Ajisen Ramen

My favorite ramen place. They also have some fried rice and small dish. The taste of broth just right for me and the noodle is soft and tender. They also have lunch special on weekday.

If you like pork, i recommend the Ajisen Best Combo ramen which is filled with porky goodness: premium pork, chasiu, and bbq pork. The premium pork and chasiu were moist and with the right amount of saltiness. However, the bbq pork, for me, was a little dry today. The ramen broth was rich and flavorful. Overall, Ajisen is a good spot if you have a craving for ramen.
If you have kids, bring them along as there is a kid’s menu

Ah… a big liar
Eight more big beef pieces in the menu
But I got four small pieces.

This place deserves a solid 3 stars. Food is pretty good, I ordered the beef bowl my all time favorite. Understanding that this place is known for their ramen I’m still a big fan of their beef bowl. I would definitely recommend someone to come grab a quick bite :).

Ajisen’s our go-​to for ramen anytime we get a craving!
My usual order is the BBQ pork ramen. It comes with 6 slices of BBQ pork, sliced raw cabbage, fungus/​seaweed, and a sliced tea egg. I add corn ($ 1.50) because it’s more economical. The BBQ pork and corn ramen only has 3 slices of pork. So, instead of adding extra pork (which is a few bucks more), I’ll just add corn for that small price.
My other half gets the ABC (Ajisen Best Combo) which comes with 3 different types of meat: BBQ pork, tendons, and ribs. We always ask for chili oil (free) but I ask for volcano sauce as well ($ 1.50 for a big glob). That stuff’s spicy but adds so much flavor to the broth.
One tip would be to grab a little of the volcano sauce with your chopsticks, put it in the spoon filled with some hot broth, and try to dissolve it in the spoon first. Once dissolved, it’s so much easier to mix with the rest of the soup. I don’t really like how I have to pay for a huge glob when only a little bit is needed, but it’s worth it, I think. Another tip for when you order any ramen with cabbage: as soon as you get your bowl, push the cabbage to the bottom of the bowl under the noodles. This will cook it by the time you add chili oil, volcano sauce, etc.
Their popcorn chicken is tasty, especially when you squeeze the lemons they give you over it. If you order it as just a side, it’s a reasonable size. The meat’s juicy and tender, and it’s all battered. Instead of crunchy, it leans towards crispy, but it does get soggy very quickly. Two other appetizers I like are the house salad (comes with this ginger dressing that I adore) and the seaweed salad (lots of sesame oil.)
Their pork cutlet with curry and rice is a good option for when you aren’t feeling noodles. Theirs tastes like the boxed kind but I have no problem with this — those boxed curry mixes are so yummy! It’s basically a pork katsu. Try it with the ginger — it’s a great combination.
Their beef mille-​feuille katsu is interesting. It’s layers of beef brisket that’s packed together and then deep fried after being battered/​covered with tempura flakes. The sauce that comes with it pairs perfectly. The first time I tried it, it was so delicious I decided to forego my regular ramen order for this. However, it tasted off. Like how beef tastes when it’s gone bad. I haven’t ordered it since.
Prices are pretty reasonable (about 10 — 13 bucks a bowl), flavored teas/​drinks are good, and service is always very accommodating. Definitely a place to go when you’re craving some comforting broth and ramen.
(If you manage to get seated in a booth, don’t forget to look at the floor! :))

NB: This review is for pickup only. I haven’t even eaten yet and already I feel compelled to write a review. They need to get their act together on the phone. Like seriously. Called for pickup. The online menu doesn’t have prices, so had to ask for prices, but the person who answered the phone didn’t know how much anything cost and had to keep asking someone else, who at first didn’t understand the question she asked him («How much is the seared tuna salad?») — she had to clarify that she meant how much does it cost.
Then when we were done ordering she just said «okay, bye» and didn’t tell us any of the standard things they usually tell you when you call in an order, like how much the total was gonna be or how long it was going to be before it was ready.
I don’t think the issue was a language barrier because she had an almost California valley girl accent. You know, I’m pretty low maintenance compared to most people when it comes to food service, but I do expect a certain level of professionalism from someone raised American due to our service culture. The food is going to have to be amazing for me to raise my rating (a tall ask for takeout, where I usually just pray the thing hasn’t gotten soggy on the way home, plus we didn’t order anything too exciting so I’m not getting my hopes up).
We ordered:
Seared Tuna Salad ($ 9.95)
Grilled Chicken Salad ($ 7.95)
Spicy Tuna Bowl ($ 5.95)
Update: The food was not amazing but better than I was expecting, so I’ll bump them up a star. We’ll see how it goes if we eat in.

