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I think I've almost tried every Ramen place near the SGV area. I was drawn by the sign of this Ramen place which was a little girl eating Ramen.
I ordered the pork Ramen and thought the broth was good and it didn't really matter to me if it was Chinese or Japanese Ramen. It was still good either way.
The place is small but cute and friendly. I would come back for a few of their items.
I didn't get a chance to try their ramen yet but their fried rice was good but their rolls were sloppy and not worth it at all. I would never come here for sushi.
I got the (A) lunch special along with a side of fried tofu. I can't really say that I'm excited about this place, but it isn't bad. If you're in the area and feel like ramen... ok, but I wouldn't go out of my way to have it. I must say though, the best part of my meal today was the fried tofu.
PS: I love how it's a ramen place ran by HK people who play Japanese music. LOOOL love it! hahaha...
Long waits for subpar ramen. It's what you sign up for when you go to Ajisen Ramen!
I THINK their success runs in the fact that they locate themselves in very Chinese neighborhoods. Most chinese people don't know what Ramen even is cause Chinese people tend to hate Japanese due to World War II. So ever since then, many of the chinese say "no i will not travel out of my way to try authentic ramen, when this nice chinese man bring the ramen to my neighborhood" So there you have it, my theory of Ajisen's great success.
I look up to you, ramen.
You're always there to envelope your warmth around lonely bodies on a distant fall evening. You're the reliable best friend that keeps a watch over the drunk, showering love and affection in the form of a salty broth, intent on preventing any impending hangovers. You make my tummy smile when I see you approaching from afar, steam billowing from a seemingly pitless bowl of goodness. What would I do without you?
Post massage, we headed over for some tlr (tender lovin' ramen). We greeted the
wait staff. They were extremely kind and patient. Regarding the yelpers, who complained about the service, here's a novel idea, usually when you acknowledge your waiter as a human being, it's hard for them to be assholes to you. Moving on...
I asked for a recommendation from the waiter. And he humbly suggested that I get the spicy beef ramen, but with the curry broth. (a mix of two orders). They charge you only a buck more for this, but man! I tell you, it was scrumptious, and just what the doctor ordered! Ramen noodles were cooked to perfection, with buttery curry soaked into the beef (which melted in my mouth.... Sluuurrrp) my one and only small iffy was that the broth couldve been much hotter (temperature wise), but you know my relationship with the scalding hot.....
My companion got the fried chicken ramen, and it was cooked perfectly as well! Crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside. The broth was disappointing though, so I might stick with the curry broth from now on.
There are only three things on the dessert menu. I ordered the red bean with Mochi balls. Pass on it! It was bordering on yuck, and was an annoying end to a wonderfully delicious meal.
I can't wait to go back !!
Ramen restaurant ran by Chinese people. I have been to this Ajisen Ramen and the ones in Hong Kong. They all taste the same... as in they all taste like Chinese noodle instead of Japanese noodles. Like they don't know how to make the broth or something...
Portions are small, and broth is tasteless...well they taste like those bowls of chinese noodles u order from a ghetto stand somewhere.
I don't like this place much.
Mainly, because when they first opened, the wait time was probably more than expected (by far)
Then you finally got to it, the food is just mediocre IMO.
I think some Chinese owners, run this place.
And the ramen isn't as authentic as Shin Sen Gumi or Tamaya or some other ones in Little Tokyo.
But the food portion is decent.
Nothing for you to really customize.
Will I go back to this restaurant?
That would be a NO, because good ones (Tamaya & Shin Sen Gumi) are only 5 mins driving distance away from it
Definitely glorified instant noodles. Portion is small for the price you pay, broth is nothing to write home about, and the pork tasted like it had been defrosted in the microwave, barely warm.
WHAT? Have my taste buds gone bad? I'm noticing that I'm giving higher reviews that the other yelpers, and it's been a trend. This place was AWESOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME.
I've had miso ramen a GAZILLION times in Japan. This place had it much better than the last miso ramen I ate in Tokyo.
The Spicy pork ramen had great broth, too!
