Men Oh Tokushima Ramen

I really liked this place as well, located at the Nijiya Market plaza, but they went out of business, retaining their DTLA location. I lost my review for this one somehow and can only remember that it was a good bowl of noodles. Bye, Men-​Oh.

I’m a big fan of ramen in general and have eaten at almost every single popular ramen houses in la over the years. That said, I was not particularly amazed by the ramen here. Have went here three times with friends, maybe it’s a different style than most, the fact that they use milk broth, but it doesn’t taste too good.
I’m open to all styles of ramen, and also having eaten many ramen in Japan too. In general it’s a very poplar place for some reason, but the taste is not too much to my liking.
Portions are too big, easily for two. Makes me feel awful about eating so much.

Unfortunately this bomb dot com ramen joint is now closed due to slow business (according to the owner) despite six months of awesomeness.
Just when I found my favorite ramen joint that serves the best ramen in town and five minutes from my work, it closes! The Tokushima ramen is my all time favorite with a broth that’s flavorful enough to be delicious but smooth enough to go down and not feel like you’re chugging liquid lard. The semi raw egg is their signature and the oh-​so-​good shredded pork and chashu mix well with the thick and right textured noodles. Seriously, down that bad boi with a mug of Sapporo and you’ll be in a food coma in no time.
Sure they have another location in Little Tokyo, but am I willing to drive 20 miles just for ramen when there’s a plethora of other ramen joints in Torrance? Time to be a regular at Umenoya and Yamadaya again.

The ramen here is AMAZING.
I’m posting this during Ramen Week, and so a bunch of ramen shops have been absolutely flooded. Typically it means that service is overtaxed with all the new customers (and that anyone eating out at ramen shops this week should tip HEAVILY), so i won’t be writing about their service. Not a fair time.
That said, the ramen is PHENOMENAL. I’ve gone twice now, and along with the help of my friends, I’ve tried the chicken paitan ramen, the tokushima ramen, and the tan tan men ramen.
I ordered the paitan ramen when they’d run out of the Tokushima ramen. It had been a huge day of sales for the store, so I don’t expect that to happen until whenever the next ramen week is. To be honest, I expected to be disappointed because I don’t really like chicken too much. Holy crap, was I wrong! The paitan is worth checking this location out alone! It’s rich, gently sweet, the meat is tender and melts in your mouth (and is just the right kind of chewy for the less fatty bits). The noodles are perfect, too.
I got a good taste of my friend’s tan tan men. It was sweeter and had a really healthy amount of spice, and the sheer smell and richness of the sesame oil? Just wonderful.
Lastly, the Tokushima ramen. My god, folks. My god. Just… just go. Go have the Tokushima ramen. It’s a slightly sweeter recipe than most ramen I’ve had, but that was in no way a bad thing. It’s a SOLID competitor for Yamadaya’s tonkotsu ramen, and that is some high praise.
Will update as I try more dishes!

Few things in life can make you feel better the way a good bowl of ramen can.
Had the Tokushima ramen, and it was so good in so many ways. It might be my favorite non-​Santouka and non-​shinsemgumi (sooo i guess my third fave) ramen place.
A perfect portion — filling but not huge
Noodles were on the thicker side, so they were chewier and that always seems more satisfying (but I DO love the thinner noodles at shinsengumi)
Broth was rich but not oily.
Pork — Tokushima ramen comes with two types of pork, one is fatter than the other (in my mind, fattier ramen pork = more delicious ramen pork)
Soft/​medium-​boiled egg was perfect, I always appreciate an accurately prepared egg.
The best way to eat this — or any ramen, really — is to try and get as many soup components (noodles, onion, bamboo, pork) with your chopsticks with your other hand use the soup spoon to get a little broth… raise the chopsticks up so you can place them IN the soup spoon so it’s like in a little broth bath — but keep holding onto your little bite. Move noodles to your mouth with the chopsticks, slurp them and at the end dump the broth from the spoon into your mouth.
I mean… that’s what I think. But this place is good. Srsly. I have been dreaming about going back.

