SERVICE IS THE KEY
If you eat often in the SG/Montery Park area you probably know that good service is rare. Most places will get mad if you ask for water! (Actually most place will ignore you until you are ready for the bill.) So good service is a welcome treat and great service made us so surprised that it was all we talked about during the meal.
My friends and I got there an hour early we noticed the staff outside and they saw us and smiled. We walked around looks at the shops in the area and when we returned an hour later they greeted us and although the place was pretty much full they found us a great spot a "floor table" where you take off your shoes and eat traditional Japanese tatami style. My robot friends' feet smells so I was a little nervous when he took of his shoes but thank god he had on clean socks!!
Our waitress remembers us from and hour ago and welcomed us warmly. We order ORION beer and she offered us a traditional cheer and we offered her a glass and we all shared a glass of beer. How cool is that. When she toasted us the whole place exploded in a cheer which made us feel even more welcome. :)
The only thing better than great service is honesty and boy was our waitress honest. I asked if the soft-shell crab appetizer was fresh and she told me that they were not and that they were frozen. We asked if the gyoza were house made and she told us exactly how and where they were made (made fresh for the restaurant at their central kitchen.) We ended getting the gyoza and calamari.
B+ The gyoza....so easy to sell so hard to perfect.
The gyoza wrapper was thin and crunchy which is perfect the filling was flavorful and not overly spiced. The only drawback was the size; they are on the small size.
B Special of the Day Calamari.
Very fresh squid tentacle fried crispy served with mayo. This dish needed some lemon and a great spicy dipping sauce to complete it.
-A Special of the Day Takoyaki
(fried battered octopus balls) they were covered in fragrant shaved katsuobushi flakes which danced beautifully. The takoyaki was also smoother with a very tangy and not overly sweet okonomiyaki sauce. These were the best of the three. They were served hot (not lava hot which can be a problem sometimes) and the batter was flavorful without being too oily. The baby octopus pieces were perfectly chewy not too rubbery. Better Japanese mayo was all it needed.
THE RAMEN!
B+ Choices is a welcome addition
Broth choice -light, standard, rich (go for rich).
It is a cloudy pork based broth that could use a little more seasoning but all in all it was very fresh and should get better throughout the day. Served at a great temperature and had a great silky smooth consistency but (I did have ajisen ramen a few day earlier so this broth could have been made with sewer water and I would have given it top marks) Daikokuya's broth is richer and more flavorful.
Noodle soft, regular, firm (regular is fine) extra noodle for only .95 cents.
I love these noodles because they are very authentic naturally colored round noodles. They were not grainy at all and had a very light and delicate flour taste. For some who are use to yellow (eggier) flatter noodle it might be a litte strange at first but these are the real thing and if you give the noodles a chance you will discover why these are the slurpers' choice. They were chewy, had a great bite to them and held together.
Oil choice was also avail (regular was fine)
Egg--was a nice size but you only get half an egg and they are overcooked
Pork was so so they needed to be thicker and fattier.
Ginger was the big disappointment. They were colored that unholy florescent deep pink and the color stained the broth. Please offer a choice of fresh homemade ginger instead of this Americanized abomination.
The server made sure we were comfortable and checked on us often even though the restaurant was packed. They took credit card which I've also discovered is a real treat in the area WTF right? When we finished they even opened the door for us a greeted us a good day. WOW give this place a try and then demand the same service from all the places that you eat.
8450 E Valley Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 572-8646