Overall, I'd even drive 30 minutes to eat their ramen. I still have not had shinsengumi or Santouka, so after that, I might have a bettter sense. But still, I give them 4 stars.
This place is super clean on the inside and really cute! I love the little girl in the logo. :)
My friend and I shared the beef enoki rolls as an appetizer and each got our own bowls of the spicy beef ramen. I was a little disappointed with the beef enoki roll; I love beef and I love enoki mushrooms, but there was just something about the flavour that wasn't cutting it for me. The spicy mustard that was served with it definitely provided more of a kick, although I'm not sure that did the trick.
My ramen was pretty good, although not the best. The servings are gigantic (and they should be if they're going to charge $10 for a bowl!) and come with a ton of meat and noodles. My only qualm was that I had some sort of weird gradient going on with my broth-- one side was white and the other was clear. I tried mixing it together, but it just kept separating again. That didn't really have an impact on the flavour and it was actually kind of cool, but my friend's broth definitely did not have the same weirdness going on, so it irked me a little...
My first time here was SO GOOD! I'm a huge noodle lover so yea :)
I don't believe I've been here more than 10 times though.
My first time here was actually my date with my most recent ex-boyfriend. I loved it! The prices were understandable and the meal was delicious! It was quite yummy and I told my parents to go and took a few of my friends.
HOWEVER, I think after the 5th or 6th time going there they changed their prices? AND because of THAT, the food tasted bad to me too. LOL! I'm not sure if this is possible but I haven't gone back.
My dad's a chef and when I took him he said that it was NOT worth $8 a bowl.
I think my last time here was with my dad.. . LOL!
I rather eat a bowl of Pho for $5 or $6 at most than Ajisen Ramen! Actually, I rather eat Cupnoodles.. . yea, that's how expensive and not a big deal this place is.
Glorified instant noodles with a lot of sesame seed oil to make the noodles fragrant. Soup is MSG based. Go to the supermarket and pick up a $0.79 bag of instant noodles, add your own veggies and 1/2 boiled egg and save yourself $10.00. I ordered some tomato-based ramen and it was mediocre at best.
To me, Ajisen is really the typical ramen place. This restaurant is really not that special.
The food here isn't all that bad. It's pretty good, but to me i think the soup base needs a little more work. I admit, the noodles here are really good, but if it had a bettter soup base, I'd praise this place. The food is average, so that's okay. It's not exceptionally mouth-watering good, but it's not crap. It's just right. :)
The service here is great. The wait for a waiter isn't long at all, but if you decide to come here on a weekend at night, forget it. Don't even try. The wait is extremely long and to be honest, I will not come here on a Friday or Saturday afternoon or night. It's not worth the wait. I will never wait 1 hour to sit in a packed restaurant eating hot steaming noodles. Too much body heat and too much steam.
Overall, this place deserves a good ol' 3 stars. It's just right.. on the weekday :)
Poor service. Along with only decent food. Rule of thumb. Never eat at a Japanese restaurant owned by chinese and never eat at a Chinese restaurant owned by Japanese lol.
For Ramen, I guess their variety is good, but I would much prefer the Ramens at Shin Shen Gumi, Daikokuya, or Asahi. I feel like their Ramen is too commercialized.
Had their eel bento the other day, choke on a bone. I thought Eel should be boneless. I've never had that happen to me before. Weird.
Service:
The first time I went 5 years ago, the service was bad. It is now 5 years later...and the service is still bad. I think if you have the mindset when you go into any chinese establishment that says, "I will NOT get served again or visited by my server once my order is taken -- and will still be expected to pay tips" then you will OK! I have long given up on service in chinese areas and take is a norm. Like, wow, they actually did NOT serve me! Sweet, they are doing their job right. And when they actually serve you, wait on you, and vist often, either #1: establishment is brand new, #2: there isn't alot of customers since the food must not be that good, or #3: they think they are so good that they can do without your patronage. That said, FORGET service here. Expect to be seated, get your meal, eat, and leave.
