Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen - Little Tokyo — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Like Burger King, ramen your way.

My first time having ramen w/o Top in it's name, or Instant Lunch or Cup Noodles for that matter.

I spent a lazy Sunday with a visit to Little Tokyo. After checking out the Japanese American National Museum & window shopping at the Japanese Village Plaza, we worked up impressive appetites and visited the famous Shin Sen Gumi for a late lunch. As previously stated, I'm a newbie to the ramen scene. Being the adventurous foodie that I am, ready & willing to experience new food adventures, I was more than game for a steaming bowl of the Asian delicacy.

Shin Sen Gumi was pretty busy when we arrived, but I used the time effectively by giving the ramen checklist a once-over. I chose-

Normal amount of noodles Normal thickness of said noodles Extra oil Strong soup base Cod roe Pig ears

The waitress called out my name, and we were quickly seated, but not before being welcomed with shouting, which everyone experiences entering & leaving. I gave my slip to the employee & was expecting piping hot goodness in a lil bit. Lo & behold, he said they were out of cod roe & pig ears. Awwwwwww..................

Alright, after a quick look through once more, I opted for poached egg & corn. A short wait later, it arrives - Mmmmm, so good! I'm a pho fan, but I think I've found my new food crush. The soup was very rich, tasty & flavorful. I could taste the culture & history that comes in every bowl. I love the fact that ramen can be made with different ingredients. I desperately want to try ramen with cod roe & pigs ears during my next visit. Other toppings include spicy miso & various cuts of meat. In addition, the toppings are served on the side so patrons can share if they want to. I hastily slurped up every last drop of ramen, to heck with my bulging stomach!

Why 3.5 & not 4 stars, you say? It's the shouting. At first, greeting & thanking every customer with shouting is cute, novel & part of the charm of dining here, but after the 10th time, it becomes quite annoying. Shin Sen Gumi is loud enough already with customers talking & the pop music playing. The shouting makes dining here a potential migraine-inducing experience. I'm assuming the staff must have sore throats & coarse voices by closing. I know I would.

I enjoyed having my first bowl of ramen at the famous Shin Sen Gumi. All the variations of ramen available for me to experiment with has me giddy with anticipation. Can't wait to come back for the cod roe & pig ears

Sorry pho, I've found a new...

As I write this review, I'm remembering that I have been here a few times already. Once by myself, almost immediate seating. Another time with a friend with a short wait time. Each location may be slightly different so what I did like about this one are the different flavor packages. I got the GPK which is garlic chips, pouched egg, and kimchee. Along with a large bottle of Kirin to share definitely hit the noodle spot. That's what happened on the second visit.

The most recent visit, I get a call from a friend requesting for late night eats. As the time ticks away, places are closing left and right as 10:00pm or 10:30pm approaches and passes on by. This place keeps on chugging until midnight. A ramen place open until midnight, only a few places does this which is why they are on my list. This time the wait was longer while waiting for two friends to arrive. Next available seating would be best. My name gets called, oh crap, not all here yet. Counter seating was passed up. Another call, not her yet sir, table gets handed out. Once they arrived, the guy comes out like it's right on cue. We get a small table exactly for three.

By this time, my eyes get really big. How much bigger can my eyes get, you should have seen them when Alonzo says, let's split the curry set. Waiter, order please... Calpico refills, ramen customized, curry plate, appetizers, I think we need another table just for our stuff. I like my noodles al dente and less salty on the broth and less oil. Nothing but garlic, garlic oil, fresh garlic, garlic chips, what else do you have back there behind the counter? Takoyaki was very good, nicely cooked and sauce was just like how I imagined it. Pouched egg on mine, bean sprouts on theirs, bamboo here, bamboo there, calpico everywhere...then we still have the curry rice to finish. Once I finished my ramen, the waiter asks if I would like to add more noodles. Duuuuuude, I cannot move after devouring the curry rice. Would you like a refill? Yes please. Ha ha, that's all it takes with no arm twisting. I think the employees had to roll us out of this place tonight.

In case you did not know as things change, the Office Depot parking lot is for this ramen place and the business next door with validations available. So don't...

Management please remove the server station at the entrance patio please! No need to look at dirty dishes as people wait to enter. Or make use of some cover... Patio seating is great at this location with that exception as stated. You would need to scan QR code for the menu for the most part. There are hard copies if you ask. The servers provided great service for the holiday lunch that my group enjoyed there. Parking was a bit ambiguous as some of us parked with validation while on the same lot some needed prepaid and some of us landed street parkings right upfront. The supposedly designated parking is the former Office Depot lot. There is construction next door for the subway so go now before the subway opens and flood this place with more customers.

Food was great. We had more appetizers than ramen. The ramen is a set of options from soup quantity, oil, firmness of noodle, to sides, condiments, extra.. your choice of charsui, dumpling, and shrimp or some combination of those as the topping. Best to go with lunch combos where you get ramen and a side of fried dumplings or curry rice. The curry was pretty good. Too bad I didn't ask for more pickles. The soup was just right. Not too thick or salty but tasty and went well with the ramen. My group said the charsui was great. I thought it was pretty good among the Japanese shops. I like that hot/warm but they came about cold. The ice cream dessert someone in my group ordered and can't say enough good things about it. Certainly looked great! Drink selection was limited. Hold off until afterward. Plenty of options next door or across street. Do plan to walk around after your meal since you are there and have landed a parking already. J-town is relatively alive after covid. Although the scene has changed somewhat with all the new buildings and developments. No pics this round since it was a big group and food lands on the table and someone jumped on top of it immediately.

Do read the receipt carefully. I think party of 6 gets an automatic surcharge 15% but when the credit card slip comes around, it asks for another set of tips but then the original per item receipt was not available anymore. Not sure how that works but decide...