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Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: DowntownMon-Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Mon-Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 11:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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It's a strange combination, yet it is very addicting. First time I tried it, I was semi-impressed with the odd flavor. However for some strange reason, I really started to get addicted to the flavor. It's definitely not your standard shoyu or miso based broth. It's more of a thick, oily, spicy broth with a slight sweet-nutty flavor with spinich and hamburger meat. Don't really know how to describe it. I usually order the combo with the large order of Tan-Tan men. The mabotofu is ok and I usually use it as a filler since one bowl of ramen is not enough. (I wish you could order extra noodles like Hakata Ramen). I have tried the gyoza and found it to be just your plain flavored run of the mill type of gyoza. The karaage is actually pretty tasty.
You have the choice of ordering spicy or mild, however the spicy is not really that spicy. I would definitely say to try the ramen try it at least twice and then make your decision. It may or may not be what your looking for in ramen, but how can you go wrong with the happy hour?
I went to this place a long time ago and added my email address to their mailing list. After that, I've received approximately 1-2 emails a month regarding Chin-Ma-Ya and special promotions that they offer. On Monday they had this really good deal that I couldn't refuse, so I had to go back! The deal was that if you had ordered any dish, you would get an order of the Karaaga Chicken as well as a refillable mug to take home as a souvenir.
So as we entered the restaurant around 8PM, the restaurant was about half packed, so we just picked a seat. I mean, it was a Monday night, so I wasn't expecting this place to be super packed or anything.
Also, around 8:30, they have a happy hour special where you can order a mug of Kirin for $1.99!! If you are not into beer, they also offer sweet plum wine for $.99!! That's super cheap!
As for the food, I got the Tan Tan Men (approximately $7) and requested it to be extra spicy! I haven't had this noodle soup for a really long time, but it was pretty good. The grounded meat is kinda sweet and it comes with spinach and noodles in this thick soup that looks like tomato bisque. It's very flavorful and had a good kick to it, but not crazy spicy like Orochon upstairs. It was my first time trying the Karaaga Chicken which is basically bites of chicken deep fried in some type of batter. The Karaaga comes with a wedge of lemon and this chili-mayo dipping sauce. It's about $4, but I would highly recommend trying this appetizer! They also offer a combo where you can get the Tan Tan Men noodles with the karaaga together for about $9.
I think the email promotions that they've been sending me has definitely paid off because I did come back. Plus, our waitresses were super nice. I would recommend you to try this place out because once you do, you will be hooked! Good job Peppper Prince!
The soup base of the noodle is amazingly good. It doesn't taste very spicy but sure make me sweat lots.... finish the whole bowl with satisfaction.
Great example of simple food can taste so so good!
Small place and upstair but definitely worth it to climb the stairs...
Google tells me Tan Tan Men is a Japanese version of a Chinese noodle soup that is essentially minced meat with a sesame and chili oil soup base. I suppose that sounds about right. It's not your average clear broth ramen or hakata ramen, that's for sure. The broth is a thick and milky orange that has a subtle sesame flavor to it. it's not that distinct sesame oil flavor you have with Chinese food though, my husband thinks there's a nutty hint of chestnut in the broth. I think there's a hint of crack, it's that addicting.
It used to be that everytime I had a ramen craving we'd hit Daikokuya, but with the horrible wait and problems find parking, Chin-Ma-Ya is now our #1 go-to ramen place in little Tokyo. There's a subterranean parking garage with an hour of free parking with validation. We go here so often I've filled up multiple frequent diner's cards--you get a free Tan Tan Men or Chin Ma Han when you do! Also, the service here is fantastic. I've never had any issues with their service, in fact I once had to keep my coke closer to me because the waiter kept coming by to fill it up.
The wonderful thing about their recipe is that their secret soup base is imported from the Chin-Ma-Ya in Japan. How exotic! We know this first-hand because they had an issue with getting the soup through Customs once, so there was no Tan Tan Men to be served that day. It was a sad day for us.
