On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Visit Our Website and Join Us on Facebook & Twitter !
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
"I'm so happy I discovered San Sui Tei. It's really easy to miss this place because it's toward the end of the block populated by the likes…" read more »
Loading...
Actually, I would give them 5 stars, but they ran out of kotteri just when the bf and I were craving porky goodness. They'll get that star back the next time I go, I'm sure.
Anyway, the first time I enjoyed the ramen goodness that is Daikokuya was on a Sunday afternoon. They were about 10 minutes from opening and already a line was forming out the door. Luckily, we were seated fairly quickly. The ramen is fantastic -- the broth is rich and not overly salted. The noodles have a great texture and the pork pieces... those are the good cuts!
I'll have to try their other options (like fried rice!) and get the kotteri broth next time. It's definitely worth the drive to Little Tokyo, especially when I'm having those noodle cravings!
Despite a one hour wait, Daikokuya was a fantastic ramen experience, with some Nami Asahi, and single order of Gyouza. Extra fat broth is an absolute must. The Ramen style is cooked in a springy, almost chewy style.
While I haven't sampled each of the flavours and noodle styles, the place is definitely authentic and tasty to say the least.
The price point is very friendly, and deserves 5 stars. Depending on your Ramen style preferences, I'd either recommend Daikokuya or Shinsengumi while in LA...
Ah, alright. I'll let you all in on the secret. But don't tell anyone! (Even though this place had been reviewed over a THOUSAND TIMES here. Wow.)
This is the best hole in the wall noodle house in all of Los Angeles. My first year in Los Angeles a good chunk of my friends were Japanese film students, and I was fortunate to discover this gem through them. They practically lived here, and told me it's some of the best home style food they'd had in LA. I can see why.
To the untrained eye, Daikokuya is a small, unassuming restaurant tucked into a row of identical looking storefront along a street in Little Tokyo. However, all you have to do is look for the small gathering waiting out the door, and you know you're there.
And, yes, there WILL be a line... So, make sure you get your name on the little clipboard list sitting on the chair just inside the door.
The only thing to order here is the ramen. That's all I've ever had and all I ever want. For 8 dollars, you receive a gigantic bowl of steamy, delicious ramen goodness. And no, poor college kids, this isn't like the plastic packages you have a mountain of in your cabinet. This is a painstakingly all-day-boiled broth, deliciously meat, thick noodles, a handful of sprouts and onions, along with a rich boiled egg that has infused the broth. Damn. You WILL take some home with you. I cannot express it enough - the portion size is ridiculous.
You know this place is hidden gem, because there is always a wait for a table. Their dining room is small, and done up with a lot of 1950's-1960's post-war Japanese trinkets. Make sure you check out the kickass vintage Japanese movie posters in the bathrooms. One day I'm going to figure out how to smuggle one out in my pants. Maybe in my giant, styrofoam takeout bowl.
My one drawback is that the dining room is a bit small, which means there is a pretty long wait during peak dinner hours to get a table. I would suggest this as a middle of the day/early dinner place to avoid the rush. Also, as they say, if you can't stand the heat... get out of the kitchen. It's an open air kitchen with a counter, so the temperature can get a little up there while they're making their magic in a bowl.
But, I don't care about any of that. The food speaks for itself. Either way, make your way here sometime while you're in Los Angeles.
Delicious.
Some of the best ramen I've ever tasted, even compared to what I had the month I spent in Tokyo. Bowls are huge and steamy, broth is flavorful, and meat is done just right.. beers are cheap and available by the pint or pitcher. They've got garlic paste! We take the subway here and drink freely. If you drive you may have some difficulty finding parking..
My boyfriend usually goes for the pork ramen that comes with pieces of hard boiled egg (he's a egg freak). The summer ramen was awesome; served cold and perfect for a hot day. Sushi here is decent too. I really haven't gone wrong here yet. The line can be a wait (around 10-20 minutes or so). Don't go at peak times if you are afraid of the huge crowds and a longer line. The good news is that it's well worth the wait.
Look how many Yelp Reviews this place has got! It's ridiculous!
Definitely a place to take friends who are visiting from out of town.
Remember the college days when you'd have ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? I do. Erase any misconception you may have about the instant noodle and try Daikokuya.
