San Sui Tei - Temple City, CA

5953 Temple City Blvd
Temple City, CA 91780
(626) 285-3650

If you're looking for a cozy little ramen house to spend the day slurping and relaxing, then San Sui Tei is for you. Like many "old school" japanese restaurants, there is a nice (albeit slightly outdated) selection of manga to take advantage of while you wait for your food and ponder how current advancements in nanotechnology will improve the lives of countless ramen enthusiasts throughout the universe. Okay, maybe not that last part but you'll definitely find it peaceful.



Shoyu-ramen: Encircled by a deep, menacing bowl, this ramen appeared to be sitting at the bottom of a well. And with each chopstick lunge, I felt as if I was trying to rescue baby Jessica. Anyway, the shoyu-ramen was pleasant but not as impressive as I thought it would be. The soup was light and flavorful (without any oddities) and there were plenty of toppings (chashu, flavored egg, seaweed, plenty of cabbage, menma, scallions, and corn) to satisfy your hunger. The noodle texture, on the other hand, was very odd and strangely reminded me of "cup noodles." If I were blindfolded I may not have been able to tell the difference. Overall the shoyu-ramen was plentiful and well presented but nothing to get too excited about.


Gyoza: Instant excitement from the first bite to the last! I couldn't tell if they were homemade, but to be honest, I didn't care! They even got me to thinking if I should start a new blog solely devoted to gyoza. Go Gyoza!?? Lol! Don't be trying to steal my ideas now.

Ajisen Ramen - Temple City, CA

9202 Las Tunas Dr.,
Temple City, CA 91780
626-292-3888

When you enter a japanese ramen house and are greeted by "Isharmase" (a butchered version of irashaimase--hello), that's usually a prompt to bolt out the back door...fast! Although they try to mask it with j-pop in the background and an overall japanese feel, there's no mistaking that this restaurant is owned and operated by Chinese. Not that I have anything against this, but it just felt awkward and unexpected as I first walked in. The menu had plenty of photos and it took me about 5 minutes of scanning to realize that they don't have any of the traditional ramens like shoyu. I take that back. They might have them but with untraditional toppings. After looking at pictures of 'Tenderous Ribs Ramen", "Pork Cutlet Curry Ramen", "Beef Ramen", and "Premium Pork Ramen", I finally settled on the Premium Pork Ramen. I held off on the gyoza this time since I couldn't find a combination that I liked and I sure enough wasn't gonna eat 8 pieces by myself.

Premium Pork Ramen: The ramen arrived within minutes of ordering but I thought the bowl looked unusually small. Fortunately it was still packed with enough noodles to fulfill my starvation. This ramen was very flavorful and I enjoyed it very much (at the time I was eating it) but before I go any further I have to mention that the MSG content was insane!! When I got home I filled my bathtub full of water and my tongue sucked it up within seconds! Okay that's a slight exaggeration but more than just an estimation of how my tongue feels. If you have a high MSG tolerance, then you should check this place out but be aware! If you can't stand MSG, then don't even bother. On a side note, this ramen was also very garlicky and the soup base was tonkotsu. Excuse me waiter, more water please!!!