Ramen Champ

I have a headache for 2 days and a diarrhea! you guys put a lot of MSG. Soup is too salty too. I will never ever come back here again.

Our fave ramen place. Love their Chicken Shio Ramen and Takoyaki. If I feel like rice it’s their Okinawa Taco Bowl.

original tonkotsu — a ramen that consists of a rich and creamy complex soup served with noodles, slow-​cooked chasu pork, mushrooms and green onions. This is my FAVORITE ramen dish of all time in all of California. No joke seriously. The thick, rich, creamy pork broth is just bursting with fatty flavor. You can taste the pork in all of its nakedness! The alkaline «yellow» noodles are cooked perfectly to be soft and firm at the same time. Dried black fungus? Only like my favorite mushroom! Yummy. It’s texture gives it a nice CRUNCH with the soft, silky ramen and smooth broth. I’m drooling.
tonkotsu tan tan — ramen champ’s original tonkotsu broth served with sesame sauce, bok choy, roasted white sesame, chili and hot meat sauce seasoned with sichuan peppercorns and garlic. Want something a bit more spicy and exciting? This daring version of the original tonkotsu gives it the slightest hot kick that you probably dare to eat! The white sesame seeds and sichuan peppercorns complement the chili hot meat sauce perfectly! Look at that pack of red chili powder on the side! And that big slab of pork right on top. Wow! Get ready to woot while you eat
Pros:
–no wait! It’s low key and small and seriously way better than all other places that have long waits
–very good and attentive service! The owner is there a lot and is super nice! All the workers are friendly
–cool décor
–delicious ramen
Cons:
–there are none!

Unfortunately, I had some indigestion and diarrhea after this meal:(
The ramen broth (original tonkotsu) wasn’t too bad, but takoyaki didn’t feel fully cooked. Additionally, the pork in the ramen seemed too slimmy (perhaps not fully cooked) and unfortunately I had indigestion & diarrhea :(Maybe it was the pork or the takoyaki. After looking through the reviews, it doesn’t seem like it is a common phenomenon, but I probably won’t return to Ramen Champ after this tragic experience.

Went last week because of all the hype from Cailan (creator of Eggslut). Everything was good but not great. So I looked up some reviews online only to find out that Cailan no longer owns this joint. He sold it last fall to someone else. From reading some of the other reviews here, it seems like the ramen was much better before but not as good now.
Anyway, it’s still pretty good with great chewy noodles and flavorful broth. However, the pork in the ramen was really subpar.
I prefer Daikokuya or Shin-​Sen-​Gumi.

The Tonkatsu Ramen is solid, no ginger though. Broth was thick and creamy, the thin noodles were nice and tasty. The pork belly was so tender and fatty. The size of the noodle was pretty comparable to Shinsengumi, it was just a taller narrower bowl. You can also get extra noodles! The price of the ramen was pretty expensive.
We also got the Karaage which is like Japanese popcorn chicken. It was a little too salty for me and also quite spicy.
Second floor of the Far East Plaza and paid parking is available downstairs.

Had the tonkotsu ramen, and chose the thin noodles as well as soy sauce (other choice was Himalayan salt) to be added to the broth. 2 generous pieces of chasu came with the ramen, though they may be on the cold side (it was quiet and at the beginning of dinner service, so some of the items such as the chasu were stored in the refrigerator until needed.
Enjoyed the ramen as the noodles were cooked to a slight al dente for me, which is my preference. Chasu was tasty, but the tonkotsu broth seemed to be a tad too salty for me.

Under New Management
The ramen is still good but things have changed and not for the better.
Most notably was the Chashu Pork they put in the ramen. Rubbery. Very rubbery and hard to eat. The fat did not melt in your mouth and was like eating a rubber band.
Even my girlfriend had a hard time and gave up chewing. The meat was too rubbery. The slices are too thick and uneven. Broth and ramen are fine. But the star of the show the meat had major issues.
They no longer serve the fried chicken skin.
The waiter I dealt with was not very receptive to these problems.
I am sad to say I will not be coming back as I was a loyal customer
Don’t want people to make the same mistake I made and expect what use to be great ramen

Huge mistake. Don’t come to a ramen place in Chinatown. Lesson learned.
I ordered the original with an egg.
The flavor was so bland, not hot enough, pork was old and the old was almost frozen inside! I don’t get it.
I’m still getting grossed out thinking about biting into that egg as I write this. So I should stop writing now.