Daikokuya serves up no ordinary instant noodle. The key to their success is the slow boiled broth, the traditional ramen noodle, and fresh ingredients.
Also on the menu are rice bowls and home-made gyozo that are out of this world!
One visit to Daikokuya will make you a believer and look at ramen noodles in a different light.
This is my favorite ramen in the world.
it's winter time and you know that i'm going eat a lot of hot soup and noddles! this is almost as exciting as dressing in cute winter clothes.
the wait sucks, sitting near the cooking station on a hot days is gross, and the restaurant is so small but ignore it and just go with someone that will make you laugh so you ignore all the same stuff.
all you need to get:
1) big bowl of RAMEN- flavorful broth, chewy noodles, good pork
2) FRIED RICE. SO GOOD (albeit a little oily)
One of the most enjoyable times I've ever had was here with my friends. Let me first say that the wait is RIDICULOUSLY long but despite this and a two-hour wait, I still think it deserves a 5-star rating.
My friends and I were very amused by one particular dish, the Mother and Child Reunion. We could not get over the morbid undertone of the chicken and egg in the very food we were consuming. This became one of our inside jokes for the next few weeks. Good times.
The ramen with koteri flavor is nothing short of perfect. I'm not an avid ramen enthusiast but I know good ramen when I taste it. It's definitely the best I've ever had and definitely worth the wait. Oh did I mention? The servings are huge! Their fried rice is also one of the best fried rice in LA.
Too much good stuff!! I wished they were open late night!!
Santouka Ramen is still my #1 spot when I crave japanese ramen.
But considering the drive and traffic, and depending on how hungry I am, I'd come to Daikokuya for my ramen fix. It's definitely better than Orochon down the street and many others in its near vicinity, but really?? an hour wait?? Maybe its cause I hate waiting especially when I'm super hungry.
Anyway, it's a weekday, around 7pm, and my friend and I finally get seated at the two very end bar seats. As I struggle to find a comfortable way to sit while holding onto my purse, I give up and it ends up on my lap. Friendly Japanese server takes our orders. I order the regular Daikokuya Ramen and my friend orders the Ramen + Tuna rice bowl combo. He gets his salad [flavorful, thousand island-type dressing but better!], then we finally get our bowl of goodness. The noodles were cooked perfectly with the right amount of chew and softness. It was delicious. Soup, very well made, but I do like having my choices of soyu or miso at other places. Friend liked the tuna and said it was very fresh. I opted not to try because I wanted to be able to finish my bowl. Which I....didn't.
Portions are pretty large and spectacular. So come hungry! Or if you're not, you will be by the time you get seated since the wait outside is will be treacherous.
Oh, it's *this* ramen place, the one always with the grip of people waiting outside all the time.
There was this time, once ago, in which I decided to brave the wait and line to see what the hubbub was about. And now I won't hesitate to wait in line again, I've been a converted Daikokuya fan.
What can I say that hasn't been said already? One of the best tonkotsu ramen in LA, really. If you love the pork, you will love the tonkotsu. For extra flavor, go for the kotteri. Adds an extra level of heavy taste, but you'll love it if you really want to up the intensity of the ramen broth.
The rice is also fried in the same pork fat, for that extra piggy goodness if you aren't feeling like noodles. Well I guess you can get both, or save it for a take-out order for the next day. Either way, your stomach will thank you.
Everyone's had the good ol' cup ramen and 10c ramen packets... it's pretty much what college "cooking" consisted of, no?
Well prepare yourself for a complete 180 and a long line. The wait is worth it, so long as you don't starve to death. This the best ramen I've ever had. I figure why not add to the nearly 1200 reviews?
The food is great and the noodles are freshly made. No more flavor packets here! It's something that makes me wish that I lived closer to Little Tokyo. I also had an eel & rice dish here... both were really good and great value.
It's a nice little place to take friends that are in town if you don't mind fighting the traffic to get there. The parking situation isn't the best though.
BEST RAMEN YOU CAN GET IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!
Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong.
But I will tell you the one and only thing I hate about this place: limited capacity. They don't take reservations, so wait times can reach up to well over an hour on Friday and Saturday nights. Sundays are brutal as well, since they're only open "until the soup runs out." Also, some people don't understand that because there is limited seating, Daikokuya is for sitting, eating, and leaving. Not sitting, eating, and talking. Go sit and talk somewhere else! Other people want to eat here too!
