Asa Ramen (Gardena, CA)

Several weeks ago, I went for yum cha with my cousins, aunt, and uncle. Uncle Gary mentioned that he's really into ramen right now, which launched us into plans for possible ramen adventures. Being a ramen-lover myself, I suggested that we meet up in LA (where I work, Uncle Gary lives, and Tiffanie goes to school) and search for delicious ramen.

I searched Rameniac for high-scoring restaurant reviews in the Los Angeles area and stumbled upon Asa Ramen in Gardena and Gardena Ramen in Torrance (strange, I know) with scores over 20 points. I especially like shoyu ramen, so I was happy to read that that's their specialty.

I picked Tiff up a few blocks from where I work, and then drove another 20 or so minutes to Gardena. Fortunately, we had my trusty, albeit finicky (is that a contradiction?), GPS directing us to the restaurant. When we got there, we weren't sure which door was the ramen restaurant. We guessed correctly and entered through the door on the right side.

Asa Ramen is pretty small, with only room for a few tables and the traditional ramen counter with high chairs. Tiff and I both loved the decor and atmosphere of the restaurant; it's a dim little joint with bamboo and wood accents.

Tiffanie and I shared one plate of cheese mochi takoyaki, but I think the combination of cheese, bonito flakes, and sweet teriyaki sauce was a bit too much for us. It was my first taste of takoyaki, and I thought it was delicious, but I couldn't even eat my half of the six octopus balls. We figured it's because we're not used to eating that kind of Japanese flavor. I wonder if I could order it again without the sauce.

And of course, we can't forget the main course. We decided to order the kotteri shoyu tonkotsu ramen; Tiffanie added an egg. The bowls seem smaller than you would normally get, but it was actually plenty of food.

The soup was nice and murky, but for me, the best part of ramen is the texture of the noodles. And these super-thin noodles were perfect (I'm not a noodle connoisseur, but I know that I enjoyed eating them!). After a long day at work, it was just what I needed.

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Asa Ramen

18202 S Western Ave
Gardena, CA 90248
(310)769-1010

6pm - 2am (closed sundays)