It’s interesting to think that a dish first cooked in Japan’s alleyway kitchens a little over a century ago could rise to the status of national treasure. But that’s essentially the story of ramen in a nutshell. Not only has the original concoction of noodles in hot, umami broth spun off into a plethora of styles — tonkotsu, miso, shoyu, shio, tsukemen, toritaipan — but it’s also now one of Japan’s major cultural exports. High-quality ramen restaurants have opened up across America, in part driven by a 36% increase in the Japanese population over the past two decades, and nowhere is that truer than in Torrance, California.
Torrance is a small city in the Los Angeles metro area, nestled between Long Beach and LAX, but being mostly landlocked, it sees less of the tourist trade than other corners of south and west LA. It’s probably best known as the birthplace of Louis Zamperini, the “Torrance Tornado,” an Olympian and Second World War veteran whose miraculous life was portrayed by Jack O’Connell in the 2014 film “Unbroken.” But Torrance also has one of the largest Japanese populations in America, and for those in the know, its ramen scene is about as good as anything you’ll find this side of the Pacific.
Known as “The Ramen Capital of Southern California,” Torrance’s ramen restaurants mirror the creativity at large in the ramen industry. While here, you can eat noodles simmered in a meaty tonkotsu broth, the preserve of ramen chefs in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, or sit in a ramen restaurant styled like the labyrinthine alleys found in one of Tokyo’s laid-back, working-class neighborhoods. There are nine noodle shops on the city’s ramen trail — download a map to find them all, and bring a second stomach.
Eating ramen in Torrance
If you go to Torrance, make ramen your priority. The nine recommended shops on the city’s ramen trail each have different specialities, so you can choose based on your taste preferences. Hakata Ikkousha Ramen, which has 4.6 stars across almost 900 Google reviews, is the first stop on the trail and a good place to kick off your own culinary pilgrimage. It serves tonkotsu ramen — arguably the most popular style globally — featuring stringy noodles in a rich broth of slow-cooked pork bones. It also riffs on the classical style, with tonkotsu that includes spicy cod roe, fried black garlic paste, or fiery noodles, and you can order karaage (deep-fired chicken thigh) and gyoza dumplings as sides…