Hana Ichimonme Restaurant

Came here for their dessert after having amazing sashimi at Sushi Go 55. It is convenient when restaurants are in the same plaza. Me and my BF first checked their display food sample models on the window and the rice cake with red bean broth instantly grabbed my attention. We decided to go in and give their desserts a try. I got their rice cake with hot red bean broth. Apparently there were a lot of Japanese celebrities or sports players been to this restaurant based on the autograph on the wall. After they served the dessert, I was pretty disappointed. Start from the rice cake, it was mushy, saggy and overcooked. They were also in different shape, some are super big and some are small. The red bean broth was way too sweet than I expected. They gave a sad side pickles on the side in case you get too sick of the sweetness. However, the flavor of pickles were horrible, they tasted old and way too salty. My BF did not seem to enjoy his dessert too. We just wanted to finish ASAP and leave after seeing our dessert. They might have better savory items since there are still customers coming for their noodles and food. However I don’t think that I would come back. It just reminds me how sad their dessert was.

Hana Ichimonme seems to be a very traditional Japanese restaurant. This was my first time here and I ordered the corn ramen. I thought it was good, but did not stand out from other ramen places I’ve been to. My cousin ordered the cold ramen which I thought was very interesting!
The prices were also fairly affordable. Hana Ichimonme is also conveniently located in a plaza where there is a Japanese market downstairs and other boutiques. I would recommend this restaurant if you are looking for a quick bite while shopping!

My go to place when I want Japanese noodles (ramen or cold noodle). I also highly recommend the Tofu Salad with Sesame dressing. The best. Service is really good here too. Note: $ 10 minimum for credit cards.

Nice enough place — pretty much just a little Japanese diner with a variety of ramen, yakisoba, shaved ice, curry, and other dishes. It’s a good value with good food — nothing spectacular and nothing worth crossing town for, necessarily, but it hits the spot when one wants Japanese food but one doesn’t know exactly what so a menu with lots of choices is good. The service is fast, friendly, and helpful. The hakata ramen — the pork bone broth ramen — isn’t as good as Daikokuya or others, but it will do in a pinch.

This is a review for lunch!
It’s located on the 3^rd floor of a shopping mall but really easy to find (on your left after getting off the escalator)!
The front of the store has a bunch of display dishes in case you want a visual example of what your food will look like!
For the food we ordered
SAGANO COMBO WITH HANAICHI RAMEN
— the ramen has a chicken broth base so it’s not super heavy
— comes with chicken rice, gyoza, and salad
— it was DELICIOUS!
— honestly a lot of food but I was hungry so the more the better!
SAGANO COMBO WITH TONORI RAMEN
— this ramen is pretty spicy and has more vegetable than the previous ramen
— comes with the same sides since it’s also sagano
— delicious! But not good for anyone that doesn’t like spicy foods
The service was on point, they were very attentive which made our lunch break smooth and satisfying!
This place gets a ⁴⁄₅ for food only because it’s not the most mind blowing ramen I’ve ever had but I would give it a 4.5÷5 overall because I really did have a great dining experience here!

This place has been around since Woori Market was still Yaohan Plaza (so a long ass time). While other restaurants have come and gone, Hana Ichi Monme has survived. The funny thing is I’d never gone before. I always wanted to go, but my parents never took me because it was too childish. But, to quote the pirate from Captain Phillips, «I’m the captain now!» So the other day I went with my wife and parents.
At first I was a little underwhelmed, but the food’s not bad at all. It’s mostly just ramen, so be prepared for that. It’s not bomb or nothing, but it’s way way waay above average. I liked my miso corn ramen, and my wife loved her spicy miso ramen, which had a great kick. I’ll definitely be back. And it’s good to know that growing up has its perks, like finally trying out the restaurants that were out of your reach as a child.

This is old school Japanese restaurant in Little Tokyo shopping center. Been here forever. Lots of plastic mock ups of dishes in window for your viewing pleasure.
I have had almost everything on the menu here, all consistently good. Today we all had Sagano ramen sets with chicken fried rice, Gyoza, lite salad. Quite filling and good.
No frills restaurant. Quick in and out for lunch.

