After several months of walking through the doors of my favorite hangout to a familiar greeting, I'll have to admit, it felt weird to walk in and not see Paul behind the counter. But after a few minutes of getting to know the new owners, my sorrow quickly turned to excitement. With roughly 40 years of experience, the new owner began by opening a Sapporo Ya in LA's Little Tokyo then also one in San Francisco's Japan Town. Although the one in Little Tokyo no longer exists, the SF location is still open under different ownership. This new Sapporo Ya serves the 3 basic types of ramen: Shoyu, Shio, & Miso. Surprisingly, they are all really good--light and refreshing with just the right amount of salt. I wouldn't call them spectacular, but I was pleasantly shocked on how they exceeded my expectations. The homemade gyoza was also quite impressive.
There's also much more than just ramen! Teriyaki bowls & plates, Yakisoba, and Sushi Rolls also occupy the menu. Yes, it's located where Wonton Forest used to be. Service may be a bit slow during this grand opening period, but the owner's wife is a delightful person to chat with. And ironically, she's an old acquaintance of my mom. Anyway, go give them a try and let me know what you think!
18230 E. Gale Ave.
City of Industry, CA 91748
(626) 435-0036
originalsapporoya@gmail.com
M-Th: 11am-3pm; 5:30pm-9pm
F-Sa: 11am-9pm
Sun: 11am-3pm
(FYI: No more public restroom!)
It will be bittersweet to eat at the former location of Wonton Forest.
ReplyDeleteHi Keizo,
ReplyDeleteNice. :) Thanks for the info on this Ramen restaurant.
So, how does this compare with Murakami-san's Miso, Shoyu and Shio Ramen down the street? :)
Hi, Keizo!
ReplyDeleteJust went to Sapporo Ya for lunch. Had the shio and bf had the shoyu. Not bad tasting--very light, lots of noodles, decent flavor, but I expected a little more. To me, the ramen kind of seemed on a par w/ the "fresh" instant ramen packs in terms of the overall general taste.
You're right on w/ the gyoza, tho--it was yums!
I like their kim-chi Ramen.. very good! must try it!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I went to eat here just to try it cause we MISSED Wonton Forest! OMG! From the moment we walked in I was like what, no customers. I ordered the Cold Noodle Salad, my husband had the Pork Yakisoba and we also ordered the Gyoza and California Rolls. I asked if I could wash my hands. The lady said yes just be careful. When I returned, I was surprised to see that my cold noodle salad came in a half size styrofoam box and so did the California Rolls! (it was in a plastic box)! They were not prepared fresh! It was PRE-PREPARED!!! The salad wasn't that great, believe me, hardly any noodles and looked more like a cabbage salad! The dressing, OMG was like plain oil with some vinegar on the bottom. The avocados in the California Rolls was brown due to the fact they were not freshly prepared. Then his Yakisoba came out, it too was served in a styrofoam box!!! What is up with this? Don't they have real plates??? The Gyoza did come out on a real plate to my surprise but it tasted like frozen gyoza to me. Then the bill came, it was $23.82. We gave her $40.00 and she came back with $6.00 and some coins. (probably the $.18 cents) My husband let her know that he gave her $40.00 and she apologized and gave him the $10.00 back. I can see making a mistake but we were the only customers there, it's not like it was busy or anything. Anyway, we did not leave a big tip due to the fact everything was a dissapointment about this place. The only thing I can say was the lady was nice. She asked if everything was okay and we lied and my husband said yes it's good. I ate my food because were paying for it and I don't like to complain in the restaurant so I figured I'd just come home and write about my experience here and just don't eat there again. I should have listened to the other blogger who wrote that the noodles are like Top Ramen noodles.
ReplyDeleteI like their cold noodles salad. why they called it to "noodles salad"? because there is a lot of veggies and noodles mixed. the sauce is just right..maybe it's too traditional for you.
ReplyDeleteI will still recommend people to try it.
I thought the noodle salad was great too, I don't know about you but I like the fact that my salad with vegetable, so I don't see what the problem was with having vegetable in your noodle. I like that their food was light and not overly salty like other ramen places.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jason--
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go back and try out the kimchi ramen on your recommendation. I figure everyone has down days. :-) I'll let you know what I think (I would Yelp it, but I didn't want to be the only review, especially if it was only going to be a lukewarm one).
I love how everyone is responding to each other. I've been back here a few times and the owners are very nice people. Although I miss WoFo, I'm glad that it's still a friendly place. And yes the ramen is still a work in progress but I have hope that it will get better. (btw, @Luvz 2 Eat Out I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience.) Anyway, I've added some more pics to the slideshow so check 'em out. That kimchi ramen wasn't bad.
ReplyDelete