I’m always used to eating at their Irvine location but since this is closer to school, I thought I’d give it a try. It’s always empty with no more than 2 – 3 tables the last two times I’ve been here. The tender pork rib ramen that I get all the time doesn’t taste as good. I probably won’t opt for this place anymore and check out other ramen spots in the area.

My family of 7 went for lunch. Everyone was pleased of what they got. I like my ramen noodle soup, tasty, but not salty, and the portion was right, I love their Cal rolls. Service was great, and they don’t charge you for hot tea like other Japanese restaurants.

The food is very recommended and especially dragon roll & baby octopus *appetizer*
The server was kind too and very friendly I wouldn’t mind to come back again

My friend introduced me to this place and it was one of the best ramen places I’ve been to so far. I ate at a couple ramen places before, but it was not as great as this place! I ordered the BBQ Pork Ramen and it was so good! I also ordered this corn salad dish and it was also really good. They had a specialty drink menu, but I have not tried any of their drinks yet. The drinks sound good though, lol!

I would say this spot has the more friendlier staff and brighter presence compared to the one on Las Tunas in Temple City. The waiters were all attentive and one was quite honest about being bored so he tried to keep busy with cleaning. =)
I picked the chicken egg-​dropped udon. Chicken was perfect — not dry, tasty! Just what I needed especially since I am still feeling a little under the weather.
I would not compare their wide variety menu to another Japanese restaurant that specializes and mostly serves in one particular type of dish (e.g., Shin-​sen gumi and Daikokuya). Although, the restaurant name does have the word, ramen. In any case, I give them props for their great appetizers and delish entrées (besides ramen).

Man what happened to this place? Quality and taste used to be great. Now my only 2 dishes that i order are beef bowl and curry beef ramen.
The beef bowl has less beef and a lot more rice and very little enoki mushrooms.
Curry beef ramen is sooo bland now, taste like watered down curry. And ofcourse it came w very little beef and a lot of ramen noodles.
Sigh…

Over the Ajisen Ramen has set the standard for Ramen places in LA. This may and may not be a good thing.
The good part seems to be that NOW more and more people are being exposed to Ramen. For most of my life Ramen was ubiquitous with dirt-​cheap packets of Japanese carbohydrates to be served in MSG infused salt broth for flavor. They were hot, filling, and tasty — but best of all they were noodles and they were super-​cheap.
But as more and more Ajisen Ramen houses opened up in LA, the more this college dorm food-​fodder meal becomes a higher end product. After all — it is hard to pay $ 8.00 for a bowl of ramen when one can make it at home for 37 cents… Unless Of Course, the 8 dollar ramen is really good. And at Ajisen — it is pretty good.
And there are a lot of mix-​and-​match varieties — with lunch specials that include a bowl of ramen and other courses.
This brings us to the «not good things». Ajisen’s ramen noodles are neither yellow nor curly, as ramen traditionally is. This ramen is more like spaghetti, white and straight. There are some places in LA that DO serve the traditional curly yellow ramen… but not here.
Another not so good thing is that this is priced like a restaurant but it is set up like a fast food place with wait-​service.
Now for info about THIS particular Ajisen Ramen location. It is conveniently placed at the street side end of a U shaped 3 story shopping center — 95% Asian of course. There is plenty of light from the large wrap around picture windows. It can get crowded — but it is a much nicer location than the one in Irvine.

This restaurant used to be one of my favorites. Now it’s become a place to go to when Boiling Point has too long of a wait and we’re hungry and too lazy to drive somewhere else. I decided to order the Spicy Miso ($ 7.95), which was decent. Maybe it’s because I recently had one of the best ramen I’ve ever had, but the ramen was simply nothing special. The servers were on top of their game and very accommodating though. It’s a decent ramen spot, but there’s simply way too many more authentic and better ramen places around 626 to come here.
I see the efforts in the new menus and such though. Unfortunately, this is forever a place of the past for me.