Oh and not to mention their advertised Happy Hour is $0.99 plum wine--Mmm sweet plum wine for a sweet buck. I love this place, I'm giving them a 5.
Pro: Their happy hour prices for beer is ludicrously inexpensive and their service has always been surprisingly good.
Their Tan-Tan Men combos are a great deal and I consider their rice and noodle dish soul food because the sauce is so gravy like and it's so filling.
Con: Not much. They do a few things, and they do it well.
Free parking with validation.
A szechuan inspired ramen-ya right below Orochon and their Special #2? It's not just putting spicy under spicy though as Chin-Ma-Ya has garnered more positive reviews than their higher older brother.
That and $1 beer during happy hour was enough to entice me to go there for a quick meal.
Chicken karaage ($3.90) w/ chili-mayo sauce
It was true, these chicken karaage were pretty damn good, especially when fresh and hot. The fried batter was amazing and crunchy while keeping the chicken meat inside tender and juicy. While "the best" for me may go for the Jidori chicken karaage at Bincho or Torihei, the ones here are worth getting every visit.
Tan-Tan Men ($6.90)
Choose between mild, medium, or original and served with ground beef and pork mixture, spinach, hard boiled egg. Needless to say this is completely different than the chinese dan dan mien. The only resemblance is perhaps the ground meat and the fact that it is spicy? When we had it they have the yellow curly noodles which were a-ok but the broth itself was very satisfying. The broth was spicy and full of flavors - it's just the type you would gulp down when your noodles are gone.
I heard that they have now replaced the noodles with the original recipe from Japan, which should make this even better, though I've yet to try it!
Photos: http://tinyurl.com/o2fzcm
I remember eating at this restaurant when it used to be Rikyu. This particular restaurant space always attracts the spillover crowd from Orochon. Sure enough, that's what is happening with Chin-Ma-Ya.
I ended up ordering the Chin-Ma Han Gyoza (pork, also available in shrimp) combo. I requested it medium spicy, which was just right without needing too much water. To put things into some perspective, medium spicy here is hotter than hot at Curry House. Frankly, I thought the mabo tofu was decent at best.
The temperature of our food was terrible. All of our dishes were served lukewarm. The gyoza was soft, not crispy at all. This might have been a product of the restaurant being severely understaffed for a Saturday night. I only ever saw two servers for the entire restaurant, even at peak time with several parties waiting to be seated. Water refills were non-existent. And, we waited at least twenty minutes for our check, for which we ended up taking it up to their register.
They do have Happy Hour from 5pm to 7pm on weekdays and 3pm to 7pm on weekends. They offer unlimited 12oz draft beer or plum wine at a reduced price point (I want to say it was $2, maybe $3) if you purchase any regular-sized noodle dish or chin-ma han.
Would I return? No.
Bottom line: 1 star service + 3 star food = 2 stars overall
I've been here a couple times now and it has been consistently good. The original (spicy) tan-tan men was surprisingly delicious. I was skeptical about the thicker soup base, but it was pretty tasty and had just the right amount of spiciness without being overpowering. The best part about dish was the ground beef and pork mixture. Yum! The sweet tasting ground meat hit my taste buds right on the spot. Ooo! Just thinking about it makes be crave their soboro rice, which was the same meat mixture as the tan-tan men, but they served it over a small bowl of rice. Get the tan-tan men and soboro rice combo. You won't be disappointed.
I've also tried their karaage chicken (free with a coupon) and it was as good as I expected. It was very crispy and came with a mayo based dipping sauce.
If you are craving ramen, but want to skip the wait at Orochon, hop downstairs to Chin-Ma-Ya!
***Tan-Tan Men with Sweet Plum Wine and Happy Hour!!***
Dear Tan-Tan Men:
"Kiss me with your mouth, your taste is better than wine. But wine is all I have. Will your love ever be mine?" Tan-Tan Men and Plum Wine, Love at first sight!
