Congratulations Umenoya, you have become the official lunch spot of the gentlemen (and me!) of the HCP weekend crew. Those staffing Torrance Memorial will make the same mile-long trek to wait with our noses pressed to the door, counting down the seconds until noon. When the doors open, we rush inside like suburban housewives at Walmart on a Black Friday to salivate over a steaming bowl of so-fatty-it's-creamy broth.
We all stick to slurping the spicy miso ramen now, but we recently found a new addition to our ramen routine. The Gyoza Roulette occupies the suspenseful pre-noodle period, as we take turns guessing which one of these is not like the others. I'm not worthy of braving the burn, but my more spice-savvy colleagues love every agonizing moment of that one red-hot dumpling. Roulette aside, the regular gyoza are very good as well. The filling is light and juicy, and the chewy wrappers are just the right texture, pan-fried to perfection.
I won't stray from my spicy miso again, but the Tsukemen is an aspiring alternative if you want to work a little harder for your food. The ropy noodles have that enjoyably chewy texture, and the broth is concentrated, velvety and thick. The noodles hold firm against the clinging pearls of rich, fatty soup, an effective contrast that adds a level of complexity.
I may not try anything else at Umenoya ever again, but I suspect you can't go wrong. Everything they make seems to taste as good as it looks and smells, and they have something for everyone. Even the vegetarians of our group get to enjoy the savory miso broth, and there is not a single day when we don't leave joyfully comatose.
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