tonkatsu kotteri ramen + black garlic oil + minced backfat

what? my slurping bothering you?

120+24+20=24

ramen yamadaya came to my attention via tasting table. anytime i see “tonkatsu ramen,” i take notice. fatty pork noodle soup. each of those words is important. we arrived about 7 minutes before opening, and found a small crowd hovering outside the front door. jgold reviewed the place on the 14th and i was certainly glad we didn’t arrive 30 minutes after opening, because a similar crowd had gathered to wait for tables to vacate.

m ordered the shoyu style and i ordered the kotteri style, basically because i was interested in the black garlic oil (for which there exist recipes on the internet) and the minced backfat (i am ignoring the cholesterol test i will be taking next week). at first, all i could think of was its saltiness, but it wasn’t prohibitively salty and not wholly unexpected. the large chunk of pork belly was a nice addition and the chashu was tender. we forgot to order the thick noodles, but this was hardly a disappointment. just gives us one more reason to return.

ramen yamadaya | 11172 w washington blvd 90232 | 310.815.8776

ramen yamadaya | 1248 westwood blvd 90024