If you are in this absolute shithole of a mall, this is maybe your only safe bet.
The mall has been seemingly inhabited by Koreans now, and Japanese business is sadly few and far between, this being one of them hanging on.
Service is fine, nothing to write home about, but a bit confusing. The menu given to me had a teriyaki chicken plate, which I ordered, priced at $ 6.50.
The bill charged me $ 10.50
When I disputed this, I was told the $ 6.50 was for a kids plate. Well, why not tell me as I was ordering and pointing to that particular dish?
So, I must bid farewell to this mall, that I once enjoyed many decades ago. It’s too depressing.
And the sides that came with my severely overpriced meal were horrible. Spaghetti with some kind of mayo and a salad with Kraft dressing on it.
I would have opted for no sides. But their service is very limited. And of course Japanese have to follow the rules so if you are incorrectly charged there will be no apologies or remedy.

So I haven’t been in this restaurant in ages, but made my way down with my family for an afternoon lunch.
I wasn’t too crazy about their service, or lack of. The employees are quiet dry, and don’t give you that welcome feel.
I ordered the cha-​shu-​ramen. The size was fine, but the noodles tasted dry, and definitely out of the package. There weren’t other things in the ramen that I would’ve hoped for, besides the meat and noodles. It would’ve been nice if there were bean sprouts or some cabbage in there, but nope, just noodles and meat.
We also ordered the gyoza (pot stickers). It definitely tasted like straight out of the frozen package.
There are so many other choices besides this place, I wouldn’t really give thought to return again.
Overall grade: C

I don’t see how this place gets such high review.
Ramen was horrible. Who is cooking the ramen here?
I can cook better ramen at much lower cost.
This place is overpriced and serves mediocre food.
They also seem too eager to kick us out of our table.
It’s not like they had huge line out of the door.
Let us eat in peace.

Location: For those of u who remember, this restaurant is located in the YAOHAN mall on Alameda. There is still a grocery store there, but I believe its just a generic asian market now. They somewhat recently added a Daiso as well. One of the great attractions of this mall believe it or not is they have a PARKING STRUCTURE. These are quite rare and usually very expensive in J-​town, but if you eat at a restaurant there or buy things at the stores, I believe you get a 2 hour validation. We did at Hana Ichimonme. Parking can get tough during popular hours however due to this «free» parking so beware and watch what time you go. The restaurant itself is pretty easy to spot — look for the only old school TRUE Japanese looking restaurant (plastic food displays and all) on the second floor next to the giant Manna Kbbq.
Service: Small restaurant = small staff. But that small staff was great. My husband and I love to support small Japanese restaurants like this one because so many of them have gone from J-​town already. Everyone serving was super polite as to be expected at a Japanese place. We were seated immediately and brought hot green tea. Our order was taken within minutes and food arrived shortly after that. Everything was done in a timely manner. No complaints.
Food: I was really craving some kind of donburri, but unfortunately the only kinds they have here are either beef or teriyaki chicken. So instead I settled for miso corn ramen. I know comparisons have been drawn between this and another ramen place (ahem daikokuya) place located nearby. They do taste and present differently and honestly I think some of it is up to the way your prefer your own ramen. Hana Ichimonme noodles are thin, egg noodles and cooked slightly more al dente. The soup tasted to me less like a true miso broth and kind of a mix almost of shoyu and miso. It was good, but I do wish there were a few more noodles in there. My husband ordered the spicy coconut milk champon ramen — this was a coconut and seafood based ramen. I personally didn’t try it, but he enjoyed it thoroughly and compared it to the thai noodle soup khaosoi. Both noodles came with a small side dish of picked cabbage too.
Overall: Personally, I hope small places like this continue to survive in that mall because those are the places that really defined J-​town. Nothing against the giant chains like Manna that are moving in, but the J-​town I grew up with is getting lost. We will be back for some ramen soon. Go support!

I got the Hakata Ramen which I thought was very good. The broth is full of flavor, not too salty and comes with a couple of thick slices of tender pork which was not too fatty and veggies.
I prefer the ramen here over Shin Shen Gumi.

