The pouring rain fogged up my sight as my brother, sister, and I, shielded by a broad, black umbrella, carefully trudged through puddles of muddy water. We made our way down Sawtelle, a street in Westside Los Angeles. For the past month, all of our friends and family have been regular customers at Daikokuya, which, as they quoted, was “the best and busiest ramen restaurant” out of the hundreds of places they have eaten at. The way they described the setting, the atmosphere, and the food just seemed too good to be true. With the increasing popularity and reliableness of Yelp, we thought it would be a good idea to visit the site. We were shocked to see it was rated as a 4 star restaurant and had over 8,000 reviews! We decided we MUST check out Daikokuya to confirm the rocketing hype by food enthusiasts. And so we did on a late December night.
When we arrived, the wait for a table for three was half an hour long. We stood outside under our drenched umbrella breathing warm air into our glove covered hands as we peered through the thick menu, drooling at pictures of standing-in-the-freezing-cold-worthy appetizers and ramen bowls. We fought our growling stomachs and impatient foot tappings, struggling to ignore the tick tock sounds our watches made as we waited for what felt like hours on our end. Finally, a waiter came out to welcome us to our table. We tailed after him excitedly and plopped right into our cushy seats.
Upon entry and seating, we noticed the decor at the restaurant resembles the seedy neighborhoods in the early 1960/1970s Osaka. The dimmed lights, bright, crooked Japanese signs, and oil lanterns made it feel as though we were sitting in a ramen shop hidden in an old, busy alleway of Tokyo. The place was small; it held only a handful of seats at the bar that faced a glass window to the kitchen and a number of chairs and tables scrunched next to each other. The melodies from the classic Japanese songs they played complemented the warmth the ramen brought and heightened feelings of coziness. No wonder why my younger cousins claimed that after eating their meals, they felt like slipping into a deep sleep right at their table!
My brother, sister, and I already knew what we wanted to order as we made a list of recommendations from our “ramen experts” relatives prior, but we flipped through the menu anyways to make sure we didn’t skip over any other dishes. Obviously, Daikokuya is most known for their speciality: ramen. Therefore, we knew that was a must-try and a must-have. We observed the steaming hot bowls that were carefully brought to the table besides us. We could tell the bowls were fresh because they were prepared and served soon after ordering.
My table ordered the Spicy Miso and Kotteri-style ramen. We could hardly refrain our excitement right when the corners of our eyes caught the waiter heading our direction. After some moments of tasting, we nodded in agreement that we enjoyed how well the long, slow simmered pork-based broths were flavored. In the spicy miso, there wasn’t an overpowering spiciness as the chef kept it at a medium heat. Grated garlic accompanied the miso and pork very nicely. In the Kotteri-style ramen, I could feel the richness on my lips as I slurped down the thick-broth covered ramen. Of course, we couldn’t forget one of the main appetizers-peppered calamari and gyozas, both deep fried to a golden brown accented with small, salted parsley leaves and smooth streaks of teriyaki sauce.
The original ramel bowl there consisted of soft, chewy ramen, flavorful broth, soft boiled egg, bamboo shoots, fresh bean sprouts, chopped green onion, sesame seeds, and thin, long, rectangular slices of roasted pork. The eggs were seasoned and boiled at the perfect soft-boil setting. The noodles were never too soft and the broth was smooth and rich. The mix of ingredients made the flavoring delicately balanced.
Typically, the portion of a regular sized ramen bowl there is very generous. It’s enough to fill an average person up or may even pop open the lower buttons of their shirts. However, if certain customers are strong eaters or are just a big fan of Japanese delicacies, a half size ramen bowl with a half size rice bowl would be exemplary. Japanese-American culture has adopted the tradition of drinking sake, a rice wine beverage, while eating foods such as sushi or ramen because it gives a more fulfilling, savory taste. Many of the tables around me learned about this tradition for I noticed they had a few green Sake bottles opened and prepped for the meal.
Daikokuya caters to a diverse array of customers for that people of all ethnicities were present. Whether it was ramen-loving customers, returning customers, or new customers who have never tried ramen before, the restaurant was always packed. Despite that, the waiters, waitresses, and kitchen staff wove their way through the crowds of tables, delivering platters of food at the highest quality and quickest service. After a meal, everyone would walk out of the restaurant, dazed and satisfied. Our first time there was a wonderful experience and we definitely could relate to our family and the other 8,000 people who enjoyed it as much as we did.
