Haha sorry! I couldn’t help myself.

Anyway, Joan here. I’ve had a pretty bad cold all week and have been craving a good bowl of spicy ramen. Last night, my brother and I visited our cousin, Michelle and wanted to check out Kotoya for their awesome spicy ramen. There was quite a wait and I became a bit anxious so we decided to switch to Hayatemaru, just a few minutes away. I’ve been here with Michelle and Tanya before and thought it was pretty good. I also had a chance to try their new Ebiton ramen at the Ramen Yokocho Festival so I thought we’d give the restaurant a second try!

 Can’t have ramen without beer!

When we arrived,  I think a big crowd had just left because most of the seats were empty but the tables covered with empty dishes, including the bar area. But they were pretty quick with cleaning and we were seated at the bar. All the staff were very friendly and greeted us as soon as we walked in.

We ordered some Asahi beer and gyozas to start. The server mentioned their Ebiton ramen. She got excited when I told her I  had tried it at the ramen festival and kept thanking me. Then she told the chef about that he seemed pretty amused by it. I guess they were happy that the festival brought them customers that night!

Loved this lighting fixture!

 Different ramen bowl sizes… and Mark.

 Chashu in the sushi display case

I originally wanted some spicy ramen, but after having stared at their tsukemen on the menu for a good minute, I decided to go with that! Michelle and I both ordered their Tsukemen Miso and Mark ordered their Red Miso Ramen.

 Tsukemen Miso. I loved the presentation!

 Red Miso Ramen

  Thick and chewy noodles

I really enjoyed my tsukemen. The miso broth was very rich and flavorful. It wasn’t as salty as I had expected and there was a hint of ginger, which I actually liked! The fried tofu in the broth was also a nice touch. The noodles were perfect, I devoured them pretty quickly and kept eyeing Michelle’s unfinished plate of noodles. The chashu was descent; it was tender but I don’t know what it tasted like by itself since I dunked the whole thing in the broth. I loved the dry and fresh seaweed toppings and the green onions. The egg was not too memorable and I gave my menma to Mark. Overall, I loved the broth and I loved the noodles and would totally eat this again!

I had a taste of Mark’s red miso broth and it was quite tasty. It wasn’t spicy like I thought it would be because of the name. But it was very good. Maybe I’ll try that one next time! He really liked it but felt that the broth was a little too thick for his liking.

Despite how stuffed we were at the end, we wanted to check out the Nijiya market on Sawtelle for dessert, just a few blocks away. And of course, we bought some mochi ice cream! If you ever find these at the store, (and this particular flavor is hard to find) you have to try Maeda-En’s Black Sesame bonbons. They are so bomb! As we ate our bonbons, we perused through some Japanese magazines. They can be pretty amusing!

Black Sesame Mochi Ice Cream bonbons… mmmm

Can someone please explain this man and his cat?!

By the way, my cold became worse overnight. I really should get myself some spicy ramen now. Thanks for reading!

Joan

Restaurant Information:
Ramen Hayatemaru
11678 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 444-7555

The restaurant is in a small shopping complex with really tight parking spaces. But you can also park on the street.