Shin Sen Gumi ramen Originally uploaded by jadepearli.
So i finally got my camera attachment for my phone to start working, and of course the most interesting subjects to me are food and edibles. So let the food-blogging begin!
Here’s my lunch from the middle of last week, a savory bowl of ramen from Hakata Ramen (aka Shin Sen Gumi). Hands down, this place has the best ramen i’ve ever ever ever had. To compare, a couple of weeks prior I had gone back to another place ramen place i used to frequent many moons ago, near Mitsuwa in Torrance, and ordered a bowl of shiro ramen, just for old time’s sake.
I could barely get through it. Their noodles were hard, with a terrible chew consistency, and their broth was pure MSG. I went through three glasses of water while trying to eat my noodles. In the end I was more full from the water than from the noodles.
I hadn’t remembered the place being so bad! But I guess the truth was that I really had no comparison at the time.
Shin Sen Gumi is a small chain of restaurants dedicated to bringing the ‘best of Japanese cuisine’ to audiences here in the LA area. They have one ramen house (Hakata), a yakitori place, and a couple of other ones I haven’t really come across yet. However, the ramen place is probably their biggest success.
Now what makes Hakata Ramen special? First of all, the noodles are amazingly soft and pliant, and their chew texture is pure bliss. It’s essentially al dente for ramen. Like them a little harder or softer? Just check the box on the order sheet. Personally, I like them a little softer than normal.
Secondly, the soup is a perfect compliment to the pork-flavored noodles. It is a special dark (and slightly creamy) pork-flavored broth, which can be adjusted in strength and thickness to suit your tastes. Want a little more flavor? Ask for extra soup base. More essence of pork? Extra oil! My preference is extra soup base and standard thickness, but Jer prefers light oil and standard strength broth. But that’s just us. :)
It’s located near the corner of Redondo Beach Blvd and Western, right by the Hanmi Bank and Target. It is well worth the trip. I’m going back later this week, for my combo A, with the little baby mini dumplings pictured. mm tasty.