891 Baker St. Suite B-21
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 556-9212
I had this nightmare once. And it almost came true last year. But luckily they were able to accommodate me. BUT that was last year. And what was the nightmare about, you ask? Well, it was about a waiter at Kohryu saying "Sorry, we can't do that anymore." Those six words relayed in Japanese would leave my heart skipping. But that was a nightmare. It couldn't really happen right?
Wrong! It's now official, Kohryu will NEVER be that same Kohryu I remember from the late 90's. They have refused to make the one and only thing that kept me from ditching Kohryu after their first ownership change--Paiko Ramen R.I.P.
And yes I did say "first" ownership change. Now it appears that they've had their second. After recently hearing that Kohryu had a grand opening (or grand re-opening) in January that had people lining up for 2+ hours (Is that really true?), I thought I'd head down to my old hood and check out the newest version of my once-favorite-ramen-ya. I first blogged about Kohryu last July, and back then they were still similar to how the original one was. Even though the taste had changed, the overall feel had not and they were always eager to make the off-menu Paiko Ramen. But now, the only thing left is the name. The people working are different. The decorations are different. And heck, even the soap in the bathroom is different. I may never recover from this resentment, but I will try my hardest to fairly review the following food I ate.
Kohyru-ramen (shoyu): So I settled on the Kohryu-ramen. A refreshing shoyu ramen with an overwhelming fried onion impression. It tasted like french onion soup with noodles. Not that that's bad, but it was not expected. The noodles were just your average ramen noodle probably made in some factory down south. The toppings (a hanjyuku egg, chashu, menma, raw negi, and charred negi) appropriately kept this ramen afloat. The hanjyuku egg was the most worthy part. Overall, I would say that this was last year's Lakers. With the hanjyuku egg being Kobe and everything else just there to complete the roster. It's definitely lacking some Pau!
Gyoza: This gyoza did not look appetizing at all. It tasted fine with loads of garlic, but they still couldn't compare to how good they used to be.
Age soba: Kohryu was never really a full-fledged ramen-ya, but from this day on I will consider it only as a Chinese Restaurant. This age soba was absolutely delicious. It's like pan-fried noodles. IF I ever go back to Kohryu, I will be ordering this and only this.
hihi, I am new for your bolg...i do like ramen. I had all Irvine, Costa mesa, Fountain Valleg and Tustin ramen ya which you post. and couple on the other locations. I had 6 different ramen when I was in Sapporo last Dec. After readin your bolg...let me feel want to have ramen tonight. for locationwise, Kohyru is the one i like most so far...and i like gyoza very very much. Keizo do you know any ramen around Fair view, orange county?
ReplyDeleteHi Tammy, thx for visiting my blog. I miss Sapporo ramen. I went there after high school and ate some of the best ramen ever. I can't wait to go back. As for ramen around Fairview?...you've probably been to them all. Mentatsu, Kohryu, and Santouka are the only ones now. And don't forget the new Daikokuya on Harbor. Kohryu is good, but nothing like how it was in the 90's. I wish I could go back to that time.
ReplyDeleteKeizo. guess what??? i did have remen last night at Kohryu. I had Daikokuya in LA store long time ago, ok..i will go try and let you know
ReplyDeleteNice! Don't forget to order the gyoza!!
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