SoCal's best Ramen! (Santouka, Torrance)

After reading countless reviews of all the different ramen-ya (ramen restaurant/shops) around SoCal, one shop is always mentioned as one of the best. Santouka ramen is consistently rated as the top ramen shops, but unfortunately for me, Santouka is only located in the Mitsuwa Markets on the West Side, Torrance, and Costa Mesa. Living on the east side makes it difficult for me to justify driving all that way for ramen. Like I've stated in previous blogs, I'm not the biggest fan of ramen. The only ramen I actually really love is in Tenri Japan. But having said that, I think I might have found another favorite ramen-ya in Santouka.

The first time I actually tried their ramen was when I was coming home from watching my nephew play basketball at Venice High School. I had to pick up a few things at the market and I remembered that I passed a Mitsuwa on the way. So when I went into the market I had totally forgotten that there was a Santouka there. So needless to say I was ecstatic and anxious to try Santouka. What I ended up ordering was the Tokusen Toroniku Shio Ramen (Special Pork ). I was completely blown away. The texture and of the noodles and depth of flavor in the broth was just exquisite. Not to mention that pork. The pork is so tender and delicious it almost melts in your mouth. If you really want an in depth review, you should read Rameniac's blog. After having tried the ramen at Santouka I became a believer!

On this particular occasion, I found myself at the Torrance location. And again I was coming home from seeing my nephew's basketball game at South Torrance High. Wow, I should thank my nephew for having games in locations where it is close to some good food :) Personally, I felt that the location in Los Angeles was actually a little better than the Torrance one. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but regardless it was spectacular!

Toroniku

Here it is....the special pork. I like that Santouka serves the accompaniment on the side for you to put in by yourself. The pork is so tender that it probably would disintegrate if it was put in there for too long. Just thinking about this is making me crave some Santouka ramen.

Ramen

Here's the picture of the Tokusen Toroniku Shio Ramen. The noodles have a very nice texture to them unlike many typical ramen restaurants around. They have a nice bite to them and the soup is soooo good! In my opinion, its the best ramen in SoCal!



Santouka
21515 Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
310-212-1101