Hanaichimonme

Last week everyone including myself were preoccupied and could not meet up, I myself had 3 doctors appointment on Sat, so I could not eat the night before, after 12 x-rays, a pint of blood, an EKG performed by a not so attractive nurse, I was famish. Being alone, and still abiding by my policy of "If it isn't tasty don't put it in my mouth", my choice of places to go was limited.
It would be awkward for me to walk into a decent restaurant asking for table for 1, and I don't want cafeteria style, and my honor prevents me from doing fast food.....It actually took a few brain cells before I remember: Real ramen.

Those of you that knows me, should now be wondering why would I forget such a thing. Well the truth is, once I learned the proper way of making real ramen, I have not gone out for it(since I can make it better than most places), but there is one place in LA I know I cannot best... and that is Hanaichimonme. That's a mouth full for most people I bet...pronounce Ha-na-ichi-mon-mee. It is located at 333 S Alameda St, #303, Los Angeles, CA. There used to be a Mitsuwa market there, but they shut it down. One of the cool things this little ramen shop has, is it caters to not just groups, but singles as well. There is a bar area made just for those table for 1 people. Since I was one of those people, I fit right in! The other unique thing about this little ramen shop is..they serve beer, they also serve other non alcohol drinks, including my favorite Iced Coffee!
Ok so that's not unique enough for you? Fine try this: All their dishes are displayed in its actual form using what I believe to be colored wax, or plastic, and with the exception of gyoza, the actual dish when it comes look identical to the display. When was the last time your hamburger looked like the one on the picture?

So being hungry, in pain and lost a lot of blood(the evil nurse claimed she couldn't find my vein, so she inserted a needle in my arm, then pulled it out partially as no blood came up, and wiggled it for another position and pushed the damn needle back in...5 times) I ordered sagano, which comes with pickled vegetables, pork ramen, Japanese fried rice, and gyoza. I also ordered Iced coffee, which came with syrup and evaporated milk, you get to add as much or as little as you want.

The ramen came within 5 minutes of the order, very fast. Now most people I know just don't know how to eat ramen right, yes most know that you are suppose to slurp and make noises, but most don't understand the reason....and they come up with its impolite and blah blah.... ok so the reason, the real reason, is ramen in broth(I call it soup, but then I don't want to give the impression of chunky thick stews that most people associate the word soup with)should be at least 88+ Celsius... yes that makes it hot! I personally prefer over 92, considering water boils at 100, it is near boiling. With such a hot temperature soup, when you finish a bowl of ramen, you should be sweating, which unclogs your pores and make you feel like you just came out of the steam room. When you eat it, since it is just sooo hot, you have to slurp(so you suck in air and cool off the content in your mouth) It is one of those food that fills your stomach and gives you a work out while eating, imo a great diet food. So what makes a successful ramen? It is the broth/soup base. There are 3 major types of broth when it comes to Japanese ramen, pork bone(tonkotsu), Miso, and soy sauce(shoyu). Hana is great with soy sauce(shoyu), a soup that I have yet to be able to duplicate. The ramen was just right, its got the right chew to it. The gyoza was crispy at the bottom and soft on top, the fried rice was ok, nothing great but nothing bad about it either. This little ramen shop imo is the king of ramens in this side of the continent, you would seriously have to go to Japan to find better.

Location/Parking*********************A(structure parking, 1 hr free, additional 1hr for spending $15)

Environment*************************B-, most of the plaza is dead, they are trying to revive it though.

Drink********************************A, their Iced coffee is highly recommended! Once you drink it, you wont have to use toothpicks to keep your eyelids open :)

Food********************************A- (A+ for ramen, other dishes are kinda ehh, though their shaved ice is to die for)

Prices*******************************B+ about 10 bucks a person for a full meal with drink

Overall******************************A-, seriously, try the ramen!