Came to this place because everywhere was packed. I came here for mothers day and the food is alright. I ordered the katsu ramen and asked for a side of chili oil because they dont have a spicy tonkotsu ramen. They have a spicy ramen with ground pork which I am not a fan of. I came back and asked for katsu ramen with chili oil and they wouldn’t give me chili oil for my ramen. The broth is a little lacking, and the chicken karaage is really dry. Katsu is also very thin and dry.
Haven’t been back to this place because a lot more ramen restaurants have opened in the area and this is one of the worst tasting ramens. I believe it is taiwanese owned. I really wanted this place to be good, but i have been disappointed many times here.

I use to like coming here. I would say their food is good but the soup broth has gotten too salty over the years.
I usually order my usual pork ramen with corn. The noodles are cooked perfect but the broth is too salty. I could not finish my bowl of noodles because it’s too salty.
Their tender pork ribs are very good. very soft and tender pork meat. It could be a bit pricy for almost $ 10 a bowl.

It’s been a bit of a while since I’ve been here. However, I got an itch to write a review so here I am.
Ajisen is an interesting one. The best way to describe this restaurant is «Chinese people selling Chinese style Japanese ramen». Did that make any sense?
The ramen is good, not great. Little Tokyo is a mere 7 – 8 miles away and some of the best ramen lives there. Ajisen is like a place you go to with your friends when you’re not craving Chinese food, which is like all the restaurants in SGV.
The ramen really reminds me of instant noodles. I don’t know why but maybe it’s the way it’s made, plated or prepared? I’m not sure, but there is that. The broth is t that good, that’s why. It’s overly salted, but in the overwhelming way, and not in the «soup flavor is so deep» way.
I’d give this place a 2.5 for taste but an overall 3 stars for AC, and parking (low standards).

The only plus about this place is that you can be in and out in less than 30 min since the food comes out about 5 min after you order. Other than that, no. Ramen is edible, but I refrain from drinking too much of the broth because there’s a lot of msg in it… I always get incredibly thirsty after my meal here which I hate. It’s not just me though, my whole family feels this way but as long as you don’t drink much broth you should be fine. The fried chicken that came with my ramen was… rotten? It smelled weird and tasted like old chicken.
They also forgot the eel roll we ordered because after we all finished our meals it still had not arrived, so we asked them. Turns out it was just sitting there and no one saw it. Strange.
The TC location is cleaner, food is fresher, and staff is more attentive.

Came here for lunch with a few friends from undergrad. We arrived around 12:15pm and there were still a few tables open but by about 12:30 it was a full house.
I ordered the Lunch Special D, corn with BBQ Pork ramen for $ 6.50, and got a side of 4 pieces of gyoza for an extra $ 1. For the price that I paid I’m not really complaining, except for the egg. OMG it was NAAAASTY; the yolk was overcooked and cold. It was as if it was premade and stored in a fridge only to be thrown into the ramen bowl at the last second… but moving on. The broth is on the lighter side in regards to taste. Honestly it didn’t seem authentic; seems like a Chinese version of ramen. Friend said his beef curry udon was mediocre.
I wouldn’t come out of my way to try this place, but if I’m in the area and I’m strapped for cash I wouldn’t really mind. Parking is pretty plentiful, seeing as how it’s in a complex with underground parking.

We didn’t check into our hotel till very late at night and we saw that Ajisen Ramen was still open next door. We’re very happy that we stopped in for a bite to eat. Great little place at a reasonable price.
Our only real experience with Ramen (we’ve had Phở before, just not Ramen) is the stuff you warm up in a microwave, so we can’t speak about the authenticity of this restaurant’s version. For appetizer, we ordered two dishes we’ve had before: Gyoza Dumplings and Fried Tofu. The Fried Tofu was amazing, but please make sure it cools before you eat it. Ours was molten in the center. For supper, we picked Ajisen Best Combo Ramen and Spicy Beef Ramen. We always share our dishes and compete to see who wins. This time, my wife won with the Spicy Beef Ramen as our favorite dish. We loved our food and would order our dishes again, but would want to try other things too.
The restaurant is clean and our booths were elevated above a glass display of stones (not sure really how to describe it), which we thought was cool. The employees were very professional and friendly. The took our orders with a smile and checked on us often. They even asked which appetizer we preferred, because they «liked them both and couldn’t decide which one [they] preferred.».