Ever restaurant and their brother serves ramen in Torrance. Saying you serve ramen in Torrance is like saying you’re a person who breathes air.
When it comes to ramen, I already have my favorites so I was pretty skeptical when my friends wanted to give the new kid in town a try. But it was ramen week at the time so I couldn’t really turn down a bowl of steaming noodles and soup for half price.
We started with the Gyoza, and let’s just say I don’t think Men Oh is known for its appetizers. Not bad, but the taste like the stuff you boil out of a bag from any Asian market.
Then came the customizable Tokushima Ramen. The richly intense broth of pork fat and oil was great, and the chashu is some of the softest I’ve seen. The butabara is new for me, and despite having a little more stir-​fry grease, I definitely don’t regret giving it a try. And Men Oh gets bonus points for letting you add whatever you want. For some reason, most of my favorite places have limited add-​ons, and Santouka has next to none. And while there’s no way I could finish an extra helping of noodles, adding a pound of chashu and butabara didn’t hurt… until after…
Alright Men Oh, now you’ve convinced me. I’ll be a little less set in my ways from now on. Sure, Santouka is probably still my go-​to place, but next time I drive by Men Oh, there’s no way I won’t be grabbing a ton of Tokushima first.

Good Pork flavored Ramen. Bi lingual friendly servers. Have alternating specials. Tucked away in strip mall that has Nijiya market. Look for the ramen sign on sidewalk

When I think of Asian Cuisine, I go on auto-​pilot. I am thinking Umami. Not MSG, but savory, salty, garlicy, meaty, texture and flavor. A catalog of soupy deliciousness! And this was not happening here.
Lets talk about flavor and things that may produce the perfect flavors that are needed in a Ramen Soup. In all fairness, it is a soup, a special soup, but an Asian soup none the less.
When I invision the extraordinary ramen soup, I want it to have the flavor of the Gods. Is this not the reason we come to these eateries? Asian Cuisine does not use salt in the form of Kosher or table salt. The salty flavor of this cuisine uses shoyu, (but not often, because, this also adds unwanted color), miso, sometimes sardines, anchovies, shrimp paste, fish sauce, etc. All things salty, except traditional salt…
The broth lacked flavor, it was a little bland and not salted properly, and desparately needed acid. I added every table condiment available to make the broths flavor come out… Working with what was on the table, just didn’t work. Not at all what I would expect in a ramen soup. I wanted texture and spice. A condiment of raw garlic. A choice of marinated bean sprouts for texture and crunch would have been nice.

Aaa ah, Here I go, here I go, here I go again
Unilocal, what’s my weakness? … Ramen!
Slurp
Slurp da-​soup
Slurp da-​soup
Slurp da-​soup da-​soup da-​soup
Oooo, how you doin’, baby?
No, not you
You, the Tonkotsu one, (ha-​ha) yeah
What’s your name?
Damn, that sounds yummy
Come (come) and (hmmm) give me some of that yum-​yum
Chashu snip, Butabara strip, can I get a Nitamago whoop? (please)
Baby, take a ride in my soup, you make me wanna…
Slurp
Slurp da-​soup
Slurp da-​soup
Slurp da-​soup da-​soup da-​soup
Don’t know how you do the noodle that you do
So well it’s a spell, hell, makes me wanna slurp … Slurp … Slurp …
No need for Salt ‘n Pepa cause the Tokushima Ramen ($ 8.95) brings lyrical flavor thanks to homemade Kurobuta pork-​bone soup (Tonkotsu) seasoned with Soy Sauce (Shoyu) and long, straight medium-​thick Ramen Noodles. When you add Chashu (simmered pork loin), Butabara (stir-​fried pork belly), and half a Nitamago (soy-​seasoned soft-​boiled egg), well, then you have a bonafide hit in your bowl.
For $ 2 more add a Tokushima Don (Rice Bowl) with Butabara, Bamboo Shoots, Seaweed, Green Onions, and Ginger. It’s not why you come to Men Oh Tokushima Ramen, but it’s just $ 2. A classic 5-​piece side of Gyoza ($ 4.50) was better and worth the extra $. The trio of ramen, rice, and fried dumplings will satisfy even the heartiest hunger.
The menu and service is simple at Men Oh Tokushima. There are 2 types of ramen, 2 appetizers, and 2 rice bowls. Sometimes there are specials like Tan Tan Men, but don’t complicate things. The Tokushima Ramen is the ramen to get when you wanna …
Slurp
Slurp da-​soup
Slurp da-​soup
Slurp da-​soup da-​soup da-​soup