Kudos to Yelper Maggie C., for introducing something new and amazing to my life. I scrolled through the reviews and it looks like peeps either love this place or hate it. All I know is that the world don't move to the beat of just one drum.. It takes different strokes and I LOVE THIS PLACE! I think Maggie's review hits this one dead on!
~The Food!
My party all ordered the exact same thing.."1/2 Chin-Ma Han + Tan-Tan Men." We all had the same response and the comments were the same.
~Tan Tan Men:
A Five Star Dish. What is in this you ask? I Don't know and Don't Care! Ramen Noodle, Sesame and Secret Sauce, OK!
This was my first experience with this type of broth/sauce. It was a fantastic experience. Spicy and Flavorful. The SWEET PLUM WINE that the waiter brought was nothing less than a sincere compliment to this dish. This is ONE HELL OF A DISH!
~Chin Ma Han
The first taste of the Chin Ma Han was that we didn't like it. The more we ate it, the more we all liked it. It is very sweet. Perhaps a little sweet for me. We did see "Grandma" eat an entire huge bowl of it. It was the largest bowl in the whole restaurant. Larger than the regular size. GRANDMA GOT HER GRUB ON! She ate the whole thing!
~Bathroom
Men's Bathroom was flooded. NASTY. My buddy mentioned "have fun" when I went to wash my hands. At first i was disgusted, but then I saw the Happy Hour Sign! (minus one star for the bathroom). HAPPY FRICKEN HOUR!
~HAPPY HOUR!!!
Here is the deal folks..Happy Hour is 5-7. Buy any dish ( umm I think I might suggest the Tan Tan Men), pay an extra 99 cents and get ALL YOU CAN DRINK PLUM WINE OR KIRIN ON DRAFT. Yes, Yes, Yes, 99 cents all you can drink.. Haven't done it yet, but I bet this is a 5 whopping star Happy Hour! See ya there Friday!
~Service was great and our waiter was the coolest.
So a great meal for less than 8 bucks and something new for me! Thank you Maggie C and Yelp for bringing something new into my life!
See you all Friday.. HAPPY HOUR IN J-TOWN!
Good speedy service.
I like the Chin-Ma-Han (Ma-Po Tofu over Rice) but the noodle in the Tan-Tan Men, is not that good. Soup of the Tan-Tan Men is not bad.
Price is decent for Downtown LA.
The mabo tofu is amazing.
When I went, they were severely understaffed and we waited a ridiculously long time just to be seated (a little over an hour). Then, we sat around waiting for the waiter to come and pay attention to us and then waited even longer for some glasses of water. Eventually seven out of the ten people in my party decided they'd had enough and stood up and left. However, I'm kind of glad I stuck it out, because despite the horrendous service, the food was surprisingly good. They didn't warn us beforehand, but if you're seated outside you can't order alcohol, which was unfortunate because we came here for happy hour. However, we used a special online code word, "Pepper Prince," and got 20% off the bill, making the meal extremely inexpensive. All in all, a good meal. I would definitely come again, despite the service, which should say something about the food =]
Great service. Good location. Nice people watching. However, everything we ordered came out lukewarm instead of hot. That threw me off a bit.
Looking for a different kind of ramen other than your tonkatsu broth?
Try out chin-ma-ya. Tastes even better with 1 dollar beers during happy hour!
I love good ramen of any flavor, and this place did not disappoint. I wish i could eat more like in my younger days to really take advantage of their combos (ramen bowl PLUS mabo tofu rice!)
Flavor is excellent, spice was a bit lacking (for me...i need it HOT). Noodles weren't soggy.
Sugoi...!!!!!!!!!!
I had eaten at Orochon for the bazillionth time on Friday night with a few Friends and Co-Workers and had a great time.
After a good meal, we walked down to the local Family mart and bought deserts. I decided to visit my buddy Jiro of Onizuka Tattoo.
He said, "Hey Marvin, you never visit anymore. All i hear is that you come into the area to eat...!" and i say, "What else is there..?? haha"
He says, "have you been to chin ma ya?" "its on the 2nd floor under Orochan, try it. it looks Classy, but price not classy...!"
