Asahi Ramen - Los Angeles, CA

2027 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 479-2231
www.asahiramen.com

Back when I was in college, Asahi Ramen was the only good ramen-ya in the Westwood area. I never considered it the best ramen, or even really good for that matter, but it was decent and always fulfilled my weekly ramen craving--especially during finals. I've often wondered why I haven't been back since those days, but I guess I've just been too busy trying the rest. I even received an email the other day from a reader saying: "I can’t believe you’ve never blogged Asahi Ramen?! " Well here it is. I hope you enjoy it better than I enjoyed the ramen.

Shoyu-ramen: I wish I could say a(aaaah)sahi...but it's not even worth the oxygen it'll take to do that. I think I may have been overly looking forward to this ramen because it was a serious disappointment. The soup was very bland. According to their website, "the broth is derived from meats and 10 different types of vegetables and steeped for over 24 hours." What meats? I couldn't taste a thing! Even the noodles were overcooked. The toppings (chashu, egg, menma, moyashi, and negi) were also sub par. The chashu weren't as dry as they look in the picture, but they still couldn't rescue this review. I think the trick here is to NOT get the shoyu-ramen. I remember the mabo-ramen being good in the past and I've also heard good things about the tan tan-ramen. Next time, I'll definitely be trying one of those.


Gyoza: Do you really want to know how these tasted? They were like rubber erasers with thick skin and a hint of garlic. I was utterly disappointed. Enough said!