I tried to come here two other times and failed miserably since they were, for some reason, closed despite its opening hours until 12:00 am or 1:00 am on weekends, but finally last Friday I was able to eat at this delightful little ramen shop so inconspicuously located in an non-main Japantown area of Japantown. I am so excited to be staying in the area in a few weeks so I can almost walk here!
First, they definitely have some of the best donkotsu ramen I've had; not only is the broth flavorful and thick but you can ask them to make it with extra back fat soup to make it even more flavorful! Their ramen is well cooked, not over cooked, and the right amount of bite / chewy to fulfill the flavor of the soup but still taste great on its own. The best part? The pork of course! Probably some of the most amazing melt in your mouth pork I've had. I've been to a handful of "amazing" ramen places and so far this has got to be my absolute favorite.
They have these awesome combos for a few dollars more where you can get their eel and rice or their sashimi and rice as well as many other types of rice bowl foods and they give you a ton of food for the price and its all extremely fresh / good.
They have bar seating and table seating and most days all day long there's a wait so get there early and don't starve yourself or else you won't want to stake around for the 30+/- min of wait.
YUM! That's all I have to say. I never liked ramen till I went to this place!
I LOVE Daikokuya ramen.
It's funny, I always walk out of Daikokuya swearing I'll order a smaller bowl or refrain from finishing my entire bowl of ramen the next time. BUT every time I go, I always get greedy and order a ginormous bowl of kotteri (extra-fatty) ramen and a side of fried rice ..... and eat it all. Yes, it is THAT GOOD :)
Anyways, the only downers are:
(1) Parking in downtown LA SUCKS and
(2) There is always a really really long wait. It doesn't matter if you go on a Tues night or a Sun afternoon....you will stand outside for over an hour!
I went with some friends on a Sat and we had a wait for about 20 mins. Once we were seated we were served fast.
It's been months since I've had ramen and it was such a treat! a HUGE bowl of yummy steamy ramen in a really good soup.
I wasn't even that hungry but I ended up finishing most of it. I ordered the tradition pork ramen and it comes with one full hard boiled egg!
Overall, it was great.
small venue, expect a wait.
Was in the LA area and heard a lot about this place, and Alan H. is a staunch supporter. I've loved Santouka from first sip, so I decided to try it out, we came at the tail end of the lunch crowd on a weekday and had to wait 10-15 minutes. Food roundup (2 ramen combos - kotteri style, 1 with chicken and egg bowl and tuna sashimi bowl):
Salad: Big portion of finely shredded cabbage and addictive japanse mayo dressing.
Chicken and egg bowl, tuna sashimi bowl: The chicken and egg bowl was delicious, chicken and egg a top rice with a sweet and savory soy like type sauce. Very hearty and delicious. My sashimi was fresh, I ended up just eating the 4 pieces on top and skipping the rice, so much food!
Ramen: I must say the bowl is huge! You get some pork, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, and lots of chopped green onions on the top. Broth was flavorful and reminded me of a better version of Shin Sen Gumi, I still prefer Santouka's shio broth. Also, the noodles were nice and firm.
Lowdown: I declare Daikokuya #2 in my ramen book, still prefer Santouka. I can tell you this place wins with value and portion size, Santouka's bowls and rice bowls are very small compared to here. The combos were no more than $12 and I couldn't finish the ramen or my rice for the tuna sashimi bowl. Beware this location as far as wait and ventilation needs to be better, kinda stuffy. Also, paid freaking $8 to park....its LA, right....
If you come here for the first time, AT LEAST order the raumen. I never understood the concept of going to a specialty restaurant only to order something completely different.
Get the original raumen WITH kotteri, trust me. Never get the XLARGE bowl only because it's the same amount of raumen in a bigger bowl, which is heart-shattering. If you want to sit at a booth, you must request it unless you have a huge party or sometimes you're lucky you'll get it. Otherwise, you'll have to sit at the bar and sweat your ass off from the steam in your face. The great part is that it's an authentic B grade so you know it's good.
One evening, we again could not figure out what to eat for dinner, and so my girl suggested this little ramen shop she has always wanted to try but never had the patience for.
