Jidaiya Ramen Dining

One thing I like about this place is that it’s hardly ever crowded. It’s the perfect place to drop in to get your quick ramen fix. Sort of like a ramen dive bar. The service is usually fast and friendly too. They have a large selection of ramen that is organized by cities (i.e. Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc) I’ve yet to try them all and am tempted to try each region. Yes I have ocd. The couple different ones I’ve tried weren’t mind blowing but able to satiate my ramen fix. 3.5 stars rounded up.

I came here expecting to be able to try the Ramen Burger but was disappointed to find out they no longer serve it! This was actually the only reason I stopped by… Sooooo… Yea. My experience was probably a bit ruined by this.
I then opted for the spicy miso ramen. It wasn’t anything spectacular to be honest but then again, I’m not a huge ramen fan. It was fairly good and a pretty good portion for the price. The broth had a pretty nice kick to it. I probably won’t be back only because I’m more of a phở type of girl but all in all an ok place.

This is now on my ramen places rotation. I like it that they offer different type of ramen with different soup base and the soup is piping hot. Basically this is a one stop shop.
Tonkotsu soup is thick and tasty and my favorite is kai-​shio ramen with clear fish-​chicken soup base and topping of seaweed, small scallops and slices of abalone and sea snail (?).
Since I like to drink the soup as well, so I normally ask for «less salt» and they haven’t mess that up for about a year now. They also have minced garlic, vinegar, chili oil and white pepper for you to put in the noodle.
This place could get busy during lunch time, so if you don’t like to wait, either go early before 11:45 am or go late after 1:30 pm.

What’s best after all the Christmas and New year holiday rich food ?
A simple bowl or ramen, served piping hot in it own housemade broth.
The ramen broth comes as chicken, pork or seafood stock. There are two types of noodle: think or thick, but they really are the same egg noodle types.
Each dish is described on the menu and no substitutions please.
I got the seafood one (with abalone and clams).
Each bowl comes with quite a lot of seaweed on one side, you can actually separate it from the rest of your meal, if you prefer a less pronounced seaweedy flavor.
Also got the takowasa (chopped octopus with wasabi, takoyaki (little fried octopus dumplings) and a green cabbage salad (the last two were shared by three)

So there are a lot of ramen places in the South Bay. Why do we go back to this one time and again? Well, first off, there are a lot of real Japanese families that come to this place. Second, the portions are good and so is the broth. The servers and food come out fast and when you’re eating with an 8 month old, that’s greatly appreciated. I can’t say that it’s the cleanest but it’s pretty close to true Japanese ramen. Silverlake ramen is still better but now that we live in Gardena, this is our Go-​To place. Plus, we always end up at Kansha Creamery afterwards! Family friendly outings!

What happened to you Jidaiya?!
I really don’t want to stop
because you were our favorite ramen place !
I don’t know why your shouyu ramen soup tasted so fishy last night…
We also wonder why we had to keep untangling noodles too…
Did you just hire new cook?

I grew up eating a lot of Japanese food growing up in Gardena, the largest Japanese community in the U.S. So I was a bit dissapointed in this ramen. Not very interesting or tasty. It was simply ok. Also wished they served beer.
The service was not very good either. I felt a bit rushed. Hopefully they improve, but for now I just dont understand why so many rave about this place.

I come here once a year ONLY, because every time I visit they forget my gyoza and ends up serving after I finish my ramen. Unacceptable, but thinking maybe this will be the last I come again a year after… WRONG. I visited today and AGAIN they asked me if I had my gyoza yet after we finished meal. The store opened in 2012, so today marked my 3^rd visit and I was again disappointed.
Now, the actual taste is very good. Many ramen choices available, and gyoza is tasty. Very retro atmosphere and cozy, waiters are kind and attentive. My only wish is to have my gyoza, with my ramen someday…