Space:
Parking is nightmare here unless you park downstairs in structure or come early. Bad place for crowd bigger than four. Place gets crowded easily so they are always in a hurry to scoot you out. They will clean your table before you are really done. Quite rude, i know. I don't think bringing kids/babies here is good either since it is already crowded to put a baby chair (although they do have it!), and naturally babies will be loud and make a mess. I don't think they look forward to cleaning up and still have time to seat all the hungries waiting at the door.
FOOD:
Food wise I don't think it is thaaaaat bad. I rather have this than instant noodles, though :) Sure it is pricy for ramen since it is juuust ramen...but can you make your noodles and broth like that? If so, all the more power and i would ditch this place.
Side Dishes:
I don't normally order their sides like sushi and croquette cuz i think it is overpriced for a few items on plate. I go there for just one bowl of ramen, no drinks, just water. Extra noodles on ramen.
Ramen:
The broth has good flavor but be prepared to be thirsty. The noodles not too thick. One complain is the ingredients they put in there. I think it is too few! One egg, lots of cabbage, a few slices meat, and sprinkles of green onion. I rather have more "stuff" in there.
The cold plate noodle is a rip off! The sauce is too salty and you are just eating egg, ham, cucumber and tomato. Taste sweet, sour, salty with the side sauce. Don't put all of it either. You'll be slurping sauce.
Rice:
The rice dishes, pork and eel rice is too salty. Had to ask for white rice to mix in with them. Eel box rice is not bad but again, too little eel, too much rice to make it look full.
Overall, unless I find a better ramen place, I still go to this one since it is closer and more convenient. Any suggestions welcome for a new place for me to try ;)
This place will be hit or miss for a lot of people. While I greedily slurped down everything in my bowl and left feeling completely satisfied, I can't say it was the best ramen I've ever had. They do have a lot of choices on the menu, but some of them are oddly similar to each other. My girlfriend and I thought we were ordering very different things and they ended up having identical broth and only very subtle differences.
That broth is going to be what either wins you over or underwhelms you, depending on your definition of "authentic" when you think of ramen. I highly recommend everyone visit Ajisen Ramen at least once to find out. You might just end up a regular.
eh the food here isnt bad but there are some things I'm no fan of here:
1. The noodles are too Chinese for me, if I wanted Chinese noodles I'd to to a Chinese restaurant.
2. the broth is bland, nothing really great about it at all
3. cabbage seems more like filler than a good condiment.
Go to Shin-sen gumi down the street instead the only good thing about this place is that the ramen dishes are more varied and the tender pork meat is so guilty good.
When I first had their Fried Chicken, I feel in love with it. It's a must order. It's really tender and crispy on the outside. Order it with a bowl of steamed rice and enjoy.
My other favorite would be the Eel Rice. It comes in a little box that makes girls go, "Awwww." I can never finish the entire thing in one sitting, but I almost never finish my food. It makes great leftovers the next day though. Yum!
The California Rolls are huge! No kidding, I can barely fit the whole thing in my mouth. It's not the best sushi, but it fills you up and isn't bad.
I have never tried the ramen myself, not into that kind of stuff, but from what loved ones tell me, it's good. From my point of view, it smells good, so that's a good sign. Right?
The restaurant is pretty tiny, can't fit a lot of people and it gets really crowded at night. Parking is a very big hassle, so I suggest eating here for lunch if you to try it. There's not too many people and the food comes out faster. There's Japanese painting on the wall, giving an Asian feel for this place without being too foreign.
Very Berry is right next door, Tea Station is across the street, and down the road is Cues! There's lots of things to do after dinner. The Hilton Plaza is also really pretty at night.
Chinese-styled ramen. I still think it is like spaghetti soup.
The only ramen I like in here is the Curry Beef Ramen. Other ramen I have tried here have failed my expectations. Most notably, the vegetable ramen and the tomato ramen. I almost threw up eating it.
The curry ramen is good enough for me to come back. But $9 for ramen nowadays is steep. There always used to be a line here during lunch and dinner time. Well, not anymore.
This place makes packaged ramen taste like nothing ): but the first time i ate here, I came with 3 friends & i shared a bowl of beef ramen with a friend cause their bowls are pretty big! I was pretty full near the end. Their soup is so flavorful and the ramen is perfect! It's never too soggy or hard.
