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Flavorful Spicy Garlic Ramen From Kashiwa Ramen! One Of Orange County’s Best Ramen Spots
The Background
Orange County is a hot bed for ramen with a ton of restaurants in the area. There’s a lot to choose from, so deciding on one place can be a daunting task if you start going down the rabbit hole of researching ramen spots.
During one of these recent ramen deep dives I came across Kashiwa Ramen in Costa Mesa. Voted Best Ramen of 2019 by OC Weekly, it wasn’t a ramen place I’d tried yet. Something that really stood out to me at first glance, was that they’re famous for chicken broth.
I haven’t seen too many places that offer a chicken ramen broth. Most places have the pork based tonkotsu broth so seeing a chicken broth was interesting.
A few different types of ramen on the menu also sounded delicious and unique,so this was a pretty easy choice to check out on this day.
The Experience
I got to the Kashiwa Ramen right around the time they opened, 11:30 am on a weekday, to avoid any potential lunch rush and walked right in. Nestled in the corner in the back of a large shopping center, there’s ample parking, especially at this time.
The restuarant itself is pretty small. I see how it can fill up quickly.
The two types of ramen that caught my eye earlier were: the Spicy Black Garlic (I’m sucker for all things spicy) and the Tsukemen aka Dipping Noodle. I haven’t seen much dipping noodle ramen options in Orange County. I’ve seen it on food vlogs but haven’t yet experienced it. Choices, choices, choices. Quite the food predicament of what to order. They also have a ramen + rice bowl combo which clearly I had to try as well.
The lunch rice bowl selection 
The actual order! I couldn’t decide which ramen to try so I asked the server which bowl was the most popular and they pointed out the Spicy Black Garlic. Sold! I also decided on combo-ing it with the Soboro Bowl. That poached egg was calling to me.
The Soboro Bowl
The Soboro Bowl came out first. A Soboro Bowl, for those that don’t know (including myself, I had to look it up) is a deep bowl dish of rice topped with a seasoned protein, in this instance ground chicken. Seasoned with a combination of soy sauce, mirin and ginger it’s generally topped with egg, this one being poached.
Pre Poach Egg break 
Sorry Mr Poached Egg, had to be done! 
Solid spoonful of Soboro It’s a deep bowl with a lot of ground chicken and rice. The egg was poached perfectly while the green onion makes the bowl “pop” with color. It’s definitely a nice looking Soboro Bowl!
Breaking up the egg and mixing it into the seasoned crumbled meat and rice provides a further richness and creaminess to the side dish.
The Spicy Black Garlic Ramen
Soon after the Soboro bowl came out the bowl of ramen followed. The ramen is topped with four pieces of grilled pork, half an egg, green onion, and wood ear mushrooms.
Anytime I get a fresh bowl of ramen the first thing I have to do is get a nice spoonful of that broth. I chose the swirl as my base broth, a combination of the chicken and tonkatsu broths, which sounded too good to pass up. A spoonful of the broth delivered a real jolt of flavor.
A rich flavorful bowl of ramen! 
Solid bite of ramen right here The garlicky, peppery flavor with a hint of smokiness, and spice from the homemade chili oil, strikes the taste buds all at once. It’s defintely one of the most flavorful broths I’ve had. The spice level was moderate. They bring out a side of the chili oil so you can adjust the spice level to your liking.
The wavy noodles were al dente and fresh tasting while the pork pieces were tender with great flavor. The wood ear mushroom provided a different type of texture and crunch to each bite.
The Verdict
Overall this was a very enjoyable lunch and quite filling. The menu has some intriguing options that are different than the usual Tonkatsu broth joints around.
The Spicy Garlic Ramen and Soboro Bowl hit the right spot for me and certainly have provided me more options to think about when I’m craving ramen in the OC.
I look forward to going back to try the Dipping Noodles along with another one of the rice bowls in the near future!
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Shin-Sen-Gumi A Southern California Staple For Hakata Ramen
The Background
I’ve been eating at the Shin-Sen-Gumi Fountain Valley location, essentially since it opened, back in 2000. To say that I’m a fan would be an understatement. Much like anyone’s favorite restaurant, there’s something about its ramen, atmosphere, and overall vibe that has kept me coming back for years.
Their specialty ramen broth is the hakata tonkatsu broth. Based off their website they evidently prepare the broth over a three-day period. They’re meticulous with how the broth is prepared and the broth is temperature sensitive. It goes through several processes and needs to be remain heated all day to maintain its highest quality.
They use an original Shin-Sen-Gumi noodle recipe for their Hakata-style noodles. These are not made in house, but are made daily for them by an outside noodle shop.
Shin-Sen-Gumi has a cental kitchen system. The ingredients are freshly prepared and transported to all 14 branches daily.
The Experience
As I’ve noted, I’ve been coming to this restaurant for 20+ years. Which is pretty insane to me. Time really flies. Correspondingly, there’s a comfort and familiarity in taking a seat here and getting a nice bowl of ramen.
The interior is pretty small. The main seating is a large bar that wraps around forming an L shape. There’s some tables lined around the outskirts of the room by the windows. It makes for a cozy atmosphere but can certainly get quite busy at times.
I always enjoy coming here during lunch. The lunch combos are filling for a very reasonable price. My go to has always been the C-Set: Hakata Ramen with a 1/2 Takana Fried Rice.
The menu has changed and expanded throughout the years but what keeps me coming back is the tonkatsu ramen.
When I first started coming here for lunch the Lunch combos ran from A-Set to D-Set. The options have grown through the years The Ramen
The tonkatsu ramen is topped with green onion and ginger and comes with a couple pieces of pork chashu. There’s numerous toppings you can choose from. I always get the bamboo, which comes out on the side. Lastly, I add in sesame seeds and a chili powder mixture to add some spice.
The broth has a deeply umami, rich pork flavor. It’s extremely satisfying and undoubtedly, hands down, my favorite ramen broth in Orange County.
You can choose the firmness of the noodes which are always fresh and al dente. These noodles are thinner which is a characteristic of Hakata ramen. You can add more noodles when you finish your first bowl, if you’re craving more.
The Fried Rice
The 1/2 portion of Takana fried rice always goes well with the Hakata Ramen. The stir-fried rice consists of leaf mustard, sweet and savory soy sauce flavored pork, onion and egg. I always add a little additional soy sauce to this as well. It’s definitely a tasty fried rice.
The Verdict
Shin-Sen-Gumi has been around for 31 years for a reason. It remains immensely popular and it’s food, at its core, by and large has remained largely unchanged from what I can taste. That’s a good thing! It’s consistency is certainly one of the reasons why its had sustained success. The Hakata ramen is a classic in my books and remains my favorite in the Orange County. That’s saying something considering the number of quality ramen options in the area!