Super duper yummy ramen!
Ordered the Tan Tan ramen and I loved their super awesome and complex flavored broth. One sip will put your mouth in a tasty roller coaster!
The whole restaurant is situated pretty cool. They have an open kitchen, so if you sit at the bar area near the kitchen, you can see everything cooking and the cooks assembling the dishes.
If it’s your first time coming here, there is a small underground parking, which they validate for 1 hour. Make sure you give your parking ticket to the cashier!

Shout out to Eric; spectacular service!
I had the tonkatsu with added egg with thick noodles.
I highly recommend the thick noodles for that hearty bite.
The broth was clean
The whole meal didn’t knock me into a coma which was nice.

I likeee this place! No wait on a Friday night, fast friendly service, and good ramen! Interior is very small and clean with only bar seating available. There were only 2 people working that night and I think they were both doing the ordering, serving, and cooking. Props to them!
Ordered the Original Tonkatsu and my bf ordered the Tonkatsu Tan Tan (this one is spicy), both with thick noodles. The broth was very flavorful, a little thicker than other ramen places. Downside was there wasn’t a lot of broth to drink and the chashu wasn’t as hot as I would like. Also the quantity was pretty small. I was still a little hungry after I finished. I wish they had a larger size available but I guess I could just order a side of extra noodles next time.
The night I came there wasn’t any ticket I needed to take to get validated so parking was free: D Would come again!

Ramen shop in Chinatown? Who knew! Started off the weekend hanging with some friends in Chinatown and decided to support a local ramen shop called Ramen Champ.
For those that may not know the area, it is located on the 2^nd floor of the Far East Plaza. New owner. New menu. I heard that the original owner stayed on as a consultant to new owner Kasai-​san.
The broth was on-​point. Not the over-​powering, but tasty. The char siu was sliced on the thicker than thinner side. The scallions were plentiful. And, the optional soft-​boiled egg was on point. All of this for less than 10-​bucks! My friends ordered the Takoyaki and said that it was better-​than-​good. No «dough-​ie-​ness» for lack of a better word.
Ramen Champ is not a huge restaurant. There is seating at the «bar counter’ and additional counter seating facing the wall. I would definitely come back. I just wished they sold beer!
Enjoy!

Slow service, average ramen, great décor, delicious takoyaki. I think this place is relatively new from the owner of Eggslut. It’s really cool that Chinatown is diversifying, particularly in this building. This building also has Chego and Scoops located, so lots of food choices!
I came into Ramen Champ a few minutes after they opened, and we sat and ordered our food. I ordered the takoyaki and the spicy tonkatsu ramen. The takoyaki came out first, it was so good. Deep fried and crispy on the outside, soft and melty on the inside. I’m not sure that they’re home made because I saw them pouring it into the deep fryer from a big plastic bag. The spicy ramen was just okay. I was expecting a little bit more of a robust flavor, but it was just average. I wasn’t a fan of the egg, which was cold.
The service was really slow, apart from my friend and I, there was only one other person there. It took 30 minutes for the ramen to come out. We finished it in ten minutes, and when we paid for the check and asked to get validated, we were only validated for 30 minutes. The rule is $ 15 purchase for a 30 minute validation. That’s really annoying. When we wait for 30 minutes for our food, you should at least give us time to eat it. I took it up with the hostess who gave me a «one time pass» because we were just two dollars short of spending $ 30. But I don’t know. If I came alone, I probably wouldn’t enjoy my experience. I would feel way too rushed.
I guess you can either rationalize spending $ 30 on food — or pay $ 2.25 for parking in the lot for the 2^nd half hour.

Under new management, and apparently not as good as it was before we came here. The fried mushrooms and chicken shio are no longer available, and the new menu is pretty modest, even by ramen shop standards in LA.
That being said, the ramen here isn’t half bad. It has a good balance of savoriness and heft, with a decent broth and good quality ingredients. I measure most ramen shops in LA– especially Chinatown and Little Tokyo– by their original ramens, which usually include tonkatsu (pork belly), noodles, green onions, mushrooms, and egg, with a smattering of other veggies. The version they serve here is pretty darn good– not great– and you’ll get a good ramen buzz from it for a good while afterwards. It’s certainly filling. The fried chicken karage is also pretty good, and makes a great appetizer for sharing, or over-​indulging yourself on cheat day.
The vibe is really chill, and this part of Chinatown has certainly been spruced up a bit; there’s certainly a lot more hipster culture taking over the area, and there’s a strange mix of old vs. new going on that may or may not be a good thing. This spot is pretty legit, though, and worth a try at least once. Not a bad plate of ramen for under $ 10.