So the following Sunday (yesterday) we decide to check this place out for lunch.
I ordered the Tan tan men combo with chicken karaage. This consisted of a small portion of mixed ground pork and ground beef, and tofu, in their spicy sweet sauce. On the side was fried pieces of boneless chicken.
add a Coke and some pork Gyoza and i was on a Hot One....!!!! haha
This place is awesome, the food is good, and the service was excellent. and best of all, the waitress was HOOOOOOOOOTTT...!!!!!
Chin-Ma-Ya's tan-tan men totally looks like Spaghetti-O's, but don't let that scare you. Once you get past the visual shock of the crayon-orange broth, it's all about flavor.
Whether or not you like that flavor probably depends on what you're expecting from the menu's three-chili-marked (a.k.a. hot! hot! hot!) Original Spicy broth. What you get is a snappy bite, but no heat that lingers. A "More water, please!" experience this isn't.
The ramen noodles in the bowl are plentiful, and the niku soboro adds a Bolognese touch. I particularly like the nuttiness that surfaces as the broth cools down. The secret ingredient? Sesame paste.
We had dinner here last Friday. The decor is very cute, clean and pleasant. I ordered the Medium Tan-Tan Mein with Karage. Both dishes was very good. The medium level of spice was not at all spicy. I think maybe next time I will try the hot. The chili mayo served with the karage was very good. The staff is very friendly. Can't wait to go again.
Really good tan tan men. Just the right flavoring and spices.
Came to Chin-Ma-Ya for a business lunch the other day. There were about 9 of us, and I think we nearly all ordered the same thing. The combo of Tan-Tan Ramen, and the Chin Ma Han. Of course, in my usual fashion, I asked the server to make it as "hot as it gets."
I am in NO-WAY a coniseur of Ramen, let alone Japanese restaurants. I can count on half of a hand how many I've been too (unless you count those wanna-be teriyaki places...). But the Tan-Tan Ramen was excellent. In my white-boy terminology, I would describe it as perfectly cooked Nissan Top Ramen, with a helluva lot more flavor...topped of with some Taco Bell ground beef. The flavor was truly mouth watering. However, not nearly as spicy as I had expected. I had to top it off with a few teaspoons of chili oil, just to get the sweat started.
The Chin-Ma-Han (am I getting that right?) was pretty good too. Did I also mention that I can count on two fingers the number of times I've eaton Tofu. And, unless I misunderstood, The Chin-Ma-Han is tofu based. The flavor was amazing, but the texture... eh. I think I prefer my protein to come from living animals (I'm talking meat people. Get your minds out of the gutter).
I will definately frequent this place again. I just wish they could kick up their "spicy" a few notches. Where is Emeril when I need him. BAM!
After my first review, I have been there for a couple of more times, and I am sad to give 3 stars.
The noodle is pretty oily, and the temperature is not hot enough thus the soup become coagulated oil soup. Not so appetizing.
I think the Karaage is pretty good, but spicy mayo dip is cliche.
The staff is always nice, and that's an extra point.
I've been there twice already and I like this place.
I had "Karaage Tan Tan Men" and I thought it was…
Read more »
Oh man, I am so glad that my group cam over to try this place. We originally were in line for daiokuya but they ran out of noodles and we were STARVING. After roaming around, we somehow stumbled across Chin-Ma-Ya and it met our goals
(1) RAMEN
(2) liquor license
(3) easy to read menu - because when you're starving, its hard to focus your brain on the menu, you just want to eat!!
I was with a bunch of guys who ordered not only large ramens, but gyozas, then shared the mapo tofu rice dish. I decided to just go with a half-tantan mien. It's not on the menu per-se, but I figured if they offered half sizes for the combos then they should be able to serve me the half size. They did - and it was the PERFECT size. It really filled me up but didnt over stuff me and the make it even more awesome... it literally was half the price!! ($3.50!!! - of course I found this out afterward and was so stoked).