Men Oh Tokushima Ramen is a great new ramen shop in Torrance that opened in February. They are located in the Nijiya Market Plaza, which is a large strip mall located on the corner of Van Ness Blvd. and 182 St. in Torrance, very close to the Crenshaw exit of the 405 freeway. Men Oh is part of a chain of ramen shops with 12 locations in Japan and 4 locations in California. In Los Angeles they have a shop in Little Tokyo as well their newly opened shop in Torrance. Men Oh specializes in Tokushima style ramen.
Tokushima is located on the island of Shikoku; the smallest of the four Japanese home islands. Tokushima is best known for its pork farming and large ham processing factory. Pork and pork products are strongly associated with Tokushima. Tokushima ramen is distinguished by various strengths of tonkotsu (pork stock) and the use of «baraniku» (pork sparerib meat), «butabara» (stir-​fried pork belly) and raw egg as toppings. Men Oh features 16 hour tonkotsu broth made with 100% Berkshire Kurobuta pork bones.
Men Oh’s Menu offers:
Tokushima Ramen (Butabara, chashu, menma, green onions, seaweed, egg*) $ 8.95
Chicken Paitan Ramen (Chicken bone stock) $ 7.95
Chalk Board Special:
Tan Tan Men Ramen (Spicy flavor) $ 8.95
Sides:
Gyoza 5pcs. $ 4.50
Karaage (fried chicken 5pcs.) $ 4.50
Rice Dishes:
Chashu Don $ 3.50
Tokushima Don (2 type of pork, seaweed, green onions, ginger) $ 3.50
** You can get either a soft boiled egg or a «pasteurized» raw egg.
I went to Men Oh on a weekday around 1:00pm. Nijiya Market Plaza has a large parking lot, however, parking can sometimes be hard to find because the market is very popular. Apparently I picked a good time because I easily got a parking space and found that there was no wait for a table. As you enter the restaurant there is a counter with 8 seats to the right and a sectioned off larger table on the left side. Behind the counter there are 5 2-​top tables and 2 4-​top tables. The interior is modern, stylish and has recently been remodeled.
I ordered the Tokushima Ramen and my lunch-​mate ordered the Chicken Paitan Ramen. We also got an order of Kaarage (fried chicken). The tonkotsu was light brown in color and was very porky with visible bits of fat. The taste was very umami with a rich and almost creamy feel. The noodles were straight medium thick noodles that had good firmness and were not over cooked. The chashu was nice and tender and the baraniku was a thick slice of pork belly that had been stir fried. I got a soft boiled egg, which was cooked perfectly with a soft and gooey center. The Chicken Paitan Ramen soup was white in color and opaque in appearance. The taste was distinctly of chicken and was very flavorful but not as strong as the pork tonkotsu. The noodles and toppings of the Chicken Paitan were similar to the Tokushima Raman.
The Kaarage (fried chicken) was amazing. It was one of the best Karrages that I have had because it was so crispy on the outside while tender inside. I believe that they use a rice flour coating to achieve such a crisp exterior.
I would rank Men Oh as one of the top ramen houses in Torrance, right up with Yamadaya, Hakata-​Shin Sen Gumi and Santouka. I do appreciate that Men Oh offers some different flavors with their Chicken Paitan Ramen and Tan Tan Men. It’s wonderful being able to experience all these different styles of ramen within such close proximity. I had a great experience at Men Oh and would highly recommend them to any ramen lover.

