Little Tokyo: Ramen at Maruya
spicy miso ramen
We are in the middle of some heavy ramen wars in Los Angeles. Maruya opened last summer and has kept up a busy lunch crowd with their affordable ramen combinations. I checked it out with Jose from LA Dine n Club a couple weeks ago.
A friend had recently gone and raved about the spicy miso ramen. I decided to try it and along with the salmon sashimi don. There are slightly over a dozen choices for appetizers or rice bowls but you can only choose tonkotsu, miso or spicy miso for your ramen.
salmon sashimi don (rice)
The combo also comes with salad (not shown) which was appreciated. Our ramen came out fairly quickly but I was slightly dismayed to find the spicy miso meant a blanket of spice. I much prefer chili oil integrated with the broth. I’ll have to try the tonkotsu or even the regular miso ramen next time.
While fresh, the salmon sashimi was a bit sparse. I have heard it would have been better to the spicy tuna don. Ah well, live and learn. In the meantime, I had a go at Orochon recently. I hadn’t been in years but after the demise of Chin-Ma-Ya, I have been checking out old and new ramen spots to find a new go-to for lunch. Orochon has my current favorite spicy miso which you can customize to your spice level comfort.
106 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, Los Angeles, CA 90012 — (213) 613-9988 © The Minty 2015