Hakata Ramen Shinsengumi

I'm actually not a fan of Shinsengumi's ramen.  I prefer Santouka by far and Daikokuya is not bad either.  I do like Shinsegumi for the other food options, that in combination with the ramen, make for a delicious meal.

Hakata Ramen
At Shinsegumi, they allow you the option of choosing your level of oil, salt, and noodle texture.  Usually I go medium for all of them, but I wished I had opted for more salt because my bowl of noodles was a bit on the bland side.  I'm not a huge fan of the noodles either.  When I think of ramen, I think of curly thick noodles.  The broth is definitely rich in porky-ness, but somehow lacks that tastiness that I enjoy at Santouka. 


Here the noodles are thinner and straight.  They just don't have that same oomph.  They do allow you to order extra portions of noodles to keep adding to your bowl of soup.  Some obese man sitting at the table behind me was jonesing for some diabetes because he had about 4 or 5 orders for extra noodles.





Kara-Age fried chicken with sweet vinegar
There was the option of this karaage or one marinated in soy sauce instead.  I was curious to try this and I'm glad I did.  It was slightly tangy and sweet and went well with the side of tarar sauce.  It was not overly battered.  I will have to ding them for not serving it piping hot from the fryer.  Service was awfully slow for the night. 


Tori Soboro Don
I forgot to take a picture of this before Dumpling Man dug in.  It's one of his favorite things and lucky for me its pretty simple to make at home.  In any case, the soboro don here is pretty good.  Topped with egg, seaweed, and pickled ginger. 


Agedashi Tofu
One of my favorite dishes!  The last time I had it here, it was perfect, with a crispy and simultaneously gooey gelatinous batter that wonderfully soaks up the sauce.  It was slightly lacking in the gelatinous factor but it was still good.  All the added toppings, bonito flakes, seaweed, green onions, and finely chopped ginger and daikon, make for a delicious dish.





Overall, I like Shinsegumi for all their great offerings that, combined, make a really satisfying meal.  There are multiple locations throughout the area, but I've found they don't all offer the same things.  In any case, be prepared to wait at the Gardena location.   We came at 10pm and still waited 30 minutes!!

Hakata Ramen Shinsengumi
2015 W Redondo Beach Blvd
Gardena, CA 90247

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