Ramen Yamadaya - Costa Mesa, CA

Remember that crazy thing I did a month ago? You know, where I vowed not to eat any cupcakes or ramen during the month of January. I still can't remember why I thought that was would be a good idea. All I have to say is thank goodness it was over yesterday. I was starting to get the shakes. Maybe that was just my stomach rumbling. My little experiment proved nothing to me except that it was possible to not eat one of my most favorite meals for a month.

So to celebrate the end of my ramen fast I went to Ramen Yamadaya. Yeah I did a little dance. I even went so far as to make a note of it on my calendar to come straight here on February 1.

Don't know why that Grand Opening sign is still up, they opened shop back in November 2011. I've never been here before and I cannot remember how I found out about this place. No matter because I love trying out new restaurants! Ramen Yamadaya is a chain with locations in Culver City, Westwood, Torrance and now Costa Mesa. You know this place is legitimate when they have a store in Torrance where there are lots of other good ramen restaurants around.

Upon walking into the restaurant, I see this large blackboard with some stuff written on it. It is a blue print to a bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen. ^_^  I need one of these to hang at my place. It's a work of art!

The menu is not large because they only serve Tonkotsu ramen. Twenty-hour Tonkotsu ramen to be exact.  

M ordered the Chashu Ramen with thin noodles. He commented that the bowl came with more chashu than other places. He really likes meat! The portions sizes are pretty good even if you have a hungry man on your hands.

I ordered the 7oz Tsukemen which was plenty of noodles by the way. The waitress made it sound like it was not going to fill me up but it was a lot of noodles. Stick with the 7oz unless you are really hungry.

I love the thick chewy noodles and the flavorful dipping broth. I've only ever had Tsukemen once before but this one blew that other time out of the water. It had the right amount of toppings and the pork was cooked well.

Gyozas - I wasn't planning on ordering this but I always do when I go to a new place just to try it out. These were very tender and fell apart when I bit into them. I love having a couple more ramen choices now and you can bet that I will be back. Oh yes I will.

Ramen Yamadaya
1175 Baker Street
Costa Mesa, CA
714-556-0091