Umemura Ramen (Gardena, CA)/Shisen Ramen (Torrance,CA)

Umemura Ramen (Gardena, CA)



Went with the unami ramen – a soup commonly found in Tokyo. Unami is a pork and chicken-based shoyu ramen with an oyster sauce glaze on top for added depth. Being from the largest populated city in Japan, it naturally follows that this is one of the most popular and well-known styles of ramen in the country.
A Huge bowl with Bok choy, tamago, carrot, and fatty, small grisly pork pieces and having a uninspired one-dimensionality. This is a gelatinous broth with an strong unappealing sweet note. It was literally gloppy at the bottom of the bowl. Pretty disgusting.
Although Umemura makes a machine-made in-house noodle, it tasted like a cross between instant and fresh ramen and being marginal at best. Tamago was gray and overcooked.

Fitting that is situated in an old Taco Bell.

Easily the worst ramen of any style I tried in Los Angeles with few to few redeeming qualities.

Umemura Ramen
1724 W Redondo Beach Blvd
Gardena, CA
(310) 217-0970


***

Shisen Ramen (Torrance, CA)



Shisen Ramen has a loyal following amongst ramen mavens in the area.

I tried their signature Shisen-style with Paiko (Chinese-style pork cutlet) and bok choy.
This soup is a thin, chicken-based Sichuan-style spicy broth with a heavy chile-oil slick on the surface. Very good balance to it, however. Served with Paiko which was lightly breaded and beautifully crisped. The pork was the best thing about the bowl. Noodles (egg) are spaghetti-like (round) and firm with nice chew. It’s lightly sprinkled with small pieces of ground pork.

Nice subtle yet spicy ramen.

Shisen Ramen
1730 W. Sepulveda Blvd. #6.
Torrance, CA
(310) 534-1698


Other Los Angeles-area ramen noodle shops:
Hakata Shin Sen Gumi Ramen
Shin Mama Ramen
Gardena Ramen & Foo Foo Tei Ramen
Daikokuya Ramen
Chin-ma-ya Ramen
Santouka Ramen
Asa Ramen