HiroNori Craft Ramen — Restaurant in Santa Fe Springs

So I have to say that I hate to give them 2 stars bc the food there is a 5. This review only reflects our experience at our last visit with this particular waiter. This is the 2nd time we've eaten here and so we are still newbies when it comes to the ramen scene. When we arrived we were seated promptly. I was trying to recall the teriyaki chicken bowl that I got last time I was there but I couldn't find it on the menu. When our waiter came over to start our order I asked him if they had a teriyaki chicken bowl to which he rolled his eyes and replied no. He said they only have the chicken bowl. I asked if they rotate their menu- thinking that maybe bc we came on a weekend last time that maybe they don't offer the same items during the week- this time he couldn't help but laugh at me. He then clarified that the chicken bowl does come with teriyaki he thinks. He then asked another waitress who came over and said yes it does but if I wanted to i could get the teriyaki on the side. Being that my picky 7 year old was with me I thought that would be a good idea. We ordered our chicken bowl with teriyaki on the side and a shoyu ramen. My daughter also got a tea. Our waters came out first and then our food but still no iced tea. When the food arrived the teriyaki sauce was not on the side but I decided to leave it be and just work with what we got. About 10 minutes into our food we asked about my daughter's iced tea. The waiters reply was "yea I can get that for you." Instead of remdying the situation right away he still took another 5 minutes to finally bring the tea. At this point she was pretty much done with her food. I understand that the cost of food and staff have gone up significantly post pandemic however when your staff doesn't care about the experience they give your customers bc they know they're getting a service fee and tip no matter what, then maybe you should step in. The 2 small encounters that we had with one of the female waitresses was pleasant and she was helpful. The male waiter must have thought he was too good to be there bc he could have cared less about our needs or even getting our order correct. If we eat here again I doubt we...

HiroNori Craft Ramen is recommended. They make authentic ramen, and have a focused menu. There are locations in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. My wife had the Shoyu 100% chicken broth with the basics: chashu pork, marinated egg, little mix of veggies. For her, a teaspoon of the house chili paste added just the right amount of piquantness. I ordered the Tonkatsu pork broth with the basics: chashu pork, marinated egg, little mix of veggies. I added all the house chili paste, which is about 30ml. Any more would have changed the flavor too much. I ordered chili oil on the side, but it tasted like regular toasted sesame oil with no chili. About 15ml in my bowl was enough to add a little more umami. However, I'll probably skip it next time. I ordered one appetizer, Spicy Tuna on Crunchy Rice. It comes with two pieces, but I ate one before taking the photo. I really enjoyed it as it was served, and even more with a dab of the house chili paste. The house chili paste is actually a paste, and not chunky or full of seeds. This paste has a smooth texture, and mixes entirely with the broth. That's fantastic. We both were incredibly impressed with the shoyu chicken broth, and I liked the tonkatsu broth. The 24-hour marinated egg was very well flavoured. I'll be adding an extra one next...

Good and service is still great, but the check in process and waiting area has some opportunities. Not everyone seems to know you have to check in online or at kiosk and no one is really available to help. That leaves a lot of people standing by the front door until someone comes by to ask if they have checking in via kiosk/online. The free tea in the waiting area is a nice feature, but it was empty. Might as well get rid of it, cause I would have been fine without it, but trying to fill a cup from an empty thermos in a crowded waiting area is kind of embarrassing and had no idea what to do with empty cup so I just put it back in the stack. Not sanitary, I know, but was I going to hold an empty cup for who knows how long? Clear signs would be helpful. That said, once seated, the food and service was as expected but was not the same experience from my last visit. May have to look into take out. At least there is no service charge to deal with and no awkward waiting.

Food wise, the fried chicken and spicy cold noodles were the stand out and tonkatsu ramen and pork buns being...