They don't have sake here, but have all the classic japanese beers and they serve it in chilled glasses. Also they serve oolong-sochu and calpico-sochu. *sigh* brings me back to the nomihodai and izakayas of Japan ;D
This place was awesome and the waiter was SUPER curteous. We had a party of six and apologized for being slow (which .. he wasnt).
I'm definitely hitting this place up again. Oo baby!
I give dog owners all the credit in the world. We came across Chin Ma Ya while taking out the dog(we were dog sitting for my sister) to crap and to grab lunch. Fortunately for us, they had a couple of tables outdoors and were able to cater to us and our cute and hairy crap machine of a dog. Here's some observations:
1. The Karaage is really on point, esp the sauce. In SAT analogy form:
Karaage is to Chilli mayo sauce as McNugget is to Sweet and Sour
2. The Tan Tan men ramen was the bomb. Its mysteriously oily, buttery, peanutty in a good way. I want to rub the broth all over my body.
3. The Mabo Tofu was good, but it just isnt my cup of tea. I had the tofu tantan men combo once and it was a crap load of food
What I usually do is get the Karaage Tan Tan Men, and get the karaage on the side, thus avoiding soaked nuggets. Oh and it didn't give me the runs, unlike their upstairs neighbor Orochon aka Dirreahchon. And the staff is really nice, and offered a waterdish for the dog. Doggystyles!
1) First of all, parking is pretty hard to find and you most likely will have to pay for parking. This place is located on the second floor. Inside is actually really tiny.... so i would not recommend bringing too many people. 4 seems to be the magic number. they had to specially arrange our table of 5.
2) I order the half combo which consist of mapo tofu with rice and also their tan tan noodles. Honestly I was stuffed after I finished my mapo tofu but I ended up finishing the noodles too. Mapo tofu... the original spicy isn't that spicy so I would recommend getting that or something spicier. Mapo tofu wasn't anything special... the noodles were pretty good but it reminded me of Daikokuya.... Honestly, the food is a 3 stars but the service and the happy hour beer of $1 krin earned an extra star.
3) The service was pretty good. Though I didn't really expect to see a young black guy serving food at an asian place in LA but i didn't really mind. He was pretty funny and nice and very helpful.
I would probably only come back here during happy hour for the beer. By the way, the happy hour beer price only applies if you order a combo. soo just some FYI.
Fantastic Tan-Tan -Men - I started craving it again 5 minutes after I left. friendly staff. Will be back.
I've eaten here twice now....
PROS:
Takes credit cards (take that cheap ass Chinese restaurant Mandarin noodle deli)
Waiters speak English (take that....you know who)
Decor is clean and simple well thought out.
Bathrooms are clean
Service is fast and friendly.
Price 99cent Kirin Draft and 3.50 for appetizers and alot of free extras just ask.
Cons:
Over shadowed by the gimmicky OROCHAN upstairs....I've eaten at OROCHAN and its okay but don't fall for the hype. I even ate the super spicy one and again meh.....My brother loves OROCHAN but he's retarded.
SO hows the ramen....
TAN TAN ramen i have no idea what that means but boy is it good.
The noodle are firm and chewy with a nice bite to them.
The sauce is thick, spicy, pork based with a hint of peanut.
The temperature that the ramen was served at was perfect not too hot or cold.
This Ramen goes perfect with beer.
The rice and ma po tofu is a nice Szechuan peppercorn spice and goes well with warm medium grain rice.
The best part is you can carb out and get both in a combo which will put you into a food comma for the day....basically if you eat both get a hotel near by and sleep it off.
They also have this fried chicken nugget thing with Japanese thousand island dip that is crunchy and delicious.
Avoid the crowds upstairs and try something different you wont regret it. Plus after the meal they gave us a coupon for a free appetizer next time. Now i got to figure out how to persuade someone to go with me...how about you.......
