SAKURA NOODLE HOUSE — Restaurant in Los Angeles

This place is great for what it is! What I consider a true hidden gem. It's cheap, the food tastes good enough, and there's plenty to choose from.

The menu has a plentiful. You can choose hot or cold noodle soups, three kinds of noodles (udon, soba, and of course ramen), and more than just chicken or beef in the choice of meat. The curry here may not have a lot of flavor, but soup and noodle item are pretty good.

One should note, they have a surcharge if you don't pay by cash, and another small fee if you get the order to go. Personally, I would highly recommend that you consider not ordering items to-go. For example, let's say you order chicken ramen to go, they'll give it to you in three separate containers; one for the soup, one for the noodles, and one with an entire piece of chicken breast! I know this because this is what one of my friends got, but it's a case by case basis, because my beef ramen was all in one container... On the other hand, if you don't get it to go, they serve it to you in a nice bowl on a tray. Admittedly I'm used to take out places, so I consider this a nice step up, for slightly more cost.

Anyway, besides noodle soup and curry, they also have (big surprise) fried rice and teriyaki plates, but what really intrigued me was the "tonkatsu". Tonkatsu, as I would find out, is cuts of deepfried fried pork, which has become a favorite of mine.

No sushi, there's another counter spot adjacent to this NOODLE place, hence the name, Sakura Noodles; fine example of...

I've been eating at Sakura for something like 30 years. Today is the first time I've been back since COVID, usually choosing to eat at Kouraku, but not willing to pay $15 to park anymore. It was disappointing. Food was mostly bland. Tonkatsu curry rice was not just bland, but the amount of pork was about half what one gets everywhere else, and it was too tough to eat without the knife that they don't provide that you will have to buy in the market. The chicken cutlet was somewhat better, and the portion was larger. BUT... No more cup of miso soup, and no more cup of tea. Even though I tipped 20% at the time of order. And everything was just tasteless. Take a ride out to Duck's in San Gabriel to see how good a small Japanese diner can be. It's worth the trip not to be insulted by the total lack of...

I can't say I had a good experience when I took my wife here to eat lunch after many years of not visiting Sakura Ramen. I was feeling a bit nostalgic so we went. First, we were waiting for a long time in line with nobody attending to us, so that's strike one. Their prices have gone up significantly since last I remembered, strike two. But their most egegious sin was the quality of the food, STRIKE THREE. The broth was too salty. I asked for spicy, but it was so spicy that it hurt to slurp the soup. The toppings were sparse. The chashu was razor thin, they were skimping on the meat, and the pieces weren't very big. The noodles were too chewy, a sign of undercooking. Absolutely no reason to come back here, which is sad as they had better...