I’ve been coming here forever and it’s so good. They definitely give you a lot of food for what you pay.
This is the best place for easy lunches and fast, friendly service.
I HIGHLY recommend.
P. S. There’s also a Daiso store downstairs and that’s always a plus!

On a rare rainy day in Los Angeles, you just want to have some good broth and have good conversation with friends. That’s exactly what we did at Hana Ichimonme Restaurant! Located on the top floor of the Little Tokyo Shopping Center, Hana Ichimonme is surrounded by other popular establishments like Shojin, Manna, Honda-​ya, etc. We went here because we were intrigued by the Spicy Champon, which I thought was a Chinese-​Korean dish, but it was interesting to try it at a Japanese restaurant. My friend’s boyfriend had highly recommended this place, so we were excited to try it out.
All three of us got the spicy champon. They have a spiciness level from 1 – 5 (1 being regular champon). I guess I’m weak sauce because we all did level 2, and I was coughing at every sip. The broth was really good, but I cannot handle too spicy flavors. The noodles were al dente and not too soggy, and it came with plenty of cabbage, little scallops, and shrimp. Next time, I’m going to stick with the coconut champon so that I can actually drink all of the broth.
The inside is a little run down, but it’s very clean even if it’s aged. The service was very attentive and our server checked up on us often. The next time it rains in Los Angeles, I might want to go back for some good broth again. If you can handle the heat, give it a try!

We’ve been going here for a while now. My last review was before the ramen explosion, and you would think with all the different types of ramen shops out there, I would have moved on. But there is something comforting in the kind of ramen that this place serves. It harkens back to a simpler time in the restaurant industry where the goal was good food and good service, not necessarily the next big thing and instagram ready interiors.
Still got great combos and desserts, cheap beer and sake, and quick service.

I came here today for lunch with coworkers. This place is located inside a shopping mall, but let me tell you it was packed! They also have free parking in a structure nearby which was nice and convenient.
We sat down and all ordered the spicy miso ramen, spicy level 2! It was delicious!!! It never had ramen before but I loved it. The broth was delicious and not too spicy, but very good! The portions are huge, I took half home for dinner! I would definitely recommend this place if you’re looking for a casual ramen place. It was reasonably priced also, $ 9.25 for the spicy miso ramen. Next time, I will increase the spicy level!!! Can’t wait to come back!

I get a little skeptical about restaurants located inside of a mall. But this ramen joint made me reevaluate my shopping mall bias.
So I had the beef bowl-​ramen combination. It was extremely reasonably priced, filling, and tasty. The beef bowl is gyudon, rice and thin sliced beef, which is better version of the dish Yoshinoya serves. I also got the coconut champion. I thought it was pretty good. The noodles itself were maybe not as good as some of the other ramen places, and the soup not amazing, but for the price, the portion is huge, and it was satisfying.
This is a great place. I’ll be back. And to top it off, there’s free (validated) parking in the garage for two hours. Can’t get better than this in Little Tokyo.

Lunch on Thursday, 10÷22÷15
I’ve been to this restaurant for many years now. I feel like it somehow changed because the ramen looks and tastes different unless I remembered it incorrectly. On a weekday, there was no wait in line. Ambiance is casual with a feel for Japan.
The menus have not changed but they added a few new flavors. I tried the spicy miso ramen. For someone who enjoys spicy foods, it’s not as spicy as you would expect. It has a lot of onions and vegetables too. I also ordered the melon flavored cream soda. My sister and I enjoyed our lunch as a reminiscence.
Service was good and our server was friendly but not too sure about coming back again since there are so many other ramen places to choose from.

My wife and I both had their Hakata Ramen with Inari special.
The broth of the ramen was good as well their thin noodle.
We also had the Ujikintoki shaved ice special which consists of shaved ice with condensed milk, red bean paste, green tea ice cream, shiratama dango, and a cherry on the top. Ujikintoki was so large that we couldn’t finish the whole thing! It was very good though!

Review in #Haiku:
Old school Japan dive
Solid meals but not top choice
Subway, but Asian =P