Ramen Champ did not live up to expectations. To start, the tonkotsu broth has decent pork flavor but for me it was borderline salty and the soup temperature wasn’t hot enough. My noodles were slightly over cooked and got more mushy over time. Adding a seasoned egg will set you back an additional $ 1.25. While the seasoned egg is tasty it was not cooked properly as the exterior looked ragged (like they couldn’t remove the shell properly). The char siu was also tasty. I wasn’t a fan of the wood ear fungus topping.
If you’re expecting tables, know that seating is counter style and the restaurant seats approximately 20 max. Service is friendly and attentive. It is important to note that parking is NOT validated! This is a major negative in my book! I’ve been to nearly half of the restaurants in this plaza and even the hole-​in-​the-​wall Vietnamese shop validates parking.
As far as ramen shops go, this one is just ok. There are far better ramen shops in J-​town.

Disclaimer: when I first wrote the review below, I didn’t realize the shop was under new management. And most of the comments before me were for the old ramen champ. If you haven’t been lately, or was disappointed by the old one, give this a try.
The tonkatsu broth was thicker than most places which to me is a plus. For those looking for vegan option, traditional ramen places like this really isn’t your cup of tea. So please stop the unreasonable rating. Go to a place that caters to your needs. The chef is allowed to have their vision of food and carry it out the way they wanted.
Anyway, the broth itself is better than silver lake. Options are a little limited but then again it has only 22 seats and a small kitchen. Gotta be reasonable of the options they could provide. I support small & focused menu as such. I like the vibe and the design. Ramen was done just right. Service was attentive and excellent. The one star off was for the location. It could be difficult to find parking.

Why does Ramen Champ have such low reviews?! It’s so much better than Silverlake Ramen IMO. My boyfriend & I strolled in on Saturday night and it was nearly empty. We both ordered the original Tonkatsu (a rich creamy and complex soup, served with noodles, topped with slow cooked chashu, mushrooms, green onion & black sesame oil). Noodles were perfect but what sold me was the broth. Like the description, it was quite complex. It had a flavor depth/​profile that was subtly different than any other ramen place I’ve had. Silverlake Ramen’s chashu is more melt-​in-​your-​mouth but, Ramen Champ’s is still tender!
It is a little pricey to pay $ 1.25 for egg but to be fair, other ramen places charge about the same
The set up made me feel like I was in Japan (I’ve never been but it’s how I imagine Japan ramen joints to be) — bar seating only & open kitchen!
Will definitely be back — forget the noise in Little Tokyo with overrated & overcrowded ramen places, Ramen Champ is my new go-​to!

Under new ownership. Sadly, I didn’t get to try this before they changed owners, so I can’t compare what it was like before to now.
I was surprised with their Original Tonkotsu Ramen. The broth was pretty solid. The thing I disliked was that the ramen doesn’t come with egg like most ramen restaurants. Adding an egg will set you back $ 1.25. Wack. It should be standard to come with the ramen. Also, they didn’t have the Takoyaki’s available just yet, since they literally just re-​opened couple days ago. I was looking forward to eating those Takoyaki’s…
They DO NOT validate when you park inside the plaza. Da hell?! The parking guy said all the restaurants validates inside this plaza. LIES. Also, the host has broken english and a really thick accent. Difficult to communicate, especially when it came down to paying and splitting the bill.
Well at least there’s a closer spot to eat ramen if you’re in Chinatown, but I rather eat ramen in Little Tokyo.

You know how you walk into a place and you know it’s haunted? Yeah that’s Ramen Champ. New ownership, staff and recipes but they kept everything else the same and it’s kind of creepy. There is a huge disjunction between the shell that was the old ramen champ and the new atmosphere.
The food itself wasn’t bad. The broth was pretty solid with a lot of flavor going on. The toppings put into it were a little weird and the meat tastes pre cooked and from a drawer… which it was. Also, they charge an additional fee for an egg, which annoys me to no avail as this belongs in ramen standard. I’d be happy to pay more for ramen but to have to add it is lame. Noodles were okay.
I’d like to see them drop the ramen champ brand all together and make a go of it, but until they do I won’t be returning.