The food won't knock your socks off but I definitely left this place very, very satisfied. The service was excellent here, with super bubbly waitresses. Just a side note. When servers are good at refilling your waters, I think it's a very telling sign of good service. When a restaurant is packed and busy yet the servers are willing to fill your cup with something that is free, it shows that they don't care about your bill amount. And I like that.
Anyway, I ordered the chin-ma-han (rice and mapo-tofu. AWESOME!) combo with chicken karaage for only $8.50. Next time I going to try the tan-tan men (ramen, ground beef pork mixture and spinach).
I will definitely be coming back. 4 stars CMYOT! Thanks for keeping me hydrated btw!
Last time myself and the lady went there, they'd run out of tofu or something like that, so we couldn't order the mapo tofu! So we had to eat at Curry House.
Anyway, today we went in there, and the food was good again. I asked for it really spicy, but it came out *barely* spicy, and I love spicy stuff. Still, the food was good so I can't complain.
However, the service was excellent... very attentive. My drinks were refilled on a regular basis without having to ask first. I WANT TO GIVE A BIG SHOUT-OUT TO THE #1 WAITER AT CHIN-MA-YA, JASON... YES, JASON WITH AN "O". THANKS FOR THE HOOKUP, BRO. BIG UPS TO JASON... JASON JASON JASON JASON JASON JASON JASON JASON JASON... YOU ROCK.
I went here for dinner tonight with a friend. We both ordered combo #1, and also had a coupon for… Read more »
My Personal Ramen Tour - Chapter 12
The girl wanted ramen on a hot day, so we sat in horrible traffic for an hour to get downtown for new ramen. But not really ramen ramen, this was tan-tan men. Had I not just had it Japan a couple months ago, this would have been new to me.
This ramen house specialized in a thick, slightly spicy style of ramen as well as a ground meat, tofu, rice dish, that I know as mabo tofu. I ordered the fried chicken tan tan men, and the girl got the normal kind in a combo with the rice. We both opted for an egg in our ramen.
The mabo tofu was not that great. The meat tasted like canned sloppy Joe sauce and was far too sweet. I like what Yuko makes at home much more than what we had there.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
The ramen wasn't that great either. It would be unfair to compare it to the tan tan men I had in Japan, but I will anyway. Compared to what I had in Japan it wasn't very good. The broth here was good for a few slurps, but it was sickly thick and I ended up leaving half the broth. The noodles were a tad over cooked but not mushy. And again, the pile of ground meat in my bowl tasted like sloppy Joe sauce. On the plus side, the chicken stayed crispy even after soaking in broth and it was very juicy. Sadly though, the egg yolk wasn't runny.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
This was close to being a good meal, but meh, I've experienced better.
99 cent kirin on draft!!
Located on the second floor directly under Orochan.
Came upon this place due to an advertisement inside a magazine. This place is well know for their Tan-Tan Mein (noodles w/grounded meat and spinach in spicy broth) and Chin-Ma-Han (Chinese styled ma po tofu and rice), so I ordered a mini combo (half bowl of tan tan and chin ma han). :) My friend ordered the tan tan combo (a bowl of tan tan and half a bowl of chin ma han). These dishes have 3 levels of spiciness: original, medium, and mild. Since we like our food spicy, we ordered the original spicy. We also order the karaage chicken appetizer due to one of the worker's suggestion. Oh and look at the time, it's happy hour!! From 5-7pm, 99 cent kirin on draft!! YAY!!
The karaage chicken was extra crispy and good, unfortunately we ran into a piece or two of just plain batter.
The tan tan mein came out at the right temperature. I like it when my noodles are steaming hot. It wasn't soggy nor too stiff. It was at the perfect consistency. The broth was spicy but not spicy enough. I'm going to ask them to make it spicier for me next time. Yummy!!
The chin ma han was tasty. Once again, spicy but not spicy enough. I can taste the tongue numbing sichuan peppercorns, my favorite!
Make sure you can eat cause these combos make you super full!! Will be back!!
I was cranky...hungry....so more cranky, and had no patience to wait in line for Daikokuya. Thank God Chin-Ma-Ya delivered.
