Asa Ramen - Gardena

Our order of takoyaki arrived first, and we quickly dug in. They were just as I had expected, with a slightly crispy deep-fried outer shell that was creamy on the inside. The bonito flakes danced atop the sauce, which I believe was a standard tonkatsu sauce. Everything tasted as anticipated, which was nice—there were no unpleasant surprises. You remember those times when takoyaki turns out to be too chewy, but thankfully that wasn't the case here. There's nothing worse than biting into doughy fried balls, and luckily that didn't happen either. The takoyaki was just what we hoped for, and it was genuinely good. Next, we tried the ramen. I had never had ramen with butter before. It typically includes some sort of fat, whether from pork or lard, but Asa Ramen offers theirs with butter, which intrigued me. I had to give it a try. The noodles themselves were fine, but not remarkable. However, the egg was a standout. I don't know how they achieve it, but the hard-boiled egg had a yolk that was slightly on the gooey side while the white was fully cooked. This created a rich, creamy quality when mixed with the soup and noodles. I’m a huge fan of eggs, and I’d love to learn how to prepare them that way. Overall, Asa Ramen is a charming spot to enjoy some ramen and takoyaki.

Next, we had an appetizer of fried chicken wings, which were perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. They weren’t greasy, and I thought they struck a great balance between crunchiness and tenderness. The dish was accompanied by a few baby greens and a small dollop of mayonnaise—another hit for me. However, we then tried a yam and green onion dish in ponzu sauce, which was quite bland and lacked aroma, reminding me of flavorless room temperature mochi. No one in our group found this very appealing because of its texture and lack of taste. Finally, I had the much-anticipated ramen soup, which turned out to be extremely salty. I added a generous amount of crushed garlic and some hot sesame oil that I had requested, which helped a bit, but it was still too salty for my liking. I had hoped to take the leftover soup home and add a potato to absorb some of the salt, but the waitress informed me that taking leftovers was not allowed. I ended up leaving most of my soup behind because it was just too salty, and I regretted not sending it back. If you’re looking for a truly delicious bowl of ramen, I recommend trying Santuko instead.

The restaurant offers delicious ramen and hearty broth. Stepping inside feels like a journey to Japan. The name is written in Japanese, the waitress does not speak English, and the menu is entirely in Japanese. However, if you can look past these challenges, the ramen is truly fantastic.