Daikokuya - Costa Mesa, CA

2975 Harbor Blvd., Suite 5
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(Marukai Food Court)
(714) 436-0151
www.daikoku-ten.com

Okay so it's not Ippudo, but the next best thing (insert wamu sign here) is having the famed Daikokuya expand into the OC. Located inside the food court of the Marukai in Costa Mesa, Daikokuya tries to quietly conquer where Chabuton failed. Will they succeed? Of course they will, right? They're Daikokuya! And they have real spoons!! I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Daikoku ramen: Mmm...good, but the soup does taste muted. The lush creaminess was like heaven, but it was missing that devilish kick. Oh well, I didn't care. I was too excited to let anyone or anything disappoint. And after a long motorcycle ride on a cool Sunday morning, I was ready for something to soothe my soul. The toppings (chashu, moyashi, menma, negi, egg) were nothing less than top notch. Although the chashu didn't exactly melt, it still hit the spot. And the egg is quite possibly the best egg in a bowl of ramen on this side of the Pacific. The noodles were just noodles. Nothing spectacular, but not disappointing enough to ruin it for the rest. Anyhow, I don't see Daikokuya leaving this food court anytime soon. If anything, Marukai just might have to add more tables somewhere--outside, perhaps.


Gyoza: You can't have Daikoku ramen without an order of gyoza! Eating these are mandatory! So order one...or two...or three! If you don't like green onions, then brush 'em off or order them negi-nashi!

Restaurant Kohryu (revisited) - Costa Mesa, CA

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.

Asameshi Maeda Honten - Mitsuwa Legendary Ramen Fair

2/15 ~ 2/18 Limited Time Only!

Mitsuwa Marketplace
665 Paularino Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 557-6699

I didn't plan on going to try this today, but on my way back from San Diego I passed by on the 405 and couldn't resist exiting (sorry ed I'll still meet you there on Sunday). Asahikawa shoyu has got to be one of my favorite types of ramen, mostly because the rich shoyu flavor blended with pork and fish and all the other ingredients guarantees to put a smile on my face. And Asameshi Maeda Honten was no exception!


The very first thing I noticed was...wow a real bowl. Then I realized I had ticket #266 and that means someone has had to wash 265 bowls before mine...and this is only the first day! Man, I feel sorry for that person. Okay, on to the ramen. I almost felt like I was back in Japan traveling from Tokyo to Yokohama to Kawasaki all in one day to eat ramen. It's too bad we don't have a real ramen park over here, but I guess this is close enough. This ramen was incredibly good! If my stomach would have been able to take it, I would have eaten another bowl. Even with a burnt tongue, that soup was delicious (I think my tongue is really burnt now). The noodles could have been better, but they were just like Asahikawa makes them. The toppings (thinly sliced flavorful chashu, menma, egg, and negi) capped off a remarkably tasty ramen. You have to GO!


Asameshi Maeda Honten will also be in Torrance from 2/22 ~ 2/25 and San Diego from 2/29 ~ 3/3 both at their respective Mitsuwa locations. If you miss the one in your town, I recommend traveling to the next closest. Have fun!

Oki Doki Asian Cuisine - Costa Mesa, CA

At first glance you may not think Oki Doki serves ramen, but a closer look at the menu reveals an obscure shoyu-ramen surrounded by various Asian dishes from Japan, Vietnam, China, and Korea. Located near what I call Costa Mesa's "ramen whirlpool" and owned by the same owner of San Shi Go Japanese Restaurant in Laguna Beach, it's not surprising that ramen made it onto the menu here, albeit just one type--shoyu. An added benefit of this restaurant is that it will also accommodate your not-so-crazy-about-ramen-like-you-are friends, since ramen is not their main dish.

Shoyu-ramen: Not the prettiest looking ramen, but also not their main focus. After all, looks aren't everything. The soup base was very oily and loaded with garlic that pleased my soul. You can distinctly taste some other Asian influences involved which makes this ramen very unique. The toppings (chashu, egg, naruto, moyashi, menma, and glazed scallions) were average and almost went unnoticed. The noodles definitely need some more work too. But I'll let it slide since this isn't their specialty. Overall, this ramen was enjoyable and worth it. I'll have to head back someday, not only for the ramen but for all the other oishii-looking dishes.

