Tonkotsu

Egg Drop… Ramen Soup?

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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 →

Girl Talk

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Hey friends,

Sometimes you don’t realize how long you’ve known someone, until you randomly spot an old photo that brings back all sorts of memories.

Here is an 8-year-old photo of myself and a few friends from college. You may recognize the fellow with the soul patch to the far left, standing next to me. That’s Max, he has been on several of my blog posts. But this blog post is about my friend Akane, (the young lady to the far right dressed in all black.)

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Fancy Shmancy

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Hey everyone!

Tanya here. We went to a fancy shmancy ramen bar in Hollywood, Robata Jinya. The wait was around 30 mins but wasn’t too bad because it was around dinner time. The place is on the smaller side and pretty dark. Almost too hip for my taste haha.

Hey folks, Joan here. I was so glad to have Tanya and her fiancé, Aaron, come out to Hollywood to see me perform. I had a gig with Matthew Jude Band at Molly Malones (back in December) and this was the first time Tanya had seen me play with him. Since she was coming out to see me, I thought we’d go on a ramen run! As Tanya said, the place was too hip for a ramen joint. The customers looked like they were going clubbing and most of the staff were not very welcoming.

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Tonkotsu Hakata Classic
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Police Force Ramen

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Did you know that the Shinsengumi were a special police force of Japan during the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate? The Shinsengumi kept the peace in Kyoto between 1853 and 1867, when Japan opened up to the West and their political situation became very chaotic.

I sound like I know what I’m talking about….

Hey everyone, Joan here. Last Friday, I went on a ramen run with my friend Max (ramen run celebrity wannabe and Bodhi Rock trumpeteer) at the new Shinsengumi in West LA. With the stiff competition of ramen restaurants in Little Osaka, I was surprised that Shinsengumi found a home on Sawtelle Blvd. It was located several blocks north of the Little Osaka area where there’s a ramen spot on every corner. But at least the West LA folks won’t have to make a trek down to Little Tokyo in Downtown LA just for some customizable ramen!

IMG_7132Shinsengumi is located in a very unusual area…

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Post-Reggae Ramen

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Hey everyone, Joan here.

After a night of reggae and dancing with my friends, Bodhi Rock, I was soooo hungry and wanted ramen. The only place I knew of that was open past midnight was Tatsu Ramen in Little Osaka. My friend, Jeraldin, who has been so great at supporting the Bodhi Rock shows, joined me for ramen.

IMG_6670Bodhi Rock rockin’ it at the Basement Tavern in Santa Monica.
Oh, and me!! (on congas)

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Ramen Run with the Clan

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Hey everyone!

This afternoon, I went on a ramen run with my cousins! They’ve heard of my ramen runs and have always wanted to try good ramen. They all live in the Hacienda/Rowland Heights area so we met up at Daikokuya.  Being that I have been there several times, I wanted to try something different. I ordered their Tsukemen, and everyone else ordered the Daikoku Ramen, and one ordered it with kotteri (soup extracted from back fat.)

IMG_0072 My Tsukemen

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A Beautiful Day in Santa Monica

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I finally made it to Tsujita in West LA yesterday! Tsujita is famous for their 60-hour broth and they only serve ramen during their lunch hours from 11 am to 2 pm. I met up with my cousin, Michelle, and friend, Max, at Tsujita around 1 pm. There was a long line of customers but we waited for only 20 minutes or so and managed to get a table inside.

We started off with some Kirin beers. Max and I ordered their Char Siu Ramen, (which is their tonkotsu ramen with extra slices of barbequed pork,) and Ajitama (seasoned boiled egg) and Michelle ordered the Char Siu Tsukemen with extra green onions.

IMG_9713Char Siu Ramen

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