Chinatown: Tsukemen and Ramen at Okiboru

 

I have to tell you a secret. I love soup. All right, so it’s not so much of a secret. But when presented choices for noodles, I am generally in the soup camp. So tsukemen, the dry noodles or “dipping ramen” isn’t my favorite. I made a game plan with my friend when we arrived at the new Okiboru. I get the ramen, you get the tsukemen. Of course, we’ll share.

We got the ishomen which has a blend of ramen and tsukemen broths. It’s served with chashu (Japanese pork), marinated soft boiled egg, bamboo shoots and scallions. Nori strips and extra scallions are free.

I have to also tell you another secret. I’ve only had tsukemen at that famous joint across town. The few times I’ve had it, I always have a “fat hangover.” I feel bloated and weighed down.

I could tell after having Okiboru, it wasn’t going to be one of those clutch-my-stomach sort of nights. It felt immensely lighter though still very rich. I mean, look at that layer of fat that immediately floated to the top. Some would say “mmm, so good” but I was initially wary.

You could ask for your food to be spicy but we opted for regular. The other ramen options include a vegan ramen with tofu and a cold ramen, hiyashi chuka.

 

 

 

We chose the signature Okiboru tsukemen with three meaty pork ribs. It’s known as the big bowl. The dip comes with a soft boiled marinated egg, bamboo shoots while the ribs have to play with the nori and pickles. I’m just a bad dipper. Instead of moving my cold noodles back and forth to the warm broth, I poured some of the spicy broth over my portion. Soup lovers unite!

Your other tsukemen choices are variations of the above. You could get it topped with the chashu instead of the ribs, just an egg or build your own.

I like that the noodles are made in house and everything was very fresh. It’s really nice to see Chinatown growing with new restaurants and how international it’s become.

 

Okiboru House of Tsukemen

635 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012  —  (213) 988-7212

© 2018 The Minty