The second time I ate here, I ordered the spicy beef ramen.. and that was the scariest bowl of ramen I have ever eaten. I dont know if mine was just overly spicy, but I was scared to eat it again. Even though it was SOOOO GOOD my stomach kept saying PLEASE NO MORE T_T I ended up leaving the soup & eating the noodles.
Was first introduced to this place by my cousin who works in the area and it was delicious. Actually, during all three visits here it's been good. We don't have any ramen joints in Long Beach, so we make a special trip out here to have spicy pork ramen and a mixed fruit drink from Phoenix down the street. I have only ordered the spicy pork ramen and one of my complaints would be how stingy they are with napkins. I mean how do you expect me to enjoy a large bowl of steaming not to mention spicy ramen without my nose dripping?! I got smart after the second visit when I asked for more napkins, emphasis on the "s" and they gave me just one, so I bring my own tissues in my purse. My second complaint is getting a hold of a waiter/waitress to get the check or get a second napkin. They're great seating you and taking your order, but I noticed that all the servers tend to chat it up by the kitchen, so it takes a bit of arm waving to get their attention.
My brother's girlfriend ordered the non-spicy either pork or beef ramen and it was sub par. I guess it's expected when you're ordering ramen from a Chinese owned joint. Nothing against other ethnicities cooking another ethnicity's food, but you can't expect to get that authentic taste. The shrimp gyoza is good except it's a little on the salty side.
I make the trip out here when I'm craving SPICY ramen. If I want the real stuff, I drive to Torrance to Mitsuwa's food court.
So I've never had ramen like this before...and i REALLY like it! i tried my friend's curry beef ramen and the flavoring was perfect. I, myself ordered the bbq pork ramen which came with egg, seaweed and other neato additions! Wasn't expensive at all and the noodles were great -cooked perfectly! the noodles were a bit chewy (just the way i like them) but not hard. The base was flavorful and not too salty...if they had this place in San Francisco (or anywhere in Nor Cal for that matter) I would definitely be a regular!
strange ramen, not great, but a step above the new naga-naga (run by the noodle planet people), although the fried tofu served in ponzu sauce was really good.
coming to this place by chance after getting lost fr. vietnamese restaurant around there. T__T at that time we were sooo tired and hungry so this place might be a good idea.
first impression is how nice and clean it is. i don't think ajisen is that tiny or may be i came late so not many people there.
for appetizers, i ordered fried tofu and beef enogi roll. they were good. nicely done. esp. beef was so tender. (there r many interesting appetizers in the menu that u should try.)
for ramen, we ordered 3 dishes : cold noodle, beef ramen, and the last one is premium pork ramen(i'm not sure about the name of last 2 dishes, just remembered those were special in the menu.)
second impression is the portion of ramen. so big! about the taste, one bite, two bite ummm...delicious but after that u'll feel like u cannot eat this anymore. it's tooo oily. really oily. beef was really really tender. i wanted to finish it all but i couldn't. premium pork was the same. cold noodle was the best(nice portion, nice sauce) but it's not mine. i should've ordered that!
all i did was watching my friend finished all stuffs and went across the street ordered boba and cheesecake fr. tea station instead.
service was o.k., have no problem with parking.
Ajisen, you lost a star, and that's cuz the last time I came here, your service sucked (as usual, I guess since your service has always sucked).
For whatever reason...
[They need more seating? its not like there's a line out the door, like at Shin Sen.... Maybe It was 2 hours to closing? No, that's plenty of time to let you customers eat! They're jerks? hmm... possibly]
Well, the long and short of it that the servers make me feel like I need to hurry. I don't like hurrying; I enjoy my food when I don't have to hurry.
What ev, Shin-Sen does ramen better.
Considering that I've only otherwise had Top Ramen before this place, it was good! I had the beef… Read more »
This was the second Ramen place that I had so I had to ask the waitress what she recommends. She pointed out a ramen dish that looked like it had pork. Was really tasty.
Although I couldn't tell what half the stuff in my bowl was everything was tasty and nothing was not pleasant to the american pallate. Have been to another ramen place since and I would have to say that I believe its like a glorified Cup O Noodles. If you like C.O.N then you'll love this place. Noodles, broth, and meat were all delicious.