So off to Little tokyo we go, and after figuring out where to park, we head in to wait in line. It being a thrusday night, i guess the line wasn't as long as it normally is, but we still waited atleast a good 45 minutes.
After a few confused minutes, we were seated at the counter watching the chefs cook. Which was pretty cool.
I got the japanese hot dogs as an appetizer, and the ramen. she gets the gyoza, and the ramen.
the hot dogs were good, the gyoza, meh.
The ramen was good. not exceptional but good. the broth was tasty, the noodles cooked ok. The chasu very japanesey. The best part was the soft boiled egg.
After reading the reviews, maybe the extra fatty broth will put it over into the really really god zone. I think the ramen might deserve 4 stars. but the overall experience and wait push it into the 3 star range for me. Santouka i think is better overall.
I've upped the rating because the broth is sooooo good! I just wanna chug the stuff.
After reading about Daikokuya on food blogs, hearing about it from friends, and even getting a… Read more »
Food: Great Ramen, excellent Eel bowl (yum!), salad was good too
Service: great
Wait: not bad as long as you have great company waiting with you
The first time I went I thought they deserved 5 stars. But the last most recent time that I went when a friend took me here for a belated bday dinner i thought it only deserved 3 stars. So i'm taking an average and giving it 4 stars.
PROS
* the portions are pretty large. The best deal is the combination plate...way too much food but if you share it with someone else then not too bad
* They give you a lot of toppings in the ramen
CONS
* the line here is like ridiculously long. We've always had to wait almost an hour. Maybe that's why people think it's so good because they're so hungry
* the ramen itself is just slightly above average. It's not as flavorful as Santouka and not as much variety as Ramen Ya
* hard to find parking in downtown. I always end up parking at the $3 lot. That's not expensive parking by downtown standards but makes your bowl of ramen a little more pricey than it should be
FOOD:
1.) The Special = Pretty good :) Not too many toppings just a boiled egg, some meat, and lots of green onion in a yummy broth
SERVICE:
Good good.
ATMOSPHERE:
It's not too big, had bar seating, and maybe 10 booth tables. Had a nice warm bustle about it, because the place always has so many people waiting to eat here.
I've been pretty lucky with my Daikokuya experiences. All the times I've gone I was able to find parking on the same street pretty close to Daikokuya AND there was little to no wait! I go around 1pmish on the weekdays.
Their food is good. I usually get a combo (ramen and eel bowl) and share with mi madre. As a result we are stuffed and our taste buds more than satisfied.
love this place! but one star for making us sit at the counter! i don't like sitting on stools with no where to put my over-sized purse. heh.
When I heard that my family wanted to come here, I kind of panicked. The reason being is that there was 5 of us. For those of you know have been here before, you can kind of feel me on this one. Not that it's impossible, but getting a table for anything more than a party of 4 is near impossible. Perhaps the first 2 tables when you first walk-in can fit 5 most of the time, but beyond that, because of the bar, would make it a very tight squeeze.
When we eventually got seated, which didn't seem terribly long despite having 5 people, I already knew what I was going to have. I was going to get the Daikoku ramen, and decided to get the combo with fried rice. My brother and sister in law had never been here before, so they obviously both got the ramen. My sister in law got the kotteri flavor, which was hard to describe, but it was different in a good way. My dad got the kotteri as well and my mom got the regular.
My fried rice came out first I pretty much devoured it. I mean, it is a smaller plate, but yeah, I practically inhaled it. I think it's this diet I'm on. I have flashes of gluttony.
Everything was good as usual. Oh man, just thinking about it now makes me want some. My mom is absolutely in love with the broth, so much, that she brought home her leftover broth. She had finished all the noodles, and just had the broth, but she still took it home. I think it's still sitting in our freezer....
holy shito.... almost 1000 reviews? Good Lordy....
