いらっしゃいませ!

Welcome to my ramen dream... Currently being interpreted in Ramen Burger Land... Looking for a good slurp? Email me ! - Keizo

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Katana Sushi and Ramen - Hacienda Heights, CA

3107 Colima Rd.
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
(626) 333-7222

It's Q? No it's Katana Sushi and Ramen! After browsing a forum thread on rameniac's site which mentioned It's Q Ramen (Ikkyu), I decided to go check it out. But after calling to see what time they open, I was greeted by a soft "Hello, Katana Sushi and Ramen." Did I call the wrong place? Anyway, it doesn't matter. I still heard them say ramen so I asked for their hours and headed out my door. Anything to kill that Noodle Pluto taste that's still lingering from yesterday.

Tamayu-ramen: After reading some prior reviews about It's Q, it looks like their ramen still lives at Katana. Perhaps the owner of It's Q simply changed their name and added sushi. Or perhaps the new owners also bought the ramen recipe. Or perhaps they just enslaved the old ramen chef. Or perhaps I know nothing at all. What I do know is that I actually really enjoyed this hakata-style tamayu-ramen. It also eerily reminded me of Shimadaya's nama tonkotsu ramen in the package. Could this just be a pure coincidence? Hmmm...it makes me wonder. Well the soup base was oily and excellent. The noodles were slightly undercooked but I didn't mind since it beats being overcooked. The toppings were simple (thinly sliced moist chashu, negi, goma, and konbu), giving the ramen some individuality. And with Utada Hikaru singing First Love in the background (natsukashii), I virtually fell in love with Tamayu!


Gyoza: For just $7 total, my Tamayu-ramen came with three pieces of gyoza. Not bad! Although these were deep-fried and reminded me more of fried wontons than gyoza. They even came with their own sweet ponzu-like sauce. Good but not great. There are plenty of other items to choose from for this ramen-combo so you might be better off skipping the gyoza here.

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