I really didn't expect the ramen to be all that tasty from a place who's main forte is mapo tofu, but I was definitely pleasantly surprised. Of course, everyone's ramen preference is different, and I like my broth rich and non-clear which was exactly the description of the tan tan men. I ordered the 1/2 spicy tan tan men which was spicy- but not to the point where I was panting uncomfortably, and also the large mapo tofu. The 1/2 ramen portion is perfect, because I finished it all - ate part of the tofu and took the rest home (doesn't quite work the other way around - you just can't take ramen to-go!). Neither the ramen or mapo tofu is mind blowing, but they are solid and together in a combo meal even better. Anyway, to be happily stuffed for under $10, Chin-Ma-Ya is a great option if you're in the area.
Me and my buddy hit Chin-Ma-Ya to switch it up from our normal Orochan Raman spot. First of all the guys who work here are uber-cool, very conversational and wanting to make you feel at home. The Ramen, well it's a very different flavor profile from traditional Ramen. The broth is thick and almost creamy with an overpowering taste of sesame oil. The noodles were delicious but the broth kind of diminished my enjoyment of them. The Tan-Tan Men was an exciting combonation of Tofu, Pork and Beef all sauteed in a spicy chili infused sauce and served on a bed of white rice. Both dishes were totally new experiences that I would recommend for anyone looking to venture into a new universe of Ramen. I definitely enjoyed the meal, it just was not my particular favorite flavor but well worth the trip!
Excellent prices, service, and quality. Ramen broths are far from bland and very tasty.
I'm not a fan of their Tan-Tan Men and truthfully, I can make better mabo-doufu or Chin-Ma Han using Cook Do's instant mabo-doufu mix. So why the 4 stars?
Karaage + Gyoza + Eby Fry + White Rice + Fast/Friendly Service
And for under $15, that equates to just plain awesome.
Karaage is crunchy on the outside, tender and savory on the inside. In order to have that kind of crunchy exterior, the chicken is fried twice in varying temperatures; however, their karaage is never greasy. Traditional karaage on the other hand has softer texture on the outside and the juiciness of the meat is kept even after it's cooled down to room temperature. This is one of the reasons why karaage is popular main dish for obento.
Gyoza is slightly above average compared with other gyoza served elsewhere. Nice crunch with full flavor. Not too garlicky.
Most often, restaurants serve anorexic shrimp plumped up with panko. Don't you just hate that? It's like thin girls with fake D-cup boobs. Nice to look at, but a complete disappointment when stripped down. Anyhow, that's not the case this time. The ebi fry had nice even coasting of panko and fried to golden perfection. It totally rocks with the spicy mayo that comes with it.
So there you go. 4 stars.
yay for tan tan men (noodle dish); but meh for chin ma han (rice dish).
4 stars for the noodle (flavor, noodle, temperature all good); 2 stars for the rice (way too much starch in the sauce; no depth in flavor...).
This ramen chain is well known in Japan and their first U.S. location is in Little Tokyo (do we still call it Little Tokyo?).
We ordered the 1/2 -1/2 combo of tan tan men and mabo tofu.
When the tan tan men arrived it did not look like the typical ramen. The first slurp reinforced that it was not typical - a unique flavor created by a combination of spices, sauces, and notably sesame. I love the taste of sesame. The noodles were a bit hard. Overall - very nice ramen that I would like to eat again.
Mabo-tofu was nothing special but still good.
Karage chicken - fried chicken - this was fine but the pieces were too big. I would prefer to have had bite sized karage chicken.
The noodle and rice dishes are offered in different levels of spiciness. I ordered medium and it was just right. Hot is probably suitable for those that really like HOT.
For a unique ramen taste then ChinMaYa is the place. Service is good too but I almost overpaid as they did not remove the karage chicken cost from the receipt as they had a special ($15 purchase or more and free karage chicken - with special promo card)
Found this place by accident, just driving by...
