Sunday, January 17, 2010

Gardena Ramen


Now, I try to keep fanboy gushing to a minimum while writing objective reviews or commentary on the places I eat at; but I have a hard time containing it when I think about Gardena Ramen. As it stands right now, this may be the best ramen I've eaten in California.

I understand the aforementioned claim is a bold one, but let me backpedal and explain myself. Gardena Ramen is a tiny ramen shop on an unassuming street in Torrance (in a shopping plaza, sandwiched between a Chinese restaurant and a donut shop no less), without any frills or kitschy interior design. As you enter, there will be three things you notice, and I shall put them here in list form: 1) The chairs are hysterically ironic, since they are nice wooden chairs with coffee mug designs on them, which would be more at home in a coffee shop...or even the donut shop next door. 2) It is almost always empty. Empty as in you will be lucky to see even one other diner in here sometimes. 3) There is no menu...there are simple pieces of paper on the wall detailing what they serve, which is: shoyu ramen, miso ramen, and gyoza.

After reading the above details, I'm sure that some people will be turned off. But folks, I tell you, this all just adds to the charm and mystique of Gardena Ramen. I actually will invoke a metaphor I read on someone's Yelp review (I know, I know...Yelp). The metaphor was "Gardena Ramen is like the In n Out of ramen." And I have to agree wholeheartedly; they have a tiny menu, but this allows them to totally perfect and focus on just those limited dishes.

Once you sit down, you'll be greeted by a friendly older Japanese woman who is seriously one of the sweetest obasans you will ever meet. She will quickly take your food and drink orders, and quickly scurry (happily still, might I add) to the back to relay the information to the only other employee of the establishment: her husband, the chef. I am still amazed at how nice this woman is, it is just really comforting...which goes hand-in-hand with ramen, which is comfort food!

As soon as the food comes out, you will be amazed. Every single topping included in the ramen is arranged PERFECTLY...I mean, I can imagine the chef sitting there in the back with tweezers, carefully placing each ingredient in a specific spot. I almost didn't want to eat it! I was lucky enough to take a picture, but it doesn't do the ramen enough justice (plus my friend decided to dump all her green onions into my bowl without even discussing it with me first! Gah!).

I took a bite of the chashu first, and dear God was it good. Not too much fat, not overcooked, just the way it should be. Next, I sampled the broth. The shoyu broth here is my favorite part of the ramen, it is just simply satisfying. Most places tend to make their broth too salty or oily, but here it is light without sacrificing the flavor. Speaking of flavor, dipping your ramen spoon in will reward you with a combination of pork, shoyu, and just enough hint of green onion as if to say "Hey! Hey buddy! I may be subtle, but I'm here!"

I think if I had to pick the second best thing about Gardena Ramen, it is definitely the noodles. I can assure you, if you are an avid ramen eater and have not been across the ocean to try ramen, then you probably have not eaten noodles like this. They are firm and cooked so perfectly, and they refuse to get soggy! It seriously is the weirdest thing, these noodles do not get soggy. In addition to the quality of the noodle, you get what appears to be a handful of noodles so large that it would (and did!) make an Italian blush. I was able to clean my bowl, but it was no easy task. My accompanying ramen cohorts weren't so lucky, but seriously, come here hungry!

Now that I've neared the end of the review, there is one other thing I need to address: the price. I'm never one to really factor the price into whether or not I eat somewhere (unless I feel like the place is terrible and charges way too much for the sub-standard food they serve), but the price here cannot be beat. For a bowl of ramen that you have a good chance of not finishing, you pay $6.50. This includes the titan's portion of noodle, hard boiled egg, green onions, and bamboo shoots. There were three of us dining there, and each of us had ordered a bowl of ramen and then split two large bottles of Asahi, and the bill came out to $30.50. Seriously, it's a steal considering how damn good the ramen here is!

If you haven't noticed already, I love this place. The combination of amazing food and genuine warmth and hospitality from the owners just has not been beat by any other ramenya I've visited in California. Please go make the trip to Torrance for Gardena Ramen, I promise you it will be worth it. Don't let this place go out of business!

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