We came here after the Spa Luce Elite Event…
Read more »
Daikokuya must be really lucky that i still give em 3 stars and not lower.
i drove all the way up to LA from SD just to eat here and orochon. i call it "the journey for great ramen".... omg maybe i'm wrong for putting my expectation that high?
we had to wait for about 40 minutes outside the restaurant for seating. which i don't mind at all as long as the food tastes good.
after we were seated, we ordered the combo with unagi bowl, then this order of pork meat with green onion as appetizer. about the ramen, since we were going to taste orochon afterwards, i tried to order the large portioned ramen to share with my girlfriend, turns out that they don't allow it there. and since i ordered it as "a combo" i can't downsize it either. so we ended up ordering another small portion of ramen for my girlfriend THINKING THAT THE RAMEN WOULD BE GREAT AND WON'T BE ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US. oh yea, we ordered that thingy broth. the one from pork back fat.
the unagi bowl came out delicious. it's a lil bit smelly but whatever, i like it. and the pork meat, wow. even though it's pan fried (unlike advertised as grilled) it's one of the best tasting appetizer that i ever had.
since we sat on the bar, we saw that our ramen was coming. they chef threw a large amount of green onion, that really excites us.
the first time i tasted the soup, i was like WTF MAN right away. then i looked at my girlfriend which turned out to have the same expression with me. it's virtually tasteless. and that pork fat thingy. it's just hallucination or probably placebo that daikokuya tries to convince us.
it was that tasteless that i opened the salt bottle and poured it to give it a salty taste (you know that you should give some dash rather than opening the bottle and throw the salt to your food)
we ended up not finishing the ramen at all.
i feel bad for the portion that my girlfriend ordered, barely touched at all.
so yeah, we drove 2 hours to daikokuya for it's high rated ramen. turns out to be very2 over rated.
given the chance to just rate the ramen, i would give one star only.
but wait, turns out orochon sucks even more, probably 2 stars then...
but then, the unaju and appetizer tastes good. so yea... 3 stars
Been here several times and food is always on point. The ramen combos are a steal and will def get you full. I usually get the shredded pork or the chicken. The salad is pretty good and that dressing is straight crack! This place is usually poppin' and you will probably have to wait a while before you get seated. Parking isn't that bad and there's a a nice little convenient store a couple stores down.
Does the popular Daikokuya live up to the hype? Not positive, but their ramen IS damn good.
Met friends at this Little Tokyo ramen house for lunch. They don't take reservations - seating's limited - so we waited a bit for a booth.
Tried a large bowl of their Daikokuya ramen, with their teriyaki eel bowl combo, served with a salad ($12.95 total). The eel was as good as can be and the ramen exceeded my expectations!
The broth was delicious and soothing, a wonderful tonkotsu soup base filled with chijire-style egg noodles, light enough to not overwhelm, and tasty enough to making trooping through a bowl easy. Along for the ride was a marinated boiled egg, pork belly, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onions, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.
Last but not least, we shared an order of the kurobuta pork sausage ($4.95) - not your average wiener; the menu even says so. Sweet, scrumptious, with a light mustard on the side, the sausage was a treat.
Service kept our waters filled and cleared plates fast. (We stayed longer than usual since a friend drove from quite far away to join us. Wouldn't do that again, but tipped extra since we held up seats.)
Next time I'll get a regular bowl of ramen, and more appetizers!
I'm no ramen connoisseur, but Daikokuya serves a tasty bowl! I'll be going back soon for sure.
Had to try this place after hearing so much about it from family and yelpers. The ramen was outstanding, great fresh noodles, juicy pork, and out of this world broth. Generous green onion toppings and bean sprouts and the secret ingredient: toasted sesame seeds. Hands down the best ramen? Could be. I emptied the bowl... every last drop.
Warning: no vegetarian options.
2 people, saturday night, 6pm. sure, you will have to wait about 15 minutes to get seated. trust me, it's worth it.
I hail from the land of not so good ramen (SF), but every time i'm remotely near here, i am just drawn to japantown.
get the ramen. get it kotteri (rich with bits of pig BACK FAT), and get the combo with the shredded pork bowl. OMFG that is by far the meal that i will eat the night before i am electrocuted to death.
if only that could be my daily meal, then i would truly be "living the dream"
I came here last night after the yelp Halloween event. It was about midnight and there was a short wait.
I ordered the ramen san pork belly but it still had the whole egg. I was warned to order the half order and I am glad I did because the standard order is enough to feed 3 people. It was very good and reasonable too and they didn't charge me the full price since I did not have meat in mine. The prices are very good too!
Located in Little Tokyo.
Small and always have a long line no matter what time you go...but it's definitely worth the wait!
Get the ramen and the shredded pork bowl combo. I guarantee you won't finish it, but it's so the best!
