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Spice up your life at Orochon Ramen
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After hearing about Orochon Ramen on "Man vs. Food" I had to go there and try what else - their spicy ramen noodles. Getting to Orochon - be warned, it is on a small little street in Little Tokyo that if missed - you may find yourself going over a bridge and getting lost in the warehouse district of LA (I should know, I got lost here last night for about 30 minutes).
Once finding my way back, Orochon Ramen is located on the top floor at the mall on S. Onizuka Street. It wasn't very crowded and my party was able to sit immediately. The lighting is pretty bright and it's basically your run of the mill restaurant (not clean but not incredibly dirty) and on one end of the wall you can see photos of those who took the Challenge and finished their "Super #2 bowl under 30 minutes."
I do love me some spicy food but I understandably was a little bit scared at what was coming my way. If you've never been to Orochon you must know that there are 7 levels of "normal spicyness" and 2 "super levels" (which are part of the 30 minute challenge). Scared of the challenge, my dining partners and I opted for the level 2, level 5 and level 6 miso ramen noodles (the levels being out of 7; 1 being the spiciest and 7 being the most mild). For a little addition to the meal, we also ordered the fried rice, which I had heard was really good.
The ramen came out almost immediately - I think we waited about five minutes for the bowls to get to our tables. The bowls - be warned - are super huge (so you may want to come with a very empty stomach!) The fried rice was really great - the egg was cooked nice and there were great pieces of vegetables in the fried rice. The rice itself was cooked perfectly (oh I have had many an overcooked bowl of rice in my day) and I loved grabbing a spoonful of rice and dipping it into my ramen broth.
The ramen was - well - definately spicy! The #2 I could barely really eat - it tasted really great when I initially had it but the spice definately stung in my mouth. The #5 was the perfect amount of spice to me, whereas the #6 was a little too mild. It was more just a good bowl of ramen soup. The noodles were done a little al dente but I personally really liked the texture. You can note that it's the broth that makes the noodles spicy (not the noodles themselves), as the darker the broth - the spicier it gets. The broth itself was a little salty but definately still good.
In all, the service was quick and the restaurant itself is a little run down, but it's a great place to grab a cheap and spicy bowl of noodles. For me, I enjoyed it and I'll definately try to go a little bit spicier next time, but it's definately worth coming here and trying it once...and maybe one day my picture will be on that wall.
Final Thoughts:
Overall: Pretty cheap and really big bowls of ramen. If you're not into spicy go for the more milder bowls, but if you dare - try the special #2!
Atmosphere: It's a little run down but it's casual and relaxed.
"mmmmm" factor (out of 5 m's): mmm 1/2
Orochon Ramen
123 S. Onizuka Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 617-1766
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