I want ramen in my tummy! After the Citizen watch warehouse sale (and after standing in line for about an hour outside and fighting with other shoppers to look at watches), I wanted something soupy and comfort food. I also wanted to go somewhere low key with no lines and Jidaiya Ramen fit my requirements. On a Friday night, I rolled into the little plaza that housed this ramen place. There is plenty of parking to go around. I walked in and all the tables were full, but they offered us the bar area. This was perfect for me since there was no one around the bar area. I got seated right away and our waitress took our food order and drink order immediately. I settled on gyoza to share and tsukemen (dipping noodles) for my main dish.
The gyoza came out first and it was pretty good. Nothing too spectacular, but it didn’t taste bad. I also thought it was interesting that the gyoza had the outside parts of the gyoza still around. (It’s a little hard to explain, but I took a picture of it). I took that to mean that the gyoza was made fresh and not store bought. The tsukemen came out next. For those who are not familiar with this, they provide you the noodles and broth separately. So, you dip the noodles in the broth. The broth is typically a little more thicker and fattier than regular ramen. I have been on a mission to find good tsukemen since Tsujita in Sawtelle has been disappointing me greatly. Sadly, this was not the next great dish. I thought that the noodles were a little overcooked and the broth just did not taste very good. It was a flavorless and it seemed like the spices did not go well together.
For what I wanted on a Friday night, Jidaiya delivered. It never got too crazy on a Friday night and I was able to eat something warm. However, I am not sure if this ramen place is going to be a go-​to place for me when I crave good ramen.

I really enjoyed the Sapporo spicy-​miso ramen. The broth base was very creamy and it was not overly spicy, although they call it spicy (idk?) but it delicious.
Anyways, the ramen I ordered, came with chashu, bamboo, onion, bean sprouts snow pea and black sesame… YUM! I really liked the way the
bean spouts stayed really crunchy even after sitting in the broth awhile.
The restaurant staff was attentive and sweet natured. And I thought the décor and the character of the noodle shop was charming; accented with some Tokyo style antiques (pre WWII) like a barbershop pole and a spiffy red rotary telephone.
Overall a lovely dinning experience and the price was right! (Only $ 8.95 and my tummy was happy) :)
Domo arigato.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3.
I stumbled upon this place with intentions to eat at a different restaurant in the same plaza, and decided to check this place out instead, since ramen sounded amazing on a cool evening. The restaurant was packed so we took seats at the bar, and the décor made me feel like I was back in Japan, which I LOVED since I simply adore Japan! There were several ramen options, and I had difficulty making a selection, but I decided to go with the Tokyo broth, which is a lighter broth-​I think it was chicken broth with thin noodles, which I prefer, along with chashu, egg, and bamboo shoots. I decided to make it a combo for just a few dollars more, and the plate I selected came with a few pieces of Japanese fried chicken, a scoop of fried rice, and cabbage salad. It’s actually A LOT of food, and I ended up bringing the fried chicken and fried rice home.
So onto the details of the food… I really liked the ramen broth-​it was flavorful and not as heavy as tonkotsu broth, which was my favorite part of my experience here. I also thought the egg and pork were fine, but the noodles were a bit too soggy. The fried rice was good, but the fried chicken seemed overfried, which I probably shouldn’t be complaining about, but I just felt like it was a bit too much for me. I thought the cabbage salad was a good compliment to the ramen, and you can order this separately on the side if you like.
I will definitely be back for their Tokyo ramen bowls, but don’t think I’ll be upgrading to the combo next time-it’s just too much food and too much unhealthiness in one meal for me, even though it really is such a great deal, and I’m a sucker for deals.

The ramen is good as is the chicken katsu curry. There’s a combo plate option. The soup is a bit salty but thick and good delicious broth.
I think the front of the menu disclaimed a $ 10 min for credit card charges (‘tho I think technically it’s against most merchant bankers payment processing agreements to impose any minimums or fees to customers) and $ 6.95 as the minimum order per person, but not sure if that’s enforced or not.
This is a nice place located across the street from King’s Hawaiian Local Place and right off of the 405 (Western Ave exit).
The service is friendly, maybe a bit over worked or under staffed, so at times might seem slower, but it’s courteous.
The décor is nice, from the inside it feels like you’re on the outside looking in.
Parking is easy as there’s a nice sized parking lot shared by other businesses.

Service: 4
Décor: 4
Food: 3
Came on a Wednesday night. Inside is very cute with a lot of Japanese décor and some little Japanese toys and candy for sale on one of the walls. I was quickly seated. Waitress was very nice, and the entire kitchen greeted me when I walked in.
As for the food, definitely better places in LA to get ramen. It wasn’t bad, but not great. Personally, I felt the ramen was TOO salty (i got the tonkotsu chashu-​men). The broth was very thick, sort of like chowder thickness. If you let the soup sit for too long, the soup will thicken and have a layer of fat sitting on top. Not appealing. The chashu flavor was good, and I enjoyed the seaweed and spinach in the soup. I just wasn’t a fan of the broth. I also got the UFO gyoza which I liked. But I had to do 3 stars for the broth.

