Too many choices, inconsistent Yelp reviews, and a bit of a drive from the office. But our beloved Umenoya, our ramen holy grail, a.k.a our unhealthy and slightly creepy obsession, was closed.
Thank god Umenoya was closed. Jidaya has been sitting at the top of my South Bay bucket list for years, but with so many other favorites, I never got to take the chance.
And Jidaiya wins. Jidaiya wins big.
Creamy, buttery meat-butter broth, brews extra-thick, ropy noodles of egg-y, broth-clinging chew. The Yokohama tonkotsu broth is the only way to go. The Jidaiya Miso Chashu-Men is best served with a side of spicy red bomb.
The Jidaiya Chashu-Men is better for the broth. It's all that porky goodness in its purest form. The chashu is dry in both, but the broth more than makes up for that.
Then there is the tsukemen. The Dip Ramen is...WOW, just WOW. LA Weekly described it as "full-on fish funk", and I cannot think of any statement more accurate. You have to love the fishy stuff to go anywhere near this dish, but it is an impossibly, addictively savory sludge, and it is by far the best I've had to date.
The legendary Tsujita may be sitting pretty on Sawtelle, but if you ask me, South Bay's Jidaiya might be just a little bit better.
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