Tried the combination plate with soup and rice, way too much food even the half order portion... although we had a 5 hour drive ahead of us, we took the left overs home and it made a yummy-yummy breakfast the next morning. The soup was spicy and the beer made it all better.
If I lived in the area, I would definitely go back again but maybe next time we are in town.
When I was in Japan a few weeks ago, I went to Chin-Ma-Ya in Ueno, Tokyo because I wanted to experience the extra-spicy mapo tofu that I've read from a Japanese magazine. The dish turned out to be quite striking with extreme spiciness and numbness attacking my tongue, which gave extra energy to me for the next and the last day in Japan.
As I came back to the States and found out that there was a store in LA, I decided to experience the sensation again hopefully. Well, it turns out that the dish did not have that power due to less spice being used as admitted by a waiter.
When I read the magazine, the founder of this restaurant said he wanted customers to experience that sensation. The store in LA unfortunately diminished that power, supposedly to appeal to American customers. From what I've read in previous reviews, people experienced the dish being not that different from ones in other stores.
May I humbly suggest to the store to have the "original" spiciness as the same as the one in Japan? My experience tells me that there are many Americans who can handle that intensity. The current numbers of spiciness is three; it can be four with the "original" being most spicy. Until there is some measure being taken, my rating remains as it is.
P.S. The fried chicken with red peppered mayonaise was pretty good.
Food: tan tan noodle tasted good; the mabo tofu was too salty and rice was too soft.
Service: waited very long for the food to come out; honestly how long does it really take to cook noodle and to put tofu and rice on a plate?
One good thing is they have Happy Hour on weekend for $0.99 beer and plum wine.
For a while since it opened I've come here at least once every weekend and even three times back to back on one occasion. Surprisingly, it was not because of the ramen. Yep, it was the 99-cent draft beer they serve during Happy Hour. Six glasses equal to one pitcher. A pitcher usually goes for $12 to $14 depending on where you go at Little Tokyo. But at Chin-Ma-Ya from Mon-Fri 5:00pm to 7:00pm and Sat and Sun 3:00pm to 7:00pm you can get it for $6 which is more than half off in some of these other places. Not even Oiwake offer that kind of deal anymore.
Alright, alright, so you wanna talk about something else besides beer. The plum wine here is pretty delectable too and it's also just a dollar during Happy Hour. It has a refreshing sweet taste and now comes in a slightly taller glass...
Okay, okay, come back. I'll tell you about the food...
This place tries to be like In-N-Out. It has a very basic menu that heavily promotes their two signature dishes, chin-ma han and tan-tan men. Even though it's clearly their tan-tan men that carries the business. What draws in the customers is the lava colored broth that the ramen comes in. It has a very rich pungent peanut oily taste that comes with sweetly seasoned ground pork and three stalks of spinach. This might be the most flavorful ramen in Little Tokyo.
The flavor of the chin-ma han is not as exciting as its Chinese counterpart. If you really want to sample a rice dish you should order the soboro gohan. It's really white rice topped with the same ground pork you find in the ramen mix with scallions but it tastes so much better.
All the appetizers are also cooked to a perfect crisp. No matter if it's the gyoza or fried shrimp. The karaage here is especially renown for its ability to retain its crunchy texture even after soaking in the ramen.
This place specializes in the special spicy ramen flavor from the signature dish of ma-po-tofu which is ground beef and tofu and spicy sauce. They make the ma-po-tofu with rice and they make it with ramen. They also have light ramen and other appetizers. The food was good and the add ins are generous. Large bowl of ramen. Too big, couldnt finish it. Tasty though, nice staff, and airy eating area. Small place. Yum.
Plus is they are in the Validated 1 hour parking lot.
I wasn't too impressed with their mabo tofu, it was a bit too salty for my liking. I'm unsure of whether that is just how mabo tofu are made in Tokyo but I personally prefer the Chinese version. Service was not bad though.
I have a picture of the mabo tofu meal and the tantan men in my pictures if you are interested in seeing what they look like.
$ushi $pecial!
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