Yamadaya Ramen: Weak Broth, Go for the Chicken Karaage

I had high hopes for Yamadaya Ramen, which recently opened outposts in Culver City and Westwood. I should have been more skeptical in retrospect, considering I haven't been able to find a bowl of ramen better than Shinsengumi's, with Santouka's a distant second. The post on Shinsengumi was my very first post back in April 2007. How quickly they grow!

Then there's also the element of the all-too rapid expansion. It took Shinsengumi years to open that many locations, but Yamadaya's seemed rushed. Just like a burger, the best ramen consists of all its excellent components working in perfect harmony together.

So let's dissect. The first things I dig into when tasting a bowl of ramen are 1) broth and 2) the noodles. The broth of the Yamadaya Ramen, which is allegedly a result of bones boiled for 20 hours plus, was so weak it was embarrassing. Ok, a reliable source told me it wasn't anything like this one in the original Torrance location and I believe her. But this was ridiculous. Diluted. Watered down. No self-respecting ramen joint would ever call this tonkotsu ramen broth.

The noodles weren't exactly overcooked but weren't as katame (al dente in Japanese -- thanks MN!) as I usually like them. Hate to belabor the point but Shinsengumi is probably the only ramen shop where you can choose the hardness of the noodles (and the strength of the broth and oil level).

Yamadaya offers fresh garlic to be minced table side into your broth. I loved the concept (and cool-looking retro tool) and I ended up adding some as a last ditch effort to salvage my sad broth. But no amount of garlic could bring this liquid back to life. Sigh.

The other works, like bamboo shoots, green onions and chashu, were fine. I particularly liked that the hard-boiled egg half was done just enough for the yolk to be soft but not oozy and not completely solid. That and the chashu pieces, which were soft and not at all too porky-smelling, may have been the best parts of this otherwise below average ramen.

The ramen that came with a massive block of pork belly was another disappointment. That pork belly should have been crumbling at first bite, dissolving softly in your mouth from 20-plus hours of slow cooking. It was tough and didn't fall off at all. It's a travesty not cooking a great part like pork belly right.

To be fair, Yamadaya raised our expectations by serving excellent chicken karaage before our ramens arrived. We just wanted a good appetizer to go with a nice cold brew, but we got crispy and perfectly-seasoned fried chicken (usually dark thigh meat) that exceeded my expectations. The meat inside was juicy and soft. Little did we know that we were in for a free-fall soon.

The gyoza arrived late, which was odd because those usually get to the table before the ramen too. These were hands-down the worst thing we had there. They were greasy but most importantly, the pork filling smelled really bad -- like the pork was either quite old or just not good quality when purchased.

You really need to step up your gyoza and broth game, Yamadaya.

I used to be biased against ramen joints that opened on the west side because I've never been impressed with their ramen. I would like nothing more than having that myth dispelled because it's close to where I am. For the time being, I'll have to venture to Santouka in Venice for immediate cravings and drive down to South Bay or Little Tokyo for Shinsengumi and other joints I have yet to try.

A-Frame: Mediocre Picnic Fare With a Twist -- Kimchi Sour Cream, Anyone?

A-frame was disappointing. Perhaps that shouldn't surprise me since I was never a big fan of the Kogi truck food. But the premise of picnic-style food to share was so appealing that I had to check it out.

The Furikake kettle corn didn't have much flavor, and bordered on bland. Different, yes -- unless you're from Hawaii and had it while growing up like someone I know, but not particularly well-executed. I long for the real deal. Like I wrote in my Lazy Ox review, Furikake , the Japanese mix of sesame seeds, seaweed, etc used to sprinkle over rice, is catching on in the fine dining scene. It's everywhere.


Then there was the double cheeseburger. You all know by now that I burger, therefore I am. Granted, I had been warned it'd be two layers of thin meat patties, unlike the chunky, juicy and bloody burgers I like from Houston's and Lazy Ox. This one came with tomato confit, pickled red onions, butter lettuce, hot sauce sharp cheddar and sesame mayo on a brioche bun. While it was a notch up In-n-Out, it was most definitely no Houston's. Ok. I don't think it seeks to outdo the Houston's of the world. But still, if you're going to have a burger on the menu and you're such a pioneering chef, do something more special and keep it bloody, please!

