Gluten-Free Vegan Ramen?!

Hi everyone, Joan here!

So… I recently switched over to a gluten-free way of eating. Why? Because it turns out, verified by my doctor, that I have a gluten sensitivity and is the reason why I have had  skin issues for years. I’m not gonna go into too much details on that but it’s been about 3 weeks that I have not had bread, pasta, noodles or anything that has any wheat in it. So what does this mean for my ramen blog?!

When I announced some years ago that I have also switched to a plant-based diet, people asked the same question. Not to worry, there are still options out there and I have experimented on my own on how to make a gluten-free vegan ramen. Check out this recipe that I have made, inspired by Silverlake Ramen’s Vegetable Ramen recipe with a few of my own adjustments. You can do this gluten-free or with wheat noodles.

Gluten-free Vegan Ramen

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Pre-Apocalypse Ramen

Hello friends, Joan here!

We are living in strange times, aren’t we? Now that we’re all stuck at home, I hope everyone is using their time to rest, practicing healthy habits, but also being creative and learning. This is definitely a good time for me to catch up on blogging!

Before businesses started shutting down and people going on self-quarantine due to COVID-19, my husband and I were in the Covina area for a meeting. Since we were out there and I’ve been eyeing a ramen spot in Covina for a while on Instagram, I took this as an opportunity to try Artisan Ramen Kono.

I love simple menus

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A Bowl Fit For A King

Hi all, Joan here!

Just sharing a quick post of a spot I found on a whim as I was driving home from visiting family. I’ve been eyeing some new spots out in the San Gabriel area but wanted to save them for another time. Anyway, I found a place called King of Ramen in Pasadena on my way home.

I’ve never heard of this place, nor are they on social media. But I was intrigued so I gave it a try!

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Post SoulCycle Ramen

Hey everyone!

It’s been a while… but I thought I’d write a quick post about something that got me sooooo excited.

I tried SoulCycle for the very first time after being invited by my friend Matt for almost a year now. But that wasn’t what I was actually excited about.

I forgot my workout socks… don’t judge me.

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Vegan Ramen

Hey everyone! Joan here.

I know it has been a while, but I’m back in the blogging world. So much has changed for me since my last blog post, hence why I have not written. To make it short, I moved out of Santa Monica (not too far, still on the Westside,) became a vegetarian, and have not been eating a lot of ramen. My dietary decisions was based solely on having a healthier lifestyle but it did not necessarily mean that ramen would be completely out of the picture!

Very few places I have been to have great vegetarian ramen, and I have yet to find a vegan one! However, I found a vegan spot two weeks ago during a road trip to San Francisco.

After an entire day of San Francisco-ing, (Andytown Coffee, Haight Ashbury, Painted Ladies, Mrs. Doubtfire House, Palace of the Arts, Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street) we stumbled upon Shizen Vegan Sushi Bar & Izakaya in the Mission District. Although we originally planned on trying the sushi, I could not resist when I saw ramen on the menu.

img_3969 Spicy Garlic Miso Ramen Continue reading

Egg Drop… Ramen Soup?

Hey everyone, Joan here.

Back in 2011, Tanya and I both lived in the Inland Empire and it was not always easy to travel to LA just for ramen. Then we found a little gem, the Shogun Restaurant in La Verne, that served a nice bowl of ramen. You can view the old blog post here.

A year later, we found out that they had stopped serving ramen and our hearts were broken…

I recently found my way back to Shogun Restaurant with some friends after a church gig. And to my surprise, ramen was back on their menu! I ordered it of course, but unfortunately, it was not the same.

IMG_4519Tonkotsu Ramen… Egg drop soup style Continue reading

Anti-Vegetarian

Hello friends,

Joan here. I’m doing something that I haven’t done in a long time… write a blog post shortly after a ramen run! AGH!

Saturday night, I had a ramen dinner with my brother, Mark, who’s visiting LA for the weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Ramen Hayatemaru in West LA and I was craving their awesome tsukemen. Also, Hayatemaru is not only great at ramen but they have amazing appetizers. We started off with some gyoza and spicy cucumbers. Be careful, those cucumbers definitely had a kick to them!

IMG_3619 … well you can have good gyoza at Hayatemaru!
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Return to Foo Foo Tei

Hey everyone,

The first time Tanya and I went to Foo Foo Tei in 2011, (see old blog post here)  it scared the crap out of us! First of all, it was in the evening and driving into a creepy neighborhood made us really nervous. Second, we were not very pleased with our ramen experience back then so we haven’t gone back since.

Now that I’m older, wiser, stronger and can probably kick the crap out of an old creeper, I decided to give Foo Foo Tei another try!

IMG_2849 So many ramens!

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Drums and Ramen!

Hey guys,

A few months ago, a bunch of friends and I met up at the NAMM show (National Association of Music Merchants for those who don’t know )at the Anaheim Convention Center. Well, I’m not a big gear head that needs to know and try all the new stuff out. But going to NAMM was just an excuse to hang out with your good friends and hit odd things that we most likely would never own.

NAMM At NAMM with friend and fellow drummer, Sarko Manchez

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