Gave it only 3 stars becuase its a ramen place for crying out loud. Not rocket science.
Ajisen Ramen is SO GOOD! It's not traditional Japanese-styled ramen, but it's good noodles nonetheless.
I'd also recommend the curry rice plates. OH! And you gotta try the Beef Enoki appetizer. MMMMMMMM! I could just go for some right now! :D
P.S. Don't go to the location for Ajisen Ramen in Temple City. They have BAD service. (9202 Las Tunas Dr., Temple City, CA 91780). Go to the Valley one here instead! They're super nice :]
FIVE STARS for the enoki mushrooms appetizer! my gfs and i come here JUST for that..my mouth always waters just thinking about it. this appetizer is crunchy enoki mushrooms wrapped in beef...and u put wasabi mustard on top..and wa la! fireworks for the tastebuds.
if you're craving ramen, tho..ehh..it's just ok, so for that..only 3 stars.
I always make it a point to wait a day or two (even longer) after I have visited a restaurant and post a yelp. Its too easy to gush over a meal after a post-coital/glutton experience. I try to refrain from typing too many OMG OMGs in a review.
My buddy who I eat often with shared he visited a restaurant he enjoyed. The way he described it got me excited at the thought of visiting some day.
I worked a long day and I was driving in the general area. My stomach must've said something to me. Or maybe it was the thought of eating a 1$ celeste pizza if I went home. So I made a detour and found Ajisen.
Oooo. OMG (#1 omg) The place looks promising. So clean and active. I came solo. I came hungry, so I wasn't too worried about finding a good table. I got herded to the counter near the service window and the bank-teller plexi-glass prep area. Usually I will pay attention to the wait staff, but I didn't give a crap because I was hungry.
The menu had a lot of items to choose from. I thought I would play it safe by trying out a ramen. #7 it is. BBQ Pork with Corn.
As I often do these days I will snap some pics of the place and food while I wait. Yes, its a bad compulsion I have picked up since joining Yelp. damn all of you.
My order came out pretty quick. It looked really good. It smelled good. I found the broth so interesting compared to so many other ramen places I have gone to. A few slurps told me there was a richness and deepness that was quite different and enjoyable. I swirled my spoon around and gathered some corn and seaweed. I really liked the flavors. I give the broth a thumbs up. The noodles tasted ok.
I took another pic and took another taste. Mmmm.
I blinked my eyes open and saw the service staff staring at me, almost glaring at me. They were muttering words through the sides of their mouths from behind plexiglass.
I think they thought I was some sort of health inspector or something. They were watching me constantly as I ate my food. HAHAHAHAHAHA
I finished the rest of my food pretty fast. I really liked it. I even down the rest of my bowl and finished the broth which I don't normally do at ramen restaurants.
As I shared... as the night passed, I got hungry again. I recalled the noodles. There was an odd texture to them as if they were some frozen noodles from a Lean Cuisine.
Don't get me wrong. Ajisen is pretty good. I'd go there again, but I don't think I would make any special trips just to eat. Its nice to know its there in SGV. But why, when there are tons of other places to go to?
Oh boy...where to begin!!! Oh yeah, don't come here. And here is why...their service basically sucks....they don't care about you, spend your money elsewhere. The food is ok and if it was really good, I wouldn't mind the bad service as much. Seriously, it took like 10 minutes before we were acknowledged and then another 15 minutes before our drinks came. A couple that came after us got their drinks and food before we did. WTH? Anyway, I'll keep going to back to my favorite ramen place, Hakata Ramen Shinsengumi :)
It originated as a ramen chain in Japan. I believe made it way to SG via Taiwan/HK. The menu and ingredients reflect that journey and I am not sure for the better. I am Chinese and I love Japanese food so this should be the place for me? hmm.. Seafood ramen in pork bone soup base? WTF. I love seafood but... I am not ethnocentric. I despise Chinese-Japanese food as much as Japanese-Chinese food.