The décor is so cute! It reminded me of old school Japan… love it!
Spicy Miso Chashu ($ 10.95): it was visually appealing and picture perfect :) The broth was flavorful and thick, not salty unlike other places. The chashu was melt in your mouth tender and the noodles were thick (my fave!). Tip: request for firm noodles for a lil chew. The bowl of ramen also had corn, green onions, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts. They don’t skimp on the ingredients. My bowl had 5 pieces of chashu :)
Soboro Don ($ 6/​regular): Delicious! Jidaiya takes the cake… Sorry SSG! I found a new fave :)
Tako Wasabi ($ 3): aka raw octopus w/​wasabi. This is a must order for me at ramen joints. Their version is good but not great. The pieces are bigger but it lacked a strong wasabi flavor. My fave is at Umenoya.
I’ll be back!

So many types of ramen that I had to sit for awhile to decide what I wanted. Tonkatsu, chicken, tan tan men, tsuke men. Life struggles.
Their tonkatsu miso was actually good. I prefer my ramen soup without a visible top layer of oil. The broth was rich, flavorful, and left me full. The chashu was flavorful, the crisp bean sprouts gave texture, and loved it already came with bamboo and corn. I also added a soft boiled egg. Yummmm.
The chicken broth based taken was too oily for my liking and lacked what I usually crave for with ramen, rich broth.
They have gyoza which looked dry, karage, rice bowls…
I would only stick with the ramen and I actually liked their tonkatsu miso and would only get that. I do want to try the tsukemen next.
BYO alcohol. Just bring your alcohol with the receipt.

I dropped by here after seeing my brother from another mother, Steve S’s review. Jidaiya is in Gardena on Western, in the same plaza as Shin-​Sen-​Gumi Yakitori, and across the street from Kings Hawaiian, The Local Place.
My co-​worker and I ordered the same thing Steve did: Jidaiya Chasu Men ($ 8.95 — Extra chashu, Egg, Bamboo, 3 pcs of Seaweed & Spinach), and a couple of sides at $ 2.50 each (curry rice — no pic; gyoza w/​rice & salad).
First of all, the side was just OK. You received three gyoza that had average taste. However, I only wanted the gyoza, so I am not sure why you need to have the rice and salad too. I didn’t see gyoza a la carte: 3 Stars. Secondarily, the ramen was also just OK. There wasn’t much noodles, the chasu didn’t have rich flavor, and I was still hungry afterwards. Plus, the broth smelled kinda mediciney. The chasu is much more flavorful at SSG, Gomen (Stanton) and Kitakata (Costa Mesa). I prefer ramen shops like SSG where you can add won tons, et al. I don’t mind paying a little extra for what I want so I am satisfied. In this case I was not satisfied after the meal: 3 Stars.
The ambiance is traditional Japanese. There are some seats up front for singles and a few tables inside. It was cozy, but not crowded: 3 Stars. Regarding the service, it was OK. My co-worker’s curry and ramen came before my courses. In the case of his curry, it arrived well before my gyoza. Nonetheless, the staff was not rude: 3 Stars.
Sorry Steve, but I would rather go to SSG vs coming here (I will not return). I guess this is payback for Project West — LOL! More seriously, I didn’t like the lack of options, the noodles & chasu were average, and I was still hungry after spending $ 15 inc tip.

