oh is Matsumoto a la carte? I had held off given the omakase looked to be 250 and I’d sooner go to mori nozomi but good to know I can go for a quick ALC meal
It’s both omakase and ALC. And he has different omakases for different budgets. Here’s the menu: Menu | Matsumoto Restaurant.
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Many thanks to @chowumla for the heads up. Ramen Ochi is lovely:
I also got the nikutama ramen, but it looks exactly like chowumla’s pic, so…
The broth here is of the deeply meaty type. But whereas Tsujita’s is almost fetishistically so, this seemed “just right.” I didn’t feel gross or have a huge coating of fat covering my lips after sipping. Nice chew to the noodles.
The server said that the gyoza had some sort of paste inside, in addition to the yuzu pepper paste served on the side (VERY intense yuzu flavor). I think I actually like these better than the ones at Venice Ramen.
The mini bowl was a pretty decent size, and it had some sort of clear broth inside. Not sure what the broth was made of (the liquid used to cook the rice?). The rice ball is actually quite large (forgot to take a pic of it b/f we started eating). Both were also very pleasing.
There is a vegan ramen, as well.
The feng shui for this location is so, SO bad. It’d be swamped, if it were located, um, like anywhere else. I think def worth seeking out.
Many thanks to @sk8uno for recommending Domi.
Size (compared to a Kee Wah mooncake):
Black sesame and jujube:
I tried the black sesame right after having TJ’s salsa, so maybe that affected my palate… While there LOOKS to be a ton of black sesame, I didn’t get much black sesame flavor. It wasn’t very sweet, which is both good and bad (I think more sweetness would’ve helped immensely, actually). Even the smell was rather subtle (and not particularly appealing).
Had the jujube a few days later. This one was terrific. Quite sweet, but not cloying so, and the crust seemed to have a better noticeably better texture than the black sesame one, too. Very enjoyable (and much more enjoyable than the Kee Wah lotus paste one, in all respects).
Didn’t try it, but Taverna has a Sunday BBQ (I picked up my mooncake at the Mar Vista FM). It looked and smelled insanely good.
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I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed Ramen Ochi! Their location is terrible. I keep hoping that it will get on more people’s radars, but I’ve seen no press (and no social media either).
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I really loved the gyoza too.
But still prefer Venice Ramen’s…but not by much!
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@chowumla-fluenced!
Ramen Ochi is serving spectacularly good ramen and gyoza. The owner/chef has relocated to LA from Japan for this - AFAIK this Sergio will continue to work his magic in the kitchen personally for the foreseeable future.
I do not say this lightly about many places, but dining here “feels” like you are transported to Japan, even if only for that brief moment. The “Original” (signature) Nikutama broth is complex, rich yet light, never greasy. Chashu is on point. The tamago kake men (raw egg noodles; dry bowl) represents the sleeper hit on the menu, and its tare works umami magic - HUGE BITES!
And the gyoza taste wonderful, especially with a touch of that sansho sauce. We’ve already eaten here multiple times. It’s fast becoming a regular rotation ramen-ya for us.
And yeah, the location of Ramen Ochi is, unfortunately, a poorly-lit passageway with scant pedestrian traffic within the Century City mall (it’s on the first floor, sort of under HaiDiLao). It’s almost as poorly-positioned as Angler LA 1.0 was at Beverly Center. But I really, really yearn for this owner, and this place, to make it.
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Server said the lease is for 3 yrs.
FTC’ers, PROTECT THIS PLACE!!!
Will need to try the dry bowl next time.
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Sold, next up on the list! Can anyone recommend tsukemen close to rokurinsha in japan? Tsujita etc are not it… have been craving this intense umami and cant find it in SoCal 
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Thanks for the heads up. I live super close and will do my part to keep it alive.
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I’ll try to do my part as well lol. Don’t sleep on their yakiniku bowl! #HypercholesterolemiaBeDamned
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Coming from an incredible MD I will heed this advice!
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keep dreaming.
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Tacos La Güera, Pico & Hobart is the real deal. The al pastor is fucking amazing. Much better than Leo’s. Had the massive al pastor burrito, my girl had 4 tacos (2 pastor & 2 asada). The asada was not great, pastor is the way to go. The piña was perfect at 7:30. 6 salsas, spicy pickles and 2 types of cucumbers are kick ass. Two of the salsas were freakin hot! $25 all in, including a $5 tip.
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Viva la Guera!
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we went tonight and had a blast. two bowls, one nikutamen and one vegan, plus an order of amazing gyoza. they were doing really well when we got there, and it only got busier when we left around 8. one of the best bowls of noodles i’ve had lately. definitely excited that this is my local noodle shop.
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So happy to hear that you enjoyed it and that they were doing well! It gives me hope that they might make it! I regret having moved down to OC - this would have been my local noodle shop too!
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Anyone aware of any places in LA that make these Malaysian? coffee buns? Just had some in Vancouver and goddamn it’s delicious.
85C? Not sure if they have the exact same one, but they have similar combinations of bolo-bun style topping and various fillings.
Various other asian bakeries might as well
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A bit out east but Sobok Sobok in City of Industry/Rowland Heights
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Fogo De Chao in Brea Sunday night. Place was packed to the gills. They had a sign on the front door that said only reservations tonight. My daughter picked this place for her birthday bc they are guaranteed to have hearts of palm.
The $44 taste of Brazil menu is a great deal instead of the $71 normal price. The only things you don’t get are filet, ribeye, beef ribs and lamb chops.
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