Hi everyone, Joan here!

I tried out a new ramen spot in Santa Monica with my friend Elena a couple of days ago. I had driven by Rakkan Ramen for about a year now but never had a chance to go. Since Elena just got back from her trip to Russia and wanted to catch up, we thought we’d try this spot out!

Souvenirs from Russia: chocolates, tea, amulet, and hand-made wooden bird

The cool thing about this place, for someone like me, is that all their broths are plant-based, so you can have most of their ramen bowls as vegan! But you can choose any of their ramen topped with egg, pork or fish seasonings. I ordered Spicy Garnet as vegan and Elena ordered the Garnet as is, both with miso sauce.

The menu

Vegan Spicy Garnet substituted pork with tomato, and egg with tofu

Garnet ramen with pork slices and bamboo shoots

Elena emailed me her ramen critique:

“I liked the ramen! I didn’t understand if it was a chicken broth or a plant based broth, and the broth is not as rich as the Silverlake pork Ramen, but close to richness of the Silverlake chicken Ramen.

There was something unusual about this ramen, but I can’t tell what it is, it’s just some subtle flavors. I only can name nutty sesame oil taste that was a little less subtle so I can separate it from the others. I enjoyed the combination of chewy/elastic noodles, soft and the juicy bamboo pieces in it. They were like canned mushrooms, but tastier, not as earthy as champignons. I generally don’t like pork, but this time chashu was thin sliced, caramelized and fresh, and had a little bit of bonfire flavor and not too fatty texture.

I would definitely go there again! I like how they use healthy plant based broth and you can’t even define it. I would especially go there at night to see this alien luminous signboard again.”

Joan here again! I was very surprised at how good it was. The broth had such a nice, bold flavor and the spiciness definitely kicked but it was tolerable. It was a little too oily for me, but it was still delicious. The noodles were perfectly chewy and did not get soggy right away. The tomato as pork substitute was kind of a funny touch but it worked really well with the whole dish. The tofu, corn, and green onions tied the whole thing together with different textures and crunch, for a very satisfying bowl of ramen.

I was so hungry from working a long day, that I had to order another bowl of noodles. And I finished it all!

Extra noodle!

It’s like getting abducted by aliens to eat ramen!

Thanks for reading!

Joan

Restaurant Info
Rakkan Ramen
Address: 1705 Ocean Ave suite 111, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Telephone: (310) 400-1261

It’s walking distance from 3rd St. Promenade and right across from Tongva park, s street parking is all around and you can also use the parking structures.