The patties were so anemic that you could barely taste the meat. The bun was good enough and it was messy to eat in a good way. But I won't be ordering it again, if I return, that is, which is uncertain at this point.


The fries were a mix of purple Okinawan sweet potato, yam, and Korean sweet potato with kimchi sour cream as a dip. They were good but nothing to write home about. Ok, the kimchi sour cream was an interesting touch. It could be spicier for sure. I felt like he diluted it a bit for the mainstream audience, which is unfortunate.

Purple sweet potatoes are always a joy to eat. Portions were on the small side so my dinner companion and I only had like three each and we cleaned up the plate.

For dessert, we wanted to be wowed. We ordered what sounded like the most unusual thing on the menu -- black pepper Szechuan ice cream and salted chocolate cookie.

Another disappointment. I like that Roy Choi tinkered with different ideas but I must say they didn't work.

I wasn't a huge fan of Chego either but at least I liked what he did with the pork belly pieces. They were like lacquered pieces of jewels sitting atop the rice with other goodies. The atmosphere was ok and communal tables gave a, well, community feel.

Oh, but I must vent about the poor service we got. It wasn't our server who was the problem. We were eating and a larger party suddenly showed up, saying they would take over the entire communal table we were sitting on the edge. I think it's so tacky for the hostess to pull that crap because it was clearly a way to pressure us to leave. That's SO not cool. That alone made me not want to return. Thank God the food was mediocre.

Lukshon: Great Steamed Fish and Black Rice Bowl

I admit I had pretty high expectations of Lukshon, the first full-fledged restaurant from Sang Yoon of My Father's Office fame. Granted, I was never a huge fan of the Office burger, rather (in)famous for its purist tendency to "politely decline" any substitutions, let alone ketchup. It's definitely above average, but not the kind of burger I crave, like that of Houston.

Anyway, overall there were some hits and a few more misses. The biggest hits were the black rice bowl and steamed sea bass-like fish with tamarind paste and so-called black bean ghee on a bed of steamed spinach. I find it annoying it doesn't have its menu on its site, presumably because it changes a lot but it should still be there. The fish was extremely tender and while I found the tamarind paste a tad too strong, once I diluted it with some of the juices, it was excellent. The cilantro and basil gave it a refreshing touch and the thinly sliced pepper strips gave it a subtle hint of heat. The sambal ijo on the side that tasted like a roasted tomatillo salsa verde didn't quite go with the fish as well but it's apparently an Indonesian staple.


The black rice came with Chinese sausage slices, stir-fried onions, pieces of beautifully roasted whole garlic cloves and a fried egg on top. I love black rice, garlic's a no-brainer and fried egg makes anything better, so what's not to love about this dish? It was Korean-style black rice, as opposed to black wild rice found in western markets. I personally like the Korean black rice better. It's a bit stickier and a shorter grain. If you've ever had purple-hued rice in Koreatown restaurants, that's usually because the restaurant mixes a bit of black rice and the resulting color is from the dyeing of the regular white rice with a few pebbles of black rice. My only complaint was that the portion was too small.

All the other dishes were unremarkable to outright duds.

We started with the steak tartare and spicy chicken pops appetizers but they weren't anything special. The tartare placed atop a slice of pickled (although couldn't really taste it either) cucumber didn't have much flavor. I couldn't taste the chile, herbs or aromatic rice powder that were supposedly included.

It has promise but didn't deliver. He should have placed it atop a slice of Asian pear, Korean steak tartare-style called yukhoe.

As for the spicy chicken pops, it was raved about on message boards but it also disappointed. It was spicy alright, but the flavors didn't meld well together. I could get better tasting spicy chicken from Kyochon.

The squid looked beautiful -- its legs were deep fried and were the best part of the dish. But the rest of the Chinese sausage-stuffed squid bodies that had been seared were bad. Bottom line: the pasty texture of the sausage didn't work well and the flavor of the sausage clashed with the flavor of the squid. The mint and candlenut sauce was good but couldn't really save it. It was topped with fresh Vietnamese coriander (rau ram) leaves that were refreshing but again, couldn't save it.

The brussels sprouts were overdone, overseasoned and oversauced. Didn't enjoy these much although I usually love them.

