I must admit that the whole reason for this trip to Orochon Ramen was because I saw the Orochon challenge epsiode on Man vs. Food. Curious, I thought what ramen could possibly be that spicy that I couldn’t handle? So I had to find out. From the beginning, I had no intention on doing the Orochon challenge. Why torture myself? Did you see the size of the bowl on that episode? I could probably handle the spice and be able to eat all the noodles but finishing the entire bowl of broth would have been death. I like taking my time to enjoy the ramen and savor the goodness. It surprised me to find Orochon Ramen on the top level of a small, 2 story, depressing shopping center in L.A.’s Japan town. It was slightly overcast but still warm so we decided to sit in the patio area. Though, I would recommend sitting inside if you want a beer because they won’t serve alcohol outdoors. Sadly, I didn’t care to go inside the restaurant to check out the wall of bravery.
The ordering system is quite interesting. First you pick what kind of broth you want, the choices are miso, shoyu or shio. Then the fun part! You pick the level of spiciness that you want and there are 9 levels to choose from. Special #2 is their spiciest soup and the challenge level. Then finally, you can add extra toppings for an extra charge. I chose to have the miso broth with the special #2 level of spiciness (the spiciest). The boyfriend ordered the shoyu broth with a special #1 spiciness level. We decided to forgo the toppings and ordered a side of char to share instead. After we placed our orders, I was giddy with anticipation.
When the waiter brought my bowl of ramen to the table, he had a timer in hand and asked “challenge?”. I quickly shook my head and said “no, no challenge for me, thank you”. The glowing orange broth was still bubbling when it was set in front of me. There was an abundant amount of jalapeños. What I didn’t expect to see were green bell peppers which I’m not a big fan of. After digging in, I was happy to find other tasty toppings in the soup like bean sprouts, wood ear and slivers of pork. Now for my first bite…mmm mmm mmm…garlicky, rich, savory and spicy! This was absolutely the spiciest ramen I’ve ever had but not the spiciest food I’ve ever eaten. The temperature of the broth truly amped up the spiciness level of the ramen. My tongue was numb, my nose was running and the adrenaline was pumping. And as the soup cooled down, the spice subsided. The noodles were chewy and tender. I was beyond happy and satisfied.
The shoyu broth was also very tasty and was much more mild in comparison to the special #2. It was a really nice contrast to the miso. The shoyu broth was savory, slightly sweet and clean.
I would highly recommend ordering a side of cha siu, it was delicious! The slices were thick and immensely flavorful, tender and most importantly, not dry. It practically fell apart when I picked it up with my chopsticks. This is the best char siu I’ve had to date. I can’t wait to go back for more.
Orochon Ramen
123 S Onizuka St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 617-1766
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