Hey folks, Joan again.

I have begun my quest for tsukemen! Because I was in Santa Monica visiting Michelle, I couldn’t resist going to Kotoya again! (Yes, I love that place…)

It was a Friday night and the restaurant was packed! We didn’t sit at the bar this time.

Ever since Michelle and I went to Tsujita LA last month, I became very drawn to the idea of dipping noodles. Summer time is here and I’m sure a bowl of steaming broth in your face in hot weather would not make ramen eating a pleasant experience. Tsukemen would be a great solution to ramen deprivation I might have placed upon myself because of 100 degree weather.

We ordered some gyozas to start and Michelle had a salad. She ordered her usual Red Ramen and I ordered their tsukemen. You can order the tsukemen in the normal or large size, for the amount of noodles. The broth had a sweet and spicy flavor but it was a bit on the saltier side. But overall, it was tasty! The noodles are much thicker than what they use in their ramen but they had the usual toppings; chashu, cabbage, nori and menma (which I asked to not to include.) I also ordered their soft-boiled egg. I wish I had ordered the large side of noodles because I wanted to use up all the broth I had left over and I was still hungry. So I ordered some takoyaki and the person that I’m assuming is the head chef, cooked them and brought them to me. He was very nice and sweet! We chatted a bit about how he grew up in Japan and that he noticed I came to his restaurant pretty often.

Anyway, I enjoyed my tsukemen and eager to try  them at other places. I might go back to Tsujita Annex since I hear they serve tsukemen now. But don’t worry Kotoya, you’re still my number one ramen joint!

Thanks for reading!

Joan

Restaurant Information:
Kotoya Japanese Ramen
11901 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 477-1199