There’s a lot of things to like about Ramen Jidaiya.
I’ll start off with the first thing I noticed about this restaurant and what I instantly liked. It was a little cute Japanese Hello Kitty banner they have hanging up. As every one knows I love all things Hello Kitty and I could not help but smile when I saw this. This also triggered me to take a look around and saw they had several cute décor. Among the noticeable décor are a red antique phone and various Ramune drinks.
The other thing I liked was their menu has a variety of various different kinds of ramen. They have ramen with chashu, fish, crab and chicken. They have Shoyu, Tonkotsu, TanTan Men, Tsukemen and Spicy Miso.
I was a fan of their prices with ramen starting at $ 6.95 and appetizers for $ 4.50. I liked that you could make a ramen combo by adding only $ 2.50. Along with the ramen, you get either deep fried chicken, gyoza dumpling and white rice/​fried rice and salad or a mini curry bowl!
I ended up getting the Jidaiya ramen with a gyoza dumpling combo. My friend got the same except with deep fried chicken. I liked the fried rice and gyoza. I actually ended up like the crispy gyoza more than the deep fried chicken. The chicken had a bit of a lemon flavor. I’m not sure if it’s because it was right next to salad and maybe the side salad sauce got mixed with the chicken. The side salad had a bit of a salty dressing. The gyoza was nice though because it even had another crispy wrapper on the outside! Double crispiness with the outside wrapper and the main gyoza wrapping! I also liked that the fried rice had little meat ingredients.
As for the ramen itself I liked that they included some spinach. This was something new and welcoming! There was chashu, egg, bamboo, seaweed and spinach. The spinach and egg were good touches, Initially I was a fan of the broth until I noticed it was a bit fatty. The fat from the chashu basically melted into the broth. I’m sticking to chicken or vegetable next time.
Overall Ramen Jidaiya is a cute place with good prices and a variety of offerings. It’s just the fatty broth in the ramen made me a bit sad.

Ramen craving was kicking in. I’ve had this. cold for a while and needed some soup to self medicate.
I have the late lunch at work, so I usually can’t get out of the office until 1 pm. Getting to this part of Torrance /​Gardena in time before most of the Japanese restaurants close at 2 pm is always a hassle for me. Fortunately, it’s not a problem here. Jidaiya does NOT close between lunch & dinner. YES!
I got the Jidaiya Chashu-​Men — «Extra chashu, Egg, Bamboo, 3 pcs of Seaweed & Spinach» the chashu was the star here. It’s thicker, not the paper thin one you get at most ramen joint. They are super tender and they’re not shy about the FAT, Yes. Super flavorful. And when they say «extra» it means a lot of it, very impressive. The ramen noodle was cooked al dente, perfect. The broth was very flavorful you can taste the pork flavor. Unfortunately it got really super salty as I got down to the bottom of the bowl.
I made it a combination for an extra $ 2.50. I chose #C Deep Fried Chicken (3 pcs), Fried Rice & Salad. The fried chicken was just okay. It needs a sauce or aioli IMO. The fried rice was good. The salad was not good. I didn’t like the dressing (even though there wasn’t much of it).
Service was quick and water was refilled without asking.
Self medicating with ramen helped and I think I’ve found my go to ramen spot (specially for late lunches after 2 pm). Those chashu were so good, I’ll definitely be back.
2015 Review #76

I thought I’d write another review because since my first one, I’ve taken a liking to ramen, trying other places and frequenting Jidaiya sinve I like it the best.
For me, what stands out the most is option for thick noodles. I don’t know many places that offer it, or many people who prefer it lol. The other is the «spicy bomb» that you can order for $ 1 and add to anything. I know I can get the Spicy Miso Tonkatsu, but I prefer just the regular Tonkatsu Ramen (no miso broth) and I just make it spicy. The ramen comes with two pieces of Char Siu, soft boiled egg, spinach, and nori, but you can also add other stuff if you want. They also have a combo option for like $ 3 more, and I usually get the gyoza and fried rice, two of my fave things in LIFE. But they have other rice bowls and sides too.
The prices here are very reasonable and parking is plenty. It’s a small place and a couple times I’ve waited but not longer than 10min. I should probably go back soon and take a new pic ;]
After comparing to other places, minus one star ONLY because I’ve been to ONE place that I thought the pork and broth were more flavorful, but Jidaiya is still my go-​to.

Sometimes we don’t realize that there are regional differences between foods. Jidaiya Ramen’s menu breaks down their Ramen selection by the various regions of Japan. I decided to go with a selection from the Neo-​Tokyo section — Kai Shio Ramen. It is a rich mixture of shell fish, abalone, conch, and scallop etc., a couple types of seaweed, vegetables, and fish roe. The chicken clam broth was fresh and tasty and the ramen was cooked just right. The place is a hit!
The inside of the restaurant is decorated like a street scene from a village in Japan. The service was reserved by friendly and they open till 11:00 pm.
Next time? Lunch and Gyoza.