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

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Daikokuya - Monterey Park, CA

111 N. Atlantic Blvd. #241
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 570-1930
Atlantic Place Shopping Center

It's here! The most anticipated opening for a ramen-ya since...oh I can't remember. Anyhow, after being denied entry by a waiter to their private opening party last Wednesday (I guess little cousin Lucky doesn't fly in Japanese), that same waiter came up to me today and said "you look very familiar...have we met somewhere before?" Uuuh...hellooo Mcfly! Hahaha! Kidding aside, the dude was cool and so was the rest of the staff. The space is small yet cozy with a seat capacity of around 25 and it felt strangely more welcome than its downtown counterpart. One thing is for sure, I could get used to this Daikokuya!


A quick glance at the menu and I was like "What! No gyoza?!!" Then the waiter told me to turn the menu over. Duh...


Whew! Daikokuya's top-5-worthy gyoza are always a must order. And from the looks of this backside, there's a lot of new stuff that I'll have to come back and try (e.g. the Mexican Chicken and Fried Spicy Tuna).


Daikokuya Gyoza: A little sweeter than I remember, but still savory and delicious. Did I mention that these are always a must order?


Daikokuya Raumen: The moment of truth. Would it live up to the Downtown hype? Or would it crash like Costa Mesa? Stay tuned for the answer.


The kurobuta pork was outstanding! The melt-in-your-mouth goodness indeed rocked the heavens.


The hanjuku egg was a bit cold and lacking its true flavor. I probably could have let it sit in the hot soup a little longer, but there's no excuse for the bland marination.


The noodles were the typical factory strands that all Daikokuya's use and quite frankly I like them. I've always loved how they pair their tonkotsu soup with a curly noodle.


Now for the soup. It was definitely smooth and creamy without being overly salty. Every sip literally massaged and tickled the throat with a relaxed, lazy response. Although it's not quite up to par with Downtown, it's pretty darn close.

Thanks to everyone who kept me informed on the exact opening date. Much appreciated! And for all of you who are still interested in meeting up...let's do it! I say we order everything on the menu!...twice!

10 comments:

  1. Sounds great Keizo! Now if they would only open one in SD.......... :)

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  2. very nice! a friend went yesterday and she was sooo happy they opened here. definitely interested in hitting this place soon. very close and easy parking!

    but.. top 5 gyoza? vs the rest of the Chinese dumpling houses? afraid not even close...

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  3. @Dennis: I feel ya! SD desperately needs one!

    @TonyC: Thanks! You should definitely hit it up soon before the crowds start to build. I was actually surprised how empty it was when I went. And as for the gyoza: Top 5 for ramen-ya's only. I'm sure there are tons of dumpling houses that have better gyoza.

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  4. Excuse me, I'm suffering from noodle envy right now.

    Aw, man you went already! Yes, let's go before summer really hits and I don't feel like eating ramen anymore!

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  5. haha I assume it is this location now. It looks yum yum ^_^ Now I have ramen envy too! mmmMmmm Gyoza!

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  6. Thanks for your writeup! I look forward to trying this place whenever I will have the chance to come down to Southern Cal (and no need to drive to downtown/J-town location).

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  7. keizo you shoulda called me! actually i've been taking a break from ramen but i definitely could have hooked you up for their opening had i been paying attention XD. how's everything going man?

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  8. Daikokuya in Monterey Park has a lot of promise but the service is excruciatingly slow and the employees are inefficient. People were waiting to be seated outside. When I checked inside, there were at least 4 vacant tables. I had to ask someone why we're waiting. That's only when they let us and the other people in. Inside, we waited over 30 minutes for Ramen (which is their specialty!). Food is good but again, service is painfully slow.

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  9. I went there for lunch a few weeks ago. The service is ok even though there was a crowd, but the noodle doesn't taste as good as the downtown counterpart. As I recalled, the noodle was hard, and the soup was bland, but the only thing that was good in the bowl is the pork.

    Next time I am going back to J-Town or next door to that other place.

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  10. I gave the place another try on my way home. But this time the noodle was better and the soup is pretty decent, but the egg still needs more marination.

    But, it's cool if you want to spend $10-11 (including tips) for ramen.

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