get there early tomorrow!
Brianne 09/26/2008 at 09:51am
I have never been to a ramen house before. Don’t know why not. People have always told me I needed to go, just don’t know where to go or have anyone to go with. perhaps when you get back, we shall go. I will ask my friend where a couple good places are since she LOVES ramen houses. And I need to stop looking at these posts while at work.. makes me hungry.. and then all i have to eat around here is pretzels and chips, or mexican. boo!
Allison 10/01/2008 at 12:02am
Brianne – We shall find a ramen house soon. Definitely. I’ll bet Gardena has a few good ones, and there might be one or two on Sawtelle in Culver City too. Yum!
Samantha 10/01/2008 at 02:04am
You are from the Los Angeles area right? You are completely in luck on ramen, there is Santouka in Mitsuwa Marketplace on Centinela. Daikokuya in Little Tokyo and at least 3 ramen shops on Sawtelle. Out of all these options though, the best would have to be Santouka, order their shio ramen or spicy miso ramen with pork rice or ikura rice. Best ramen combo ever
Allison 10/01/2008 at 03:25am
Ah, perfect! I know of that Mitsuwa, so I’ll definitely be checking the ramen place there soon. [:)] Thank you for the recommendations. [:D]
Samantha 10/01/2008 at 11:00pm
no problem, I have some reviews on ramen in the LA area on yelp too so feel free to read and choose something to your tastes. HAVE FUN! http://dancenmyundies.yelp.com/
Musha Izakaya - Sushi Day - Sushiday.com 11/03/2008 at 12:03am
[...] Pork Belly. The pork was amazing melt-in-your-mouth delicious. It reminded me of the chashu in the Kakuni Paitan Ramen we had in Hawaii. The potato and egg that came with it… nothing special. I just wish there [...]
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