Very decent ramen. Sadly they were out of the pork broth, which probably was the thing to order.
Tan tan ramen was pretty good but a little… hard to tell? Noodles are alright, broth is reasonably flavorful and not entirely drowned out by the spice, but it doesn’t blow you away, either.
Chicken ramen seemed decent but no raving to go with it. The kara age, at least, was excellent– crispy, a bit of crunch, quite good.
In many areas this would be superb ramen, but this area is so competitive that standing out is very, very difficult.

I came here for Lalala Ramen week. It’s a small place and we had a group of 5 so we waited for about 45mins-​1hr. They had 75 bowl limit and we were fortunate to make it to the cut.
All 5 of us had the Tokushima Ramen which is a shoyu tonkotsu. It comes with green onions, bamboo shoots, soft boiled egg, thinly sliced butabara that has been stir fried (pork belly), and chashu. For an additional $.50, we added a raw egg (pasteurized egg shells).
It’s a thick creamy rich soup with sort of thick noodles. It had flavor but the thick broth wasn’t for me. The raw egg made the broth more thick and rich. So if this is your style then it may be the place for you.
We also had one order of Karaage. It had the typical flavor you’d expect from Japanese-​style fried chicken. It was a little crispy at first but after awhile it lost its crispiness.
There are many other Ramen places in the South Bay, not sure if I will come here again. Maybe to try other ramen. So far they only have 3 different kinds: Tan Tan, Tokhushima, and another one.

Delicious! Nice broth, nice noodles. More flavorful than shinsengumi overall– the broth is richer, noodles thicker, meat more flavorful, and egg more savory. I got the raw egg but I don’t think it really added anything worth noting.
Their meat is different than most ramen in than they use thin butabara cuts rather than the traditional chashu slices. Maybe that’s part of the tokushima style?

I got here 15 minutes before close (what an $#%!? of me, right?), and they were really nice and got me a seat.
I honestly had no idea what to order. My server explained the dishes to me, but they all sounded good. The chef recommended the tan tan men ramen if I like spicy, which I do, so I got that. The broth was really nice and had just enough fat and richness to cut the heat.
I didn’t have to add any seasoning to it, which is awesome.
The place was quite bustling, but whenever I turned my head up to look for my server, someone was there to help me pretty quickly. They have a friendly staff.
The manager even took time to ask how my meal was and when I admitted I’m a quality ramen noob, he explained the etymology of the name of the ramen I was having. Apparently, this spicy dish is quite traditional with roots back to China. #TheMoreYouKnow.
I’ll definitely be back! =^.^=

As a new addition to its lineup of ramen selections, you may find yourself wondering, does Torrance really need another ramen shop? Perhaps not surprisingly, the answer is an emphatic yes. Don’t agree? Keep reading.
With its rich history and artisan, if not artistic approach toward food (ramen being no exception), it should come as no surprise to ramen enthusiasts that many, often region-​specific, styles of ramen have developed and blossomed over the last few decades. Of course, ramen newcomers may be completely oblivious to the subtle differences therein, but as you immerse yourself in the world of noodles and broth, you will undoubtedly find yourself noticing, and then craving, the different idiosyncrasies that each region of ramen has to offer. Enter Men Oh (Japanese for «King of Noodles»), which provides authentic Tokushima-​style ramen.
Tokushima, one of the 4 prefectures that comprise the Southern island of Shikoku, has developed its own style of ramen that has gained recognition and regard throughout Japan. On entering Men Oh, you will notice a large chalkboard behind the counter that proudly announces the 3 features that make Tokushima ramen unique, summarized here for the uninitiated. (Sure the chalkboard may be in broken English, but as I always say, a Japanese restaurant’s proficiency in English grammar is inversely proportional to the quality of its food.)
1. Pork bone is used heavily in producing the broth, making for a deep, rich flavor
2. Pork belly meat (butabara) is used in addition to the standard, and much leaner pork loin meat (chashu)
3. Traditionally, a raw egg is dropped into the broth
Men Oh successfully combines these 3 elements, providing you with an authentic Tokushima ramen experience, not to mention an interesting change of pace from some of the more standard ramen offerings of the city.
As another option, they also offer a white broth chicken-​based alternative, which has a saltier broth compared to its savory Tokushima counterpart, further complemented and balanced by stalks of bok choy, bean sprouts, and slightly thicker noodles. I highly recommend getting around to trying both varieties, as well as the optional gyoza and karaage (Japanese-​style fried chicken).
The (as of the writing of this review) limited selection on the menu should not be held against them, as it is merely a testament to the fact that they have devoted themselves to making what they do best, without stepping into the superfluous. All things considered, I regard Men Oh as a welcome addition to the Torrance ramen scene. Give it a try – Tokushima-​style just may be your favorite.
UPDATE — I tried their newly added Tan Tan Men. It’s pretty good as far as Tan Tan Men goes. It uses the same noodles as the others, with ground beef, bean sprouts, and a little cilantro. It’s a bit spicy, but not overpoweringly so. Overall, I feel the other two flavors I mentioned above stay more interesting up through the bottom of the bowl, so I’d really only recommend this if you have a serious Tan Tan craving.
Recommended Dish: Tokushima-​style Ramen + Raw Egg, with a side of Gyoza

