It all started when our friend Paddy suggested that we meet for lunch at the Mitsua ramen place early in August. Up until then my impression of “ramen” as a non-Japanese was that you buy it in packs of 10 for $1 and starving graduate students cook it in beakers at the lab because they are too poor to buy real food. So when we showed up at the Santouka ramen shop in Mitsua (Yelp), I was very skeptical and expected an overpriced pack-a-noodle that was going to be served to me in a ceramic bowl. Since they were selling a Kimchi ramen that looked like a limited edition – I got that one.

Um… HOLY COW THIS IS JAPANESE RAMEN?

Thus began my addiction for eating ramen in the month of August. My husband and I went to local ramen places that we heard about, and in a short month we went to 5 different ramen places including the original one that kicked off my addiction. Since we also have a toddler who won’t sit still, going to a ramen establishment for us is not just about the food, but about speed and toddler-friendliness. Yelp reviewers do a great job telling you the details of the place so I’m not going to try writing one when you can read five hundred reviewers about these places. Instead, I’m going to focus on the factors that *I* care about.

Here goes.

Santouka ramen shop in Mitsua (Yelp)
My husband loves the special pork ramen and while it is expensive ($11 for large) he loves the buttery soft pork. I like the Kimchi ramen and that it comes with an egg as a topping – all other places the egg is extra.

LOVE! The broth and the free egg topping! Broth is “swim worthy”, as in “I want to dive into this and swim in this.” If you can get the tatami sitting area, it is also toddler friendly.

LAMENT! the fact that they only take cash and there is no take-out. If you can’t get the tatami sitting area, it is no longer toddler friendly.

Mottainai ramen shop in Gardena (Yelp)
Sapporo lover ramen is what we always get. I also must get the spicy miso aka “Red Bomb Chili Peast.” Peast. Not Paste, mind you!

LOVE! The broth the spicy miso and the egg! Broth is really salty so I do not recommend getting “thick soup” option unless you want to die of high blood pressure before you finish your meal. Mottainai is also one of the few ramen places in town that DARES TO SERVE UP SOFT BOILED EGGS. I love… LOVE their soft boiled eggs with the spicy miso ramen. We usually get the corner table so my toddler can play around the plant and be entertained while we eat our meal. Since we went there during their opening weeks we got a couple of chopstick cases with their logo. Whenever we bring it we get 1 free topping.They also take credit cards!

LAMENT! I really don’t like their ramen noodle that much. One of our friends said (and I agree) that it’s kind of like chinese lomen noodles in terms of texture and consistency.

Hakata ramen shop in Gardena (Yelp)
This is where I need to get the thick soup when I order the spicy miso option. Egg is hard boiled. Ramen is the way I like it.

LOVE! The broth the spicy miso and the ramen. You’d need to get thick broth with the spicy option otherwise I feel like the flavor is weak for the spices. One of the few places where when I ask for “soft ramen” I get it to the softness I like. Most other places do the hard chewy ramen because it’s how most people like ramen, except me. They also take credit cards!

LAMENT! Not kid friendly even though I have seen kids there, but those are the ones that are young enough to be strapped in a carseat or docile enough to be strapped in a high chair. Not my kid. So this is a place where I’d go alone or on a date night with my husband. Also – no take out (only side dishes) when they are busy!

Umemura ramen shop in Gardena (Yelp)
We’ve eaten there before and I was not impressed. I also had tried their kimchi ramen twice and hated it (I keep forgetting that I hated it and would then order it again, and regret it)… but this is because we didn’t realize that we are not shoyu-broth people. We are miso-broth people. We must – MUST – have miso broth with our ramen! So we tried it again recently and boy are we glad we did.

LOVE! The broth the ramen and the serving size. There is literally enough soup for 3 people. You can bathe a newborn in their bowls – it is that big. The miso broth was creamy and flavorful and I had the tantan flavor which is spicy. I wish it was spicier but it was still very good. The price was super worthwhile for the amount of food you got. I had to get the rest of my ramen and soup to go (this was after giving my husband 1/2 of the ramen in my bowl during eat-in) and I still had more than enough for lunch the day after! This broth is also swim worthy! The place is pretty kid friendly if you can be with your kid around the outside patio area because that patio is next to the main road.

LAMENT! Cash only and no spicy miso paste.

Asa ramen shop in Gardena (Yelp)
OK like I said we are miso broth people and unfortunately this place serves only shoyu broth. So take this with my bias in mind.

LOVE! The soft boiled egg that came with my ramen.

LAMENT! Cash only, not kid friendly (very small place and cramped), and only shoyu ramen broth.

Jane’s Ramen Place Ranking

WINNER – Mottainai Ramen
SECOND – Umemura Ramen
THIRD – Hakata Ramen
HONORABLE MENTIONS – Santouka Ramen, Asa Ramen