Semi-related: The Bishamon Group (Daikokuya) opened a new ramen shop on 1st St in Little Tokyo called Hachioji Ramen. They serve shoyu ramen with duck chashu.
Duck?!? I’m very interested in that! Thank you for the intel!
Went tonight after I heard of their Duck Ramen. I could happily eat Duck Noodle soup everyday from Pa Ord, so Duck Ramen was right up my alley.
We ordered their Shoyu Ramen is actually a chicken base with a kiss of that Kotteri flavor that Daikokuya is famous for. The duck was good, but if you are a duck fan, you probably want to order extra like how you would the pork at Santouka. It really was the balance of broth, it truly was as of Pa Ord made Ramen (which isn’t too far off because another secret of Daikokuya’s broth is the addition of Fish Sauce). The noodles in the soup was SKINNY. We both were kinda nervous about it since we prefer thicker ramen noodles, but they were cooked perfectly…
Although it’s not quite super warm YET. I was thrilled to see they had a Dry Ramen as Cold Ramen is one of my favorite things. This Dry Ramen wasn’t cold. But it had all the elements I love of Cold Ramen. So many different flavors, it came with bamboo shoots, crispy shallots, even preserved vegetable! The noodles were super thick and rough. I just kept tossing and tossing and tossing and everything stuck together and made for a unique and delicious taste. Salty, funky, meaty. Noodle forward, but it’s not like just eating a clump ramen noodles like so many Cold Noodles feel like.
Walking out the line at Daikokuya was still crazy.
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Nice report. What do you mean by “kiss of Kotteri flavor”?
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kotteri – literally “rich/thick”. A classification for ramen characterized by a heavier, more oily soup.
@Mattapoisett_in_LA, thank you for the response.
That is also my understanding of kotteri.
However, I did not think that this described the ramen that I had at Hachioji.
While the shoyu and shio ramen was not necessarily light, I would not describe them as kotteri.
Thus my request for clarification from @Dommy.
Yeah… in the world of Daikokuya, Kotteri is in refernece to an oil seasoning that you can add to their bowls of ramen. It adds a little more richness and depth to their bowl without that full blown tonkotsu liquid pork experience.
–Dommy!
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Kotteri is in refernece to an oil seasoning
it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Daikokuya…isn’t it supposed to be back fat?
Yes. It’s rendered pretty good though and might be mixed with something else. But even in the original place, it’s essentially a drizzle.
Here’s a menu picture from yelp. The call it Pork Back Fat Oil.
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/daikokuya-sawtelle-los-angeles?select=boanpb2Z774f8oMfNH-PlA
–Dommy!
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