I have once stood outside in the winter cold (I mean, California winter--it's not that cold I know, but as a Cali girl, I was cold) for 2 hours to eat here!
Although it can't compare to true ramen from Sapporo, Kyushu, or even Tokyo, Daikokuya isn't half shabby. It has a stronger taste than most of the other ramen stores in the nearby Little Tokyo area.
They have a fine selection of different types of Ramen but the descriptions might be fuzzy for those who are new to the experience.
It's good to see your chef's making your ramen in front of you because you can see the effort and time they put into making your meal.
I can't say that it's the BEST ramen I'd ever had, or if it's even to die for, but I can honestly say that it's one of the better ramen joints in the area.
As for the wait, you can't winge about it because it's all part of the ramen dining experience.
After hearing so much about this place online and by word of mouth, I finally have a chance to go to this legendary little tokyo ramen place. I have tried a lot of ramen joints in the states and had been repeatedly let down. Therefore, I went with not a lot of expectation, and rightfully so. I ordered the combination with ramen and shredded pork rice, as my friend suggested. I started with noodle slurp: egg noodle, not too soft or too hard, a nice start. Then I took a sip of the milky white pork broth: texture is velvety but with a lingering taste of bland fat that was not exactly inviting. At least the temperature was piping hot. The thin slices of char-shiu pork do not help much as they don't stand out as a flavorful addition to the soup noodle but rather another reminder of the bland fatty taste that permeates throughout. Bamboo shoots are tasteless as well, but the egg is at least flavorful but the yolk is a little overdone for a soft boiled egg. Not to be overly critical here, but I really don't think the shredded pork bowl was all that better because of overabundance of green onion and ginger mixed with a mouthful of that bland fat again.
We had to wait for a long time for the check to arrive as well, while there's a line of people waiting for our table. Overall, at least I can say that I tried this legendary institution, but it does leave much to be desired. Perhaps I am just not a fan of pork in the United States because I was expecting much more flavor...
I ate every drop of the ramen and its a BIG BOWL
my Boyfriend took me here and I had such a great time
really good deals for the Combo plates
everything is amamzing!
we shared the Ramen and Chk Bowl it was really filling.
even though people hate the line/parking
it still keeps it unique and special...
anyone who hasn't gone here yet...
DUH get the RAMEN!
you won't be let down.
Are you really serious? People wait in line for 30 minutes or something just to eat this ramen? o.m.g. It's unbelievable. So, my boyfriend and I were craving for some good ramen, we yelped and found Daikokuya and Orochon in downtown LA.
So, we decided to drive up to LA from SAN DIEGO (yes, 2 hours driving) for our ramen adventure. We got there and we had to wait for 30-40 minutes. I was so excited about the ramen because of all the hypes. I was hungry and it was chilly outside (yes, we waited outside). So, I expected some decent ramen. Others said that Daikokuya is a better version of Shinsengumi. Oh, hold that thought.
When we got in, we were seated on the bar. Man.. it is a dirty little joint (ps: bathroom too). My boyfriend decided to order a combo of ramen (with daikoku and another fatty broth I can't remember), an eel rice bowl and also a grilled kurobuta as an appetizer. We wanted to share the food because we were planning to go to Orochon afterward. Then this girl told us that we couldn't share the meal because it's a combo.. Ok.
Then I decided to order a small ramen thinking that we could finish the food. The food came out pretty fast actually. We tried the appetizer and boy, it's the best appetizer I've ever tried. it was pan fried (even though they claimed that it's grilled), but whatever. It was really that good. then moving on to the eel bowl. Hm.. I'm not a big fan of eel, but I'll still eat it anyway, but for some reason, the fish smelled fishy. meh..
Here comes the ramen. I couldn't wait to dig in when I saw a bunch of green onion on top. I sipped the soup and looked at my bf. he gave me that disgust look that I had on my face too. It was bland. unbelievable. I had to put so much garlic puree and salt into the broth to make it edible.
The egg, oh the egg. I was so thrilled to see the whole soft boiled egg. my bf doesn't like egg, so he gave it to me. I had 2 eggs in my ramen. I was hoping at least the egg could save the day. mmmm.. i bit into it and my bf could see disappointment in my face. It's boiled to the way I like it, BUT it's tasteless. I dislike it. I don't usually leave my food untouched, but this one.. forgive me, I just can't finish it.
