DAIKOKUYA
ADDRESS: 327 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
WEBSITE: https://group.bishamon-ten.com/daikokuya/littletokyo/
After a trip down to Little Tokyo one day with my girlfriend Cami, we were originally going to head to Pasta e Pasta for some dinner. Unfortunately, the restaurant ended up being closed that night, which then led us to go over to Daikokuya instead, which we had passed by while walking to Little Tokyo from our parking garage. Luckily for us, even though the restaurant was pretty packed at the time, we were able to get seated almost immediately at a smaller table by the entrance.
The seating arrangements inside the restaurant were primarily three different types: booths, bar, and tables. The wooden booths occupied the left side of the restaurant along the wall, while the tables that we were seated at were closer to the entrance area. The bar seating that was in front of where all of the ramen was being prepared was able to seat six people. If you come here with a larger group, be prepared to get split up, since the tables don’t really accommodate parties larger than four.
Aside from their ramen, Daikokuya’s menu also contained a number of different rice bowls, sushi, and small plate appetizers (like tempura, gyoza, and takoyaki). Their signature tonkotsu ramen was definitely what we wanted to try, so we weren’t planning to stray too far from that. They did also offer combination plates, which was a bowl of ramen accompanied by a small salad and rice bowl of choice. Both Cami and I thought this was a great way to get the best of both ramen and rice, giving us a chance to try those too.
We both ordered the Daikoku Ramen, their tonkotsu ramen, but paired different rice bowls for our combinations. I went with the pork cutlet rice bowl, which featured a panko-breaded deep-fried pork cutlet on top of a bed of white rice, with eggs and onions. Cami went with their fried rice bowl instead, which contained a mixture of onions, scallions, egg, corn, imitation crab, and chopped pork chashu.
They must have gotten pretty accustomed to handling a large crowd of people in the dining area, since the food really seemed to be flying out. Our small bowls of salad, which contained a creamy sesame dressing, came out not too long after we placed our initial order, and then maybe another 10 minutes after that, our ramen and rice bowls came out to complete our order.
The Daikoku ramen bowl comes with chashu, bean sprouts, scallions, ajitama, and bamboo shoots, along with a garnish of sesame seeds. I opted for an add-in of some sheets of nori to provide some extra flavor as well. The tonkotsu broth had a good depth of umami flavor, and I thought that the ramen noodles absorbed the extra flavor pretty well, too. I had originally thought that I might need to get some extra chashu, but the two slices that came with the bowl ended up being pretty large for the most part. It was definitely a hearty bowl of food on its own, and we hadn’t even gotten to try any of the rice yet.
I do have to say that I’m pretty partial to rice dishes over noodle dishes in general, so this combination option of having the small rice bowl in addition to the ramen was definitely enjoyable. It did, however, end up making for a ton of food to eat. The pork cutlet pieces were pretty massive in the rice bowl, and it was paired with both egg and sweet onions for a nice savory and slightly sweet flavor as you were eating through the rice bowl. There was also a light soy sauce that the onions were cooked with, giving it a bit more umami flavor.
The fried rice was certainly an interesting texture, with the combination of the scallions, onions, corn, imitation crab, egg, and chopped pork chashu. It definitely had a primarily savory flavor, with the imitation crab adding its own notes throughout each bite. I think for me, between the two rice bowls, I might say that the edge went to the pork cutlet bowl. The combination of those ingredients definitely felt more like comfort food in a bowl.
Using some Internet sleuthing, I was able to find out that the Little Tokyo outpost of Daikokuya has been around since February 2002, certainly making it one of the Little Tokyo institutions. For a restaurant to have been around for over 22 years, that certainly speaks to the lasting impression that continues to draw people back for more. I thought that the food was pretty good, and there were definitely other food options available to choose from if you weren’t feeling ramen. If you’re looking for a pretty solid option for ramen while in the Little Tokyo area, look for the yellow banner of Daikokuya.
Let’s now take a look at the Daikokuya Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Small Pork Cutlet Rice Bowl **
Panko-breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet cooked with egg, onions, and soy sauce marinade, served over white rice.
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** Small Fried Rice Bowl **
Onions, scallions, corn, egg, imitation crab, and chopped pork chashu with rice.
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** Daikoku Ramen **
Tonkotsu broth served with noodles, two slices of pork chashu, ajitama, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, scallions, and sesame seeds. Pictured with nori add-on.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Daikokuya:
Food: 4.25 / 5
The food quality was good, with both the ramen and rice dishes rich with savory flavors. There’s also a good variety of things on the menu to choose from, depending on what your appetite is calling for.
Atmosphere: 4.25 / 5
The layout of the place might be a little bit on the smaller side, but there is certainly a lot of history in that dining room after being open for over 22 years. Even though we were seated in the tables, it didn’t feel overly crowded or anything like that.
Service: 4 / 5
With the dining area being fully crowded, our waitress was certainly more “straight to business,” taking our order and just trying to keep things moving.
Price: 4.75 / 5
For $22 or $23 though and the amount of food that the combination meal provides, that definitely has some really good value. That’s even more so in an area like Little Tokyo, where others might inflate some prices due to the location.
Overall:
17.25 / 20
(86%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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