Exploring Ramen: Kitakata Ramen Bannai, Zetton, Ikkousha

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Great shots! I really like the Ikkousha location in Torrance. That chicken is so addictive. And I love adding that minced garlic to the “God fire level 4” tonkotsu broth. And yes, the egg is cooked perfectly! :yum:

Thanks for the report. I love ramen crawls. Very unfortunate about your visit to Zetton, though. My last visit many many months ago yielded not a hint of dryness in my chashu, so I hope this doesn’t mean they’ve gone downhill. Maybe a visit is in order…

Glad you liked Kitakata. They probably serve my favorite chashu in LA/OC that I’ve had so far. Try the green chili shio ramen next time - flavors are kicked up a bit with a little heat, definitely my go-to. I have yet to try, but I hear you can order the noodles firmer/harder. I’ll probably still try to slurp those suckers up quickly because the thought of soft noodles scares me. :frowning:

Good to note. For me Ramen is all about the noodles and their noodles were much too soft. That is why I perfered Hakata Ikkousha and their superior Karage.

–Dommy!

@Dommy, you, too?

Yah, I found the noodles at Kitakata to be too soft. I’ll try asking about firmer next time.

I bet it would make a great moisturizer. Or soap.

Wow that black sesame ramen looks great and so does that kitakata joint. Nice work with all the side dishes too. I haven’t been to any of these spots. Yet.

Lemme know if you find a rich almost peanutbuttery spicy miso ramen. That’s the one I’m missing.

@thechez5, cool. :smile: How spicy is “God Fire Level 4”? LOL

@Chowseeker1999 the karaage at Ikkousha is superb. It’s also half off during happy hour.

I love that broth at Kitakata. The noodles as you noted were hit and miss. Sometimes too soft but sometimes perfectly al dente. The broth and chasu also make it my favorite ramen in town.

As for Zetton, the broth is not as good as previous. I would only recommend the tan tan men there these days.

Your write ups are superb! Thanks for doing the legwork and taking the calorie hit!

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Thanks for the tip @noddles. I’ll be sure to ask for firmer noodles next time at Kitakata. If they oblige, I think it’ll be the most perfect bowl of Ramen in town.

@ipsedixit LOL. :smile: Yah, seriously it felt that way.

@Mr_JJ, have you had Tan Tan Men before? Just wondering if that might fit your bill.

@Porthos, thank you for giving everyone the heads up on these places. :smile: Re: Zetton, that’s too bad; didn’t realize they had taken a step back. Thanks.

Thanks chow. They used to have a reasonable version of it at jinya ramen on sawtelle before it closed up. Diff than tan tan. Still a soup very rich and misoey. Santouka spicy miso a joke.

Really not that spicy despite the scary sounding name! Not to me, anyway.

Fantastic report! Thanks!

Great report and pics.

My favorite item at Zetton these days is the spicy quesadilla. It’s an oddly delicious item not unlike a Kogi mashup. Agree with Porthos that the broth and ramen are not as good recently.

Any issues with parking at Ikkousha with Halal Guys in the same lot? I’ve been getting screwed with small Costa Mesa ramen strip mall parking lots the past few months.

by moisturizer you mean lube. obvs.

@js76wisco Thanks. Interesting, about the spicy quesadilla. It’s not something I would’ve thought to order. I’ll keep it in mind next time, LOL. :smile:

Re: Ikkousha - No issues with parking surprisingly. I totally forgot Halal Guys were in the same parking lot! (there was no line that I noticed.)

Wait, the tantanmen is good there now?? That was the first thing I tried from them. And I haven’t tried it since. I just remember it being way different than I expected/hoped for (something like Asian-ya’s version if you’ve been there.)

Last time I went I thought it was the same but that was months ago – can’t say exactly when. Man, if burrito shops shuttered and went downhill as often as ramen shops, I’d have had a rough childhood.

Or a bath

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OMG! There is no way that is real, right? :open_mouth: Is this an April Fool’s joke? LOL.