I think I should stick to Santouka for the broth, Tajima for the egg and Shinsengumi if we're around orange county area.
oh well.. at least the kurobuta saved the day.. 1 star for that.
One of the most overrated JPN joints in LA - I will admit that I used to enjoy this place (and they have kept their quality up over the years...as opposed to, say, Shinsengumi) but it was never something that I craved or was amazed with, and now thanx to the newly-established hip factor of J-Town on general (which I welcome wholeheartedly) the joint is WAY too crowded and NOT worth the wait.
If I want ramen in this hood i'd much rather hit Orochon in weller court, or even Tokyo Cafe (on San pedro/judge John aiso btwn 1st and Temple) which is only open for the lunchtime but their ramen is one of the few shoyu (soy sauce based) ramen that I like in Cali.
My wife and I went here after seeing a rival restuarant of Daikokya on Man vs Food. I came on to Yelp and saw that everyone loved Daikokuya so we decided to give it a try. We first went by here on a Friday night and saw the huge line outside and decided to take a pass and come another time. We ended up coming down on a Monday night and the line was still fairly long but we decided to tough it out. Waited for about 45 minutes. With the reviews and the long lines, we thought that it would definitely be worth it.
Boy were we wrong! We ordered one tuna sashimi combo and one ramen soup. The service was really quick and friendly but unfortunately the food did not live up to the hype at all. The broth was tasteless, there was hardly any meat and I felt completely ripped off. I could have went to a local market and bought a 99 cent package of ramen and spiced it up a lot better than the bowl I got here. I'm not quite sure what all the hype is. My wife who eats everything couldn't even stomache the soup and left over 3/4 of it.
Much prefer pho with the tastier broth and good amount of meat.
Gave it a try but def first and last one.
Daikokuya has some pretty solid Donkotsu Ramen! Okay, so.. before you go to any ramen place.. do your homework. Depending on what kind of food you like to eat (salty, greasy, bland, light) you'll have to go to the right Ramen place. Ramen is not all the same. So it does not make sense to compare two Ramen places if they are known for different types of ramen. Daikokuya for example serves only Donkotsu, while let's say Koraku serves all different sorts of ramen (Shio, Miso, Shoyu). Each ramen has its own unique flavor. Shio (Salt) Ramen is very light, and not too savory or salty (ironic huh?) while miso can be on the saltier side with complex flavors. Donkotsu Ramen's broth is made by simmering pork bone for a loooong time so the calcium from the bone leaks out and makes the broth white. It is very savory and has alot of flavor and richness. However, it can make the broth be a little heavy or too rich for some people.
In terms of Donkotsu Ramen I have to say Daikokuya is one of my favorite places to go. And I do agree with most of the reviewers in that I think Santouka(serves Asahikawa style Tonkotsu.. mixed with seafood broth) has better ramen (by a tad). However, I prefer Daikokuya because it is its own restaurant while Santouka is part of a food court. So I don't mind losing a very slight bit in taste for the feeling that I'm eating in an actual restaurant. (Santouka is still great when I'm with a bunch of people and not all of them want ramen since we are in a food court). The Tonkotsu ramen at Daikokuya gives me a huge food coma after and my body feels heavy after (but then again I finish all the soup too..) so I try not to have it too often, but it is still great ramen nontheless! The ramen is cooked just right and does not stick together, or gritty (undercooked). And they cook it very well that it does not leave a bad taste after. Cooking Ramen noodle takes technique to cook it right, but also to make sure that the noodle has all the extra flour washed out properly while boiling. If not, it'll leave a weird taste at the end (almost like the feeling you ate something sulfurous)
If Daikokuya feels heavy or greasy or too salty, I suggest you go to a different Ramen house that has Shio Ramen. Daikokuya Ramen is a Tonkotsu soup base flavored using soy sauce (so it's basically very similar to the Shoyu Ramen at Santouka).
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Japanese
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
twirl it, swirl it, slurp it, twist it ...anyway…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Hell A is more like it because it's all your fault…
I love this city by the bay, but if this list gets…
...Rameniac can't have all the fun eating yummy…
Looking for Broth that will make me cry and…
