One of my greatest regrets after graduating was not finishing my series on LA ramen bowls. I had been to five out of the twelve that were listed, some were good, some were ok, and some blew my mind. Thus when I returned to visit LA this past December, I knew I had some places I needed to visit, and there was some that I wanted to. This was the latter. After visiting the original, Tsujita LA, I had dreamed about making a visit to their annex shop: Tsujita Annex, half a block down. Also listed on the Discovery LA site:
Best Ramen Bowls in LA, the Annex was a ramen only joint that served similar but also different ramen bowls. At their original store, I ordered their Tonkotsu Ramen and thoroughly enjoyed it. At their annex, I decided to order the famed Tsukumen, or dipping ramen. As always, I ordered with firm noodles and a soft boiled egg.
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| Dipping bowl of high intensity soup and broth |
At first glance, the bowl of soup was giving me flashbacks to my previous "ramen" experience. There were visible chunks of pork fat floating among thick slices of chasiu, cabbage/bean sprouts, a soft boiled egg and a citrus-y chili powder in the corner. This is then contrasted by the bright yellow thick noodles presented right next to it. After taking photos, I first tasted the soup. Hot, and full of intense flavor, tsukumen soup was like a punch in the face. I love tsukumen because there is a distinct fishy flavor to the soup that is very different from traditional tonkotsu/miso ramen soup. The flavor is almost reminiscent of dried bonito or tuna. Unlike my previous experience, the fattiness of the soup was cut very well with the chili pepper blend. The blend had such a powerful spicy kick while also being acidic that helped balance the fattiness out. As I began eating the noodles, I always forget that tsukumen is not something that is enjoyed hot. The noodles themselves are flashed in ice water, thus when dipping the noodles into the broth, the result ends up being a lukewarm mix. The noodles also have a slight acidic flavor that really adds to the flavor profile. My preference of firmer noodles also plays really well as the chewiness and firmness adds to the various textures presented. When eating tsukumen, it is not only recommended, but necessary to slurp. Only by slurping, are you able to enjoy the noodles while also getting soup at the same time. The noodles themselves tend to also have an acidic flavor that adds to the overall flavor profile. Tasting the other ingredients in the bowl, the chasiu had a great smokiness while the egg provided a small taste of sweetness that helped mellow out the experience. I thoroughly enjoyed this bowl of tsukumen because the variety of textures and immersive flavors all work together to create an amazing bowl of noodles. One of the best parts of finishing tsukemen is adding some more broth at the end to mellow out the dipping bowl and enjoy the expanded flavors in its entirety. The soup goes from hyper savory, umami bomb gravy consistency, into a well-balanced soup that seeks to help conclude the meal.
Tsujita LA and Tsujita Annex are both one of the best ramen restaurants in LA. The lines are always span around the block and to be honest, it's worth it. While traveling across the city has and will always be a pain, I am never dissatisfied with my experiences there. Now that I am away from LA, I miss the plethora of ramen restaurants that I had the opportunities to visit and it forces me to look forward to future visits.
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