Ordered the Tokushima ramen and karaage.
Soup was thick and had the right color but lacked the
flavor. Noodle is not soaking up any of that
broth. Karaage was also nothing
special. Today was my first visit
but nothing really stood out.
Service was good so I’ve bumped up
one extra point. If the service was poor
then I’ve probably given two stars.
I might come back for the Chicken Paitan
Ramen but will not be back for Tokushima ramen.
FYI, chicken paitan ramen was not on the menu
but it was mentioned on the blackboard by
the counter and waiter also told me about it
before he took my order.

This place just opened a little while ago. I came on a Tuesday night around 9pm.
The Service —
The service was good. It was a small place and pretty empty so it was quick.
The Food —
There was literally only one option for ramen on the menu with a note that said more to come. Sure, they’re brand spanking new… But don’t other restaurants open with a full menu? It was pretty sad. The Tokushima Ramen wasn’t bad. Flavor and noodles were good but not especially so. It came with an egg but the egg was cold. The Karaage wasn’t crispy, I was a bit disappointed.
The Prices —
We had 3 ramen and a chicken Karaage which was $ 1 with the special they had. Our total came to about $ 30 including tax.
I was pretty disappointed. Maybe they’ll get better as time goes on but I don’t think I’ll be back to try it.

Saw this place here ate Unilocal and it’s newly opened. With this rainy weather we have for the weekend, I thought to give it a try.
I was greeted warmly in Japanese… I assumed it’s welcome to Men Oh. On their board was a $ 1 Gyoza with Ramen. So let’s try the Tokushima Ramen which was tasty and not oily for my taste. Would be nice if there’s the spicy option. maybe later as the place makes a name. Gyoza was nothing ordinary except it’s a dollar until the 15^th of March.
I will definitely come back here and try their updated menu. It’s a nice discovery… didn’t know there’s a Japanese market near me :-).

Flavorful and good sized bowl of ramen. Slightly firm textured noodles. Need a bigger sized chili oil that pours out better cuz I love chili oil!

The new Japanese Ramen restaurant will be open on Feb 22^nd 2014 in Torrance!
I should say 3.59 stars. I went to their soft opening on 2÷19÷2014 for lunch.
The location is the same as Horon restaurant used to be.
I ordered lunch special Tokushima Ramen + chashu don ($ 11.45). I really liked the egg topping taste and soup.
Tokushima Ramen is known for thick noodle so if you like thick noodle this is a good place to go (I am big fan of thin Ramen noodles tho…). Chashu don was just OK (I didn’t like the rice. too soft. good for baby or person who has no teeth)
The menu that I posted on Unilocal is for the soft opening only I guess. They will add more stuff after the official opening day which is Feb 22^nd 2014!!!
Usually the new restaurant taste quality will change within 3 months in a good way, so they will taste much better than today for sure! can’t wait to come back!