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FEATURED

JUL
20
2011

 Score Another One for the Home Team

Daikokuya Arcadia

photo: www.yelp.com/biz_photos/9VJIViz2C2G6V5UJHvkQXg?
select=DO_Bza6gWD0nXNsij5F4GQ
 It is very gratifying to see that food in my hometown continues to head in the right direction: towards improvement. When I was growing up, the options were limited. The only decent restaurants I can remember eating at regularly were In-N-Out and Tops, both of which are burger joints! (And Tops is actually in East Pasadena, mind you.) Then, beginning around ten years ago, some decent restaurants opened up to cater to the already burgeoning Taiwanese/Chinese immigrant community. And in recent years, some other notable

non-Chinese spots opened up as well. Now, in 2011, enter Daikokuya!

Daikokuya Arcadia is the newest outlet in a ramen empire that has locations in Little Tokyo, Hacienda Heights, Monterey Park, and Costa Mesa. This particular Daikokuya is in the President Square Food Court (next door to 99 Ranch Market), which means the setting is markedly plebian and diners have to take care of themselves.
What I ate: Combination Half Ramen - tonkotsu (pork bones) soup with secret blended soy sauce, chijire style egg noodles, kurobuta pork belly chashu, marinated boiled egg, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onions, sesame seeds - and Half Shredded Pork Rice Bowl - pork belly chunks?, sautéed onion, sweet soy glaze, green onion, nori, pickled ginger, sesame seeds - served with salad (9.95 USD).

Since I arrived right when Daikokuya opened for the day,

Combination Half Ramen and Half Shredded Pork Rice Bowl

my food was prepared quickly, which pleased me a great deal since I hadn't eaten anything yet that day. I sat down and, wielding my soup spoon, I began my meal by testing the ramen broth. I ordered my ramen kotteri style - soup with extra back fat - so the broth was expectedly rich and full of life-giving flavor - yum! From that point, I proceeded to dig in. I thought the noodles were just a bit past al dente. The marinated egg turned out to be the best ingredient in the ramen, which wasn't the case the last time I had Daikokuya's ramen. This time, it had a luxurious flavor and the yolk was at the rapturous tipping point between liquid and solid.

Saving some spoonfuls of ramen broth for the end, I moved on to the Shredded Pork Rice Bowl. Contrary to the title "shredded pork", I thought the pork was more like die sized chunks of what I believed to be barbecued pork belly. There was, nevertheless, shredded nori lying underneath the pork, which added significant depth to the overall flavor of the rice bowl. The pickled ginger was key, imparting piquancy and saltiness to every bite. The rice bowl was delicious.

The FOH girls at Daikokuya Arcadia were positively beguiling. They were also kindly helpful, as evidenced by their transaction with the customer ahead of me.

Curry rice is currently off the menu, but will be available shortly.
Parking at President Square can be a trial when everybody's out and about. In that case, I'd try parking on Golden West Avenue, Naomi Avenue, or even next door at the Pavillions shopping center. Not to worry, though, I usually never have to resort to such extremes.

Would you like to read about my experience at Daikokuya in Little Tokyo? Click here.
If I had to compare bowls between Daikokuya Little Tokyo and Daikokuya Arcadia, based on memory, I think Little Tokyo still has the edge. Undoubtedly, Arcadia has the advantage of no crazy lines and pretty much everything on the menu is a dollar cheaper than at Little Tokyo.

The Bill: 10.82 USD

My Rating: two stars out of four stars (very good). Open daily, 11 AM to 9 PM. To-go orders accepted. CASH ONLY! www.daikoku-ten.com and www.dkramen.com

Daikokuya on Urbanspoon

Last Word: Daikokuya ramen. Still one of the best meals ever under ten bucks. Boy, am I eager to find out what's next for Arcadia!

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