The biggest disappointments were probably the foie gras ganache and garlic pork belly stir-fry with rice cakes.

The foie gras' mix of sweet (dusted what looked and tasted like cocoa powder but may actually have been something else that I'll get into) and savory didn't work for me. It had a lot of fancy things in it, including carob -- often used as a substitute for chocolate -- ceylon cinammon, tamarind gastrique -- which I just learned is a syrupy reduction of vinegar or wine and sugar -- almond and puff rice. For all the detailed description and monikers, it fell flat and I usually love foie gras. The foie gras "lollipops" with cotton candy at the Bazaar were a lot more successful.

The biggest letdown, perhaps because I was excited about this dish, was the garlic pork belly with rice cakes and green cabbage. It seems to be a take on dakgalbi, a spicy Korean chicken dish prepared similarly with rice cakes and cabbage. Instead of Korean red pepper paste, he uses do ban jian, a spicy fermented broad beans and soybean-based paste often used in Szechuan cuisine. This dish had several problems. The pork belly wasn't properly seared and therefore not crunchy on the edges. Not good. Then the paste didn't work well with the pork belly and the cabbage.

The only redeeming factor was that the rice cakes were browned and that give them a crunchiness. It's not a good sign when the only thing I could think of when I bit into it is how I should repurpose it at home since this simply won't do.

I usually like pork belly chunks that are roasted or seared so the outside is crunchy and once you bite into it, they come apart -- much like the ones at Chego, whose review is pending.

The drinks menu was good. It's heavy on the whites and given we were having a lot of spicy foods, we went for a 2007 Riesling kabinett from Mosel, that was touted as "sunshine in a glass." Although I didn't get that, it was very good and went very well with our food.

It's nice we got complimentary desserts, like everyone else. They were mango-papaya lassi and coconut tapioca, which was very good; lychee-mangosteen granita with rau ram-lime sorbet poached pineapples, which was ruined by the sorbet that didn't work; and cinnamon custard graham cracker streusel with Thai chile-sweet potato ice cream, which was ok but not fantastic.


Besides the food, the decor was very well done. I loved the little Korean touches here and there. The restroom had a really nice feel to it, and my dinner mates and I all fell in love with the beautiful red sink with flowers that could be mistaken for Rose of Sharon, Korea's national flower. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Anyway, service was good and the space was pretty small but love love love the booths! Very comfy and private.

Despite the misses, I appreciate what he's doing by mixing flavors and frankly, offering a new kind of "Asian fusion" beyond the usual addition of ponzu or kimchi to western ingredients. I certainly learned a lot of new Asian sauces, pastes and condiments I wasn't as familiar with. It's tempting to think that I could drive to San Gabriel Valley and get the same steamed fish for a fraction of the price, but perhaps it's about the experience of trying mixes and matches of different foods of Asia and smelling the wonderful bouquet of a glass of Riesling and sipping away. Now that you won't get in SGV.

Alibi Room: No Go Kogi...Again

Just a quick note to say that Kogi BBQ once again failed to impress at the Alibi Room location. The Kogi menu there is more extensive than at the trucks and there is a shorter wait while guzzling some beers. The rib taco that they ran out of at the truck was just like the spicy pork one I had at the truck -- one big mush of unidentifiable meat with an overdressed and over-vinegared cabbage mixed in. The hot dog promised "kimchi sauerkraut, cabbage slaw and Korean ketchup." First of all, not sure what's special about Korean ketchup. More watered down? Then the relish was once again overpowering whatever meat could be found. When you tasted the dog, it was like the cheapest sausage you could find at the isles of Ralph's. That mystery-meat, factory smell and taste. And don't get me started on the kimchi quesadilla. Throw in some melting cheese with chopped kimchi into a tortilla and there you have it -- oh, and don't forget to plop down some thousand island dressing type sauce to dip this so promising-but-unremarkable concoction in. I know I'm being harsh but alas, the food spoke for itself. I'd like to believe it was better before as some of my friends have insisted, but I'll never know unless the owners get back into gear. Alibi has a decent beer list though. The Echigo Stout was good, if you're a dark beer person. Ditto the Hefeweizen. Haven't tried the daily specials and tortas, but I'm not returning.