End of Summer Updates - 2009

The summer of 2009 has officially come to an end and in my eyes it was probably one of the best ever. With that said, I'm ready to welcome some cool weather so we can all get our slurp on! Anyway, aside from what I've already posted, here are a few ramen updates from around the LA area.

Chin-Ma-Ya of Tokyo has a new noodle! Well, new to LA at least. They've finally brought over the original noodle that they use in Japan. Slightly thinner with more bite, these noodles are definitely better than the previous. Oh! And now they also have a mabo ramen! I'll probably try it this Friday when Friends and Family Night returns!


At last! This ramen-obsessed blogger (that's me!) got to try the Reggiano Cheese Tofu Ramen at Ramen California. My first reaction left me speechless (yea it was that good!), but I soon experienced a strange feeling that is difficult to describe. It was kind of like kissing my dream girl for the first time at the height of emotional exuberance and then realizing she was a bad kisser. Don't get me wrong. This ramen was great and probably the best one on the menu, but for some reason it left an oily coating on my lips that irked my senses. Nevertheless, I'd get it again and again and again.


The Black Garlic Ramen from Shisen Ramen was probably one of the most impressive bowls I ate in LA this summer. It's basically the namesake Shisen Ramen sauteed with a ton of roasted/burnt black garlic, onions, moyashi, and ground pork. The mildly spicy soup combined with the moderate intensity of the black garlic is an eye-opener. I just hope they make it a permanent menu item rather than a monthly special.


And finally, since I had just returned from Onomichi, I decided to try the Onomichi Ramen at Shin-Mama Ramen. Big mistake. The ramen was overall satisfying, but not even close to what I've had in Onomichi. There was no floating bits of fat and it was definitely NOT tongue-and-cheek-cauterization-HOT.


So there you have it. The end of summer. I hope you had as much fun as I did!