Santouka - Costa Mesa, CA

665 Paularino Ave.,
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-434-1101
more info

Located in the Mitsuwa shopping center in Costa Mesa, Santouka is a great place to enjoy a quick ramen after some shopping. Their ramen isn't quite gourmet but it still does a good job of filling that hungry stomach of yours. And don't worry, it tastes much better than the one in that plastic display case. Just be sure to bring your own soup spoon because a fork would probably work better than the spoon they give you. Or you can two-fist it, like I did.

Shoyu-ramen: Balancing a bowl of ramen on a plastic tray in a crowded food court can become quite tricky. And two is just plain stressful! After avoiding any spills and admiring my balancing act, I was finally able to taste what I had been intensely staring at for 10 minutes. To my amazement, the soup was very flavorful but overly oily (see pic below). The noodles had a good texture despite reminding me of the instant nama ramen I had for dinner last night. If I had to choose, I would probably choose the instant ramen. The toppings consisted of a fatty piece of chashu, seaweed, menma, scallions, sesame seeds, and a piece of naruto (not the manga!).

Kohryu Ramen - Costa Mesa, CA

891 Baker St. Suite B-21
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-556-9212

Kohryu used to be my favorite ramen-ya in Orange County up until their recent change of ownership. Now it's just a reminder of my mom's broken english--"I kohryu laeta." Joking aside, the ramen is relatively decent and still may be my first choice when visiting Costa Mesa, but it will never live up to the ramen-ya it used to be.

(I apologize for not having any pics here. My storage card crashed when trying to upload them. I'll take some more when I get a chance to go back.)

Shoyu-ramen: Good flavor, light taste, not very filling. The noodle texture was good but the toppings (or lack thereof) sucked. The disappointment of ownership change is affecting my ability to leave a detailed review...my apologies.

Shio-ramen: Same as shoyu but a little lighter. It needs more than just one piece of chashu and 3 pieces of menma.

Gyoza: The pre-ownership change gyoza was also much better than it is now but I was still pleased with the flavor. It actually woke up my senses and invoked the nostalgic memories of old-koryu. If you go here just to eat the gyoza you should leave happy. You may even want to stay away from the ramen all together and order one of their chinese dishes.

Mentatsu - Costa Mesa, CA

688 Baker Street #7
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-979-2755

Located behind Wahoo's on the corner of Baker and Bristol, Mentatsu is slightly hidden and often overlooked by shoppers heading to the neighboring japanese market, Mitsuwa. It seems like every time I come here this restaurant has a new name. In my opinion, it has the highest ownership turnover of all the ramen-ya's in Orange County, but I could be wrong. Perhaps it's the location--the small parking lot and hostess bar next door--or maybe it's just the food. As I walked in, I noticed that the interior had been nicely remodeled as opposed to the hole-in-the-wall that it used to look like. Could this be a good sign or just the attractive lure that holds our stomachs hostage?

Shoyu-ramen: Similar to the interior design of the restaurant, the shoyu-ramen looked better than it actually tasted. I wasn't impressed at all. The soup base was light and crisp, but after a few sips I began to notice an influx of pepper going down my throat. Not a delight. The noodles were equally bad. They had that freeze-dried-feel you get from packaged ramen at the market. You know, with the permanent crinkles. I felt like I could reconstruct the square block without using a wizard. The toppings even tasted artificial. If you like chashu made from an egyptian mummified pig then this is surely the ramen for you. The egg was just an egg, the menma was just menma, and the kamaboko was just fish cake. I could've eaten this at home.


Gyoza: The gyoza looked great as well, but what is it with this place? They must have got their hands on the business plan for the hostess bar next door! I'm surprised that they just haven't hired all the hostesses to sit with you while you eat this crap--I still wouldn't go back. Okay, now back to the gyoza. Once again it tasted like something you can buy from the freezer section of Mitsuwa and cook at home. The garlic content was so minimal it could probably be classified as a pro-oxidant. I bet if a vampire was sitting next to me I would be one by now.