The side dishes are equally forgettable too. The only good thing is the range of the menu so for a diverse group everyone can find something to eat. But do you really want to eat here when there are hundreds of restaurants in SGV?
Disclaimer: I'm a white guy whose favorite Chinese dish is orange effing chicken, so you might not want to take my word on Japanese food either.
I had a pretty decent meal here. The noodles were tasty, and the BBQ'd pork was good too. I don't know what's up with the hard-boiled egg that appeared to be salvaged from Hurricane Katrina, but that was an easy enough fix. My buddy was all about the spicy beef.
Friendly staff. They only laughed at me a little bit through the kitchen window, as I ate my noodles in an awkwardly Caucasian style.
Food is alright... nothing amazing or spectacular.. some of the dishes taste really bland and leave you feeling unsatisfied. This location is kind of cramped in space, compared to the other location, on Las Tunas.
I suggest you get your ramen-fix at Foo Foo Tei in Monterey Park. Pretty much the same stuff they have at Ajisen, but it tastes a whole lot better.
I've had it with the 'manager' of this place, he really gets on my nerves. First he tells my girlfriend and I to take a seat, we do...and then he moves us because another couple wants to sit there. We were hoping to get a waitress or waiter to take our order because...they're nice, but no, we get the manager again.
When the food comes, he doesn't lightly put the bowl on the table he pretty much drops it and soup spills everywhere and noodles go flying. You'd expect a manager of a restaurant to help you with that when its his fault right? He walks away like absolutely nothing happened and doesn't even come back our entire time there. Left a 1$ tip and walked out, truthfully...I feel like I really should have just walked out of the restaurant. Haven't gone back since, as long as that guy is there.
The soup was awesome, the food was very fast but the environment is horrible. People are rushing all… Read more »
Compared to Japanese-style Chinese ramen in Japan, this place is so-so.
The soup was alright, the noodles cooked decently, I would have liked a little bit harder consistency, but that's me being spoiled by more gourmet Japanese ramen houses that give you that choice.(the small ramen shacks in Japan don't care how you want your noodles)
The atmosphere is good for kids, my sister and her husband come here when they want ramen.
Now, I know what you're saying, it's not fair to compare authentic with American versions because this is not Japan, but I do like to believe that if you have the right persons making the food, it should TASTE authentic. Just my opinion. That said, if I'm in the area, and I'm craving noodles, and it's not crowded, I'll go here. (-:
But mostly because I don't know of any other ramen shops in the area. I'll have to do more searching.
Came here for the first time with my boyfriend. I've had Ajisen at the one on Las Tunas and strangely, I thought their food was a little bit better than here. Although, the service here made up for it. I remember when it first opened, it was always packed and honestly after eating at both places, I still don't understand the hype. It's just ramen, people!
Oh wait, I love their curry! Don't like the fried chicken that comes with it though.
This is my all-time favorite ramen restaurant . I have failed to find any comparison, and believe me I have tried. I am ecstatic they are opening one in Irvine because the drive was killing me from Orange county.
I would recommend the potato croquettes appetizer and any one of the many ramen they have to choose from.
I absolutely love Ramen places, and this has become a staple of my work-week lunch outings. The service is suckish at best, but the food is great, especially for the price.
The place is a bit cramped for my taste, especially during lunch rushes where the place is packed and you're sitting 12 inches from other diners...
But the food always has me coming back... I would suggest not bothering with Non-Ramen main dishes, as they're mostly mediocre at best... The ramen is great... and prepared uber-quick... so no waiting for water to boil!
If you're going for lunch, go early in the week, and try to get there before noon... nothing kills your hour-long lunch more than a 20 minute wait at this place...
I only been here twice, but I do have to say the ramen improved a great deal from the first time. First time that I came the ramen broth was water down and the noodle tasted weird. So you can understand my hesitation when I found out we were going to have dinner here last night. I decided to give the Pork and Corn ramen another chance .. and I'm glad I did. Usually with me I have a rule .. F up once and that already one time too many. The broth this time had a slight pork flavor and the noodle was prefect. Everyone in my group enjoyed their ramen and the service was pretty good. Not bad.. not bad at all .........
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