Kazan Beverly Hills

Lemonade is good for me, so long as I stick to the salad selections - albeit a little pricey. I avoid the hot food and sandwiches, tho…

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I mean shio by definition should be salty but sounds like it’s overdone for effect. I’m not going based on your feedback. I have no morbid curiosity

Yes! Divine is exactly the right word for that honey.

First FTC post. Was really curious after having passed by this place and seeing the neon sign multiple times, later finding out that this was actually going to be a restaurant serving ramen. Feedback here seems to be quite negative while the Yelp reviews so far are really high.

Got the spicy lamb chop ramen that’s served with noodles of varying thickness in a claypot that’s like a Sichuan-esque hotpot. The server recommended it and it took 10-15 minutes since she said it’s pretty much done from scratch. The spiciness is pretty up there initially, with some ma la numbing. It wasn’t a salt bomb like the shio ramen apparently, teetering on the border of being too salty, but just right. After a while though, once the spiciness abated, it’s more apparent that it might actually be a little bit too salty, even for a savory fanatic like me. I quite like the noodles, which have a supple bite to them. Not exactly sure why the width of noodles ranges from thin to thick. If I had to pick one, I’d go with the thickest variety that looks like a fettuccine since it might be a better fit in a Sichuan hot pot riff. The lamb chops were seared and cooked to medium. It wasn’t that strong of a sear as I would usually want, maybe this was the chef’s intention. There wasn’t that much flavor if simply eaten by itself, but because of the on-point doneness, it’ s easy to dip the chops in the spicy broth and bite the meat off and is kind of fun to do. Reminded me of the lamb chop “popsicles” I had at Vij’s in Vancouver where you could similarly have the curry as a dip. Would I prefer maybe slices of [seared] lamb belly instead? Possibly, it could work better, I’m not 100% sure.

Lotus chips were pretty good, thinly sliced and fried tossed in a bit of salt.

The space itself is pretty cool and modern, with the noodle machines by the window like some pasta shops or Italian restaurants. Service was very friendly and attentive. Ryu came by to ask for feedback too. Saw someone else instructing a staff member how the kitchen works, looks like they’re still working out kinks.

It’s hard for me to say whether I’d recommend this place. Obviously the biggest dealbreaker is the price tag, the lamb chop ramen being the most expensive bowl at $35. It’s very interesting for sure and there’s quite a bit to like I think even though the execution doesn’t land perfectly. This is on restaurant row in BH, but even then, $25-$35 for ramen is hard to justify unless it’s world class. Granted, Kazan has only been open for a month, and I think Ryu does care in trying something different. Reminded me of MTN when I had the dungeness crab ramen, which also had a really good, unique broth, noodles were ok, and that was already expensive at 26 bucks. I guess if one considers the Asian noodles vs Italian pasta argument certain chefs like David Chang debate regarding cost and pricing, maybe I could see a day where such a price could be justified. Lamb isn’t the cheapest meat in the world and I’ve definitely had worse tasting [seafood] pasta that cost the same or more, served in smaller portion sizes, like at Madeo. Then again, like others have mentioned, Iki Ramen is great, especially for QPR and the number of different styles/offerings they offer. But I do hope that Kazan succeeds in some shape or form in trying to be an artisan spot serving uniquely tasting bowls of ramen. Let’s just say I left on a a somewhat optimistic note, interested to try the parmesan yuzu chicken leg ramen I had my eye on next time.

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Welcome to the board and thank you for the review!

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welcome to FTC!!

iki ramen’s miyazaki a5 wagyu ramen cost $20

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Haven’t had their wagyu ramen yet, but thats a good comparison. At least I got quite a big amount of lamb to eat.

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looking forward to reading more reviews from you

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I might pay to see/eat this

Glow-in-the-dark ramen

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YMMV, but I would not consider lamb chops cooked to medium to be “on-point…”

Welcome to FTC! :slight_smile:

I guess to each his own? I thought that’s the general standard for lamb and actually prefer it that way.

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This is the fist time I’ve seen “blue ramen”. Has anyone heard of this?

The Walter White of Ramen Cooks

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can’t wait to try their pumpkin spice ramen.

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