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| When you go through the noren
(Japanese door curtains) that have “Daikokuya”
printed on them, you are suddenly thrown into
a world of the late 1950s. The speakers play oldies
while there are retro posters and decorations
on the walls. The staff is all energetic and cheerful,
and they work together to make the store a fun
place to eat. Not only are there Japanese customers,
the store is full with customers who are American
and Chinese day and night. Since the store is
open until late at night, there are many customers
who stay long. Again, probably because of the
location, there are many who just stop by and
enjoy a drink with their ramen. Their special,
the “Daikoku Ramen,” is a popular item. But that
is not the only thing they are known for. Their
“Yakibuta (Pork) Bowl” uses the pork used in the
ramen with a special sweet and spicy sauce. |
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| The special, “Daikoku Ramen”
uses a tonkotsu (pork bone) based soup. They
are so particular about this, their ramen menu
only consists of this. The most important element
of the ramen, the soup, is an original recipe
made from the combination of tonkotsu and chicken
bone. There is also soy sauce flavored seafood
base blended in. Then there are over 20 ingredients
such as vegetables added and slowly boiled.
So the result is rich tonkotsu soup with a hint
of seafood taste. Contrary to how it looks,
it is very light in your mouth. The ramen noodles
are customized to match the soup and are mid-sized
and crinkled. The chashu is marinated in the
specially made soup. They also choose chashu
with the right amount of fat, and therefore
very soft. There is also a whole egg dipped
in mirin soy sauce, bean sprouts, topped with
a huge amount of green onion in the ramen. You
can choose the thickness of the soup according
to your own taste, which is a great added value. |
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| The gyoza (fried
dumplings) that go great with ramen is also
part of their menu. Unlike the common round
gyoza, they are thinner and long like a stick.
The chewy inside has black pork minced meat
(also used in their chashu), hakusai, and seasoning.
Wrapped with thin gyoza wraps, they are fried
to a crisp. And of course it is topped with
thinly cut green onions. The sauce is a light
one, consisting of soy sauce and vinegar. If
you break the gyoza with your chopsticks, the
tasty pork gushes with juice. Once you put it
in your mouth, you will not be able to stop.
The gyoza wrap is very thin, so a lady can finish
a whole plate. This is one item you will not
want to miss at Daikokuya. |
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