Ramen lovers love Santouka Ramen

Do you love ramen? That's reason enough to visit the South Bay and one of your ramen tasting stops should be Santouka Ramen. Tucked away in the food court of Mitsuwa marketplace in Torrance, this ramen shop is well known. Check out Yelp.  People come back for more and sometimes the lines are long.

You have a choice of three broths: shio (salt), miso, and shoyu (soy sauce). The shio (salt flavor) ramen is a bit too salty for our tastes and of course, there high sodium content in both the miso and shoyu as well. The broth is good, but its the artistic slices of pork that really make this place special. The slices are thick with the right amount of fat, never dry, always tender.

Yes, that's right. Fat. We love fat.

You can get a miso ramen done spicy ($6.99) and the toroniku ($9.99) The ramen may look spicy, and you might break a sweat but it won't turn you into a fire-breathing dragon like the kimchee ramen.  For the toroniku (miso) there are seven pieces of pork on the plate! More than double what is offered with the regular-sized ramen. These pieces of pork are extra tender because they come from the cheek (jowl).

You can add an egg hard-boiled in soy sauce (Tamago $0.99). Who said fast food couldn't be good and look good?

Photo credit: 

Ian Ono/Jana Monji

Santouka Ramen

• 21515 Western Ave.,
• Torrance,CA 90501
• (310) 212-1101
• 11:00 a.m.～8:00 p.m. (Last order 7:30pm)
• cash only