Pictured: Pork Belly Ramen - chicken broth with egg, green onions, bamboo shoots
Broth: 3
Noodles: 4
Pork Belly (Chashu): 5
Price: 3
Average score: 3.75
Notes: Light chicken broth with thick pieces of pork belly which were tender and flavorful. If you prefer a simple ramen with light broth but still packs a flavor, you might want to consider coming here. Kyatchi has improved their ramen since they've opened in early 2014!
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Pictured: Signature Tonkotsu Ramen
Broth: 4
Noodles: 5
Pork Belly (Chashu): 4
Price: 5
Average score: 4.5
Notes: (Thin) noodles were on point! The pork broth, although slightly over salted, was creamy and flavorful. It came with three pieces of tender pork belly. 13 Australian dollars or about $10 USD. Served with spring onions and black fungus.
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Pictured: Shiromaru Motoaji
Broth: 4
Noodles: 4
Pork Belly (Chashu): 4
Price: 4
Average score: 4
Notes: Broth is well balanced - flavorful pork broth that is not too salty and not too light. The pork belly was tender and the noodles were not overcooked. This bowl of ramen cost 15 Australian dollars or about $11.53 USD.
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Broth: 3
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*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Pictured: Domo (pork belly, pork shoulder, scallion oil, kikurage mushroom, wakame seaweed, egg, nori, bamboo, sprouts, sesame seed)
Broth: 3
Noodles: 3
Pork Belly (Chashu): 3
Price: 2
Average score: 3
Notes: Contrary to some of the reviews out there, our experience at Domo Gastro was decent. The service was slow but our server was pleasant and friendly. As for the ramen, the broth was light and salted (shoyu broth?). The only complaint about the broth is that there wasn't much of it. The pork belly was above average -- had the right flavor and tenderness. Didn't experience any undercooked components. I recently recommended this place to a friend only to have my recommendation come back to bite me in my ass. My friend had a terrible experience and said that the ramen was cold. So although I had a good experience, beware of Domo Gastro's consistency!
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Pictured: Tonkotsu - pork broth, chasyu asado, menma, scallion, ajitama, mayu, beni shoga
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*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Broth: 3
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*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Pictured: Dramen - "hybrid broth" - combination of chicken, tantanmen (spicy sesame) and tonkotsu (pork) black broths.
Broth: 4
Noodles: 4
Pork Belly (Chashu): 3
Price: 1
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*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Pictured: Jun Tonkotsu with extra chashu
Broth: 3
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*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
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*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Broth: 3
Noodles: 4
Pork Belly (Chashu): 5
Price: 5
Average score: 4.25
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Notes: Creamy tonkotsu broth, it is full of flavor, but very salty, hence, the rating of 3. Pork belly slices were nicely seared and very tender. All in all, a very simple but solid bowl of ramen. Noodles were cooked to the right chewiness and were a good length that allowed for slurpin'. If you are visiting and looking for a ramen joint in part of LA, you won't be disappointed! Just remember to drink lots of water!
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Upon entering Zen Box Izakaya, you step into a bustling space and are immersed in the full, open kitchen concept with perfect views of the ramen chefs. You are immediately greeted in unison with, “Namaste” from the entire staff – which includes the sushi chefs, servers, hosts/hostesses – the whole shebang! Talk about a red carpet greeting! The strikingly rich and modern décor is laced with traditional Japanese-inspired art and masks, textured lighting, and an impressive bottle collection of featured beer, liquor, and sake sits on shelving atop the sushi bar window.
Like many Japanese restaurants, our table was equipped with an online order and pay system. Our table signage had a QR code at which you would utilize a QR reader on your phone to scan the code which pops up menu, and voila - you are ready to order! This no-fuss/no wait ordering is very efficient especially when you are short on time or if the restaurant and wait staff are busy helping other tables. Genius!
For a little variety, we ordered two different kinds of ramen to review.
Tonkotsu Ramen
Ingredients: heritage pork bone broth, pork chashu, kikurage, ajitama, menma, and mayu
Description: This creamy, broth was extremely flavorful, and jam packed with herbs and spices that are consistent with ramen – such as julienned wood ear mushrooms, thickly sliced bamboo shoots, garlic oil, and of course ramen noodles. For the final touches, I added pork chashu (braised pork) and my dish was garnished with a sliced seasoned egg, diced spring onions, and sesame seeds atop the pork chashu. After evenly stirring all parts of this ramen dish together, the combined taste of the first bite was a burst of spicy, savory flavoring with cooked to perfection noodles, and great tasting pork.
Mapo Tofu Mazemen
Ingredients: brothless ramen, mushroom blend, eggplant, tofu, doubanjian, Szechuan peppercorns
Description: This brothless ramen was a savory flavored heaven! Sitting atop the ramen noodle bed was the vegetarian blend of mushrooms, eggplant, and tofu carefully tossed in a spicy bean sauce, and with an added sneaky heat of Szechuan peppercorns. After mixing this masterpiece of ingredients, and taking that first bite, my mouth was invaded with a very salty and a sneaky heat of flavor goodness!
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Pictured: Paitan - roasted chicken and pork bones, garlic, ginger, tahini and white pepper
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*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Pictured: Tonkotsu Ramen
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