Daikokuya

They were supposed to close at 9pm. My boyfriend and I came at 8:30 and the waitress won’t seat is because there’s «no more food.»
Alright, BYEE.

Sadly as I write this my beloved authentic ramen house has closed. Tear. As of February 24^th Daikokuya has closed it’s doors for business. Why? I’ll now have to travel to Monterey Park or the Little Tokyo Daikokuya for the best ramen in town. Boo! Heartbroken.

My new fav ramen place!!! Too bad it’s 40 miles away, not sure when I’ll be back there again though. I could always visit Mimi C. since she lives near there.
My first non-​OC ramen spot (ya, I totally need to get out more! lol!) … Looooved the Daikoku ramen (house special), curly noodles plus, plus, plus (I would never eat hakata)! 5 stars just for that. The broth was perfect, they loaded up the green onions (which I love), yummy pork and everything else. Soft boiled egg added to the excitement! It all tasted very yummy! The gyoza was different than other places, different in a tasty, take a second look sort of way. The veggie tempura and takoyaki were good too, I’ve had better takoyaki elsewhere.
Small, cozy spot in a skittish strip mall. Service was ok. Sux they didn’t have ice cream! That was the first thing that caught my eye on the menu. Maybe next time! Thnx, Chel, for leading the way! Ramen ROCKz!!!
Note: My previous reviews of OC ramen places are mostly 5 stars bc I do get excited easily and they were 5 stars at that moment in time before my palette was introduced to other ramen places, such as this. Can’t wait to try that Foo Foo place for comparison purposes!

We ordered the Daikoku ramen (which is their house special). It comes with 2 itty pieces of meat, an egg, bean sprouts, bamboo shoot and tons of green onions (maybe a little too much because I had a hard time getting rid of the aftertaste in my mouth). The noodles were cooked perfectly. The broth was on the salty side for my taste. If you want a creamier broth you have that option (ask for kotteri). I like that they give you all the ginger you want.
Small little place with a few tables and bar seating.

Probably the least crowded out of all the daikokuya locations but disappointingly on the bottom of the four locations.
Came here for lunch on a Friday and not very busy at all, maybe about 3 tables. The ultraman figures are pretty tightttt tho. Brings back childhood memories. Anyways, selection is limited on the ramen. You can either choose daikoku or tsukemen ramen. They also have a special on their front window stating that they have a spicy miso ramen but I didn’t see it until I was leaving. Oh well…
I ordered the combo daikoku ramen (kotteri broth) with the shredded pork rice bowl everyone talks about. It’s also served with a dimpled shredded cabbage salad with a ginger miso dressing, just filler food. The ramen here is definitely lacking. The noodles are not memorable at all. They were missing flavor an texture of fresh ramen; I’m thinking they use instant ramen? I hope not. The pork was very overcooked, thin and dry. The egg was soft boiled and was just that. It did t taste like it was marinated in anything. The only saving grace was the kotteri broth which is just the fattier version of broth but you have to ask for it.
The shredded pork bowl was very greasy when took my first bite. The pork is not really shredded, it’s actually more in bite sized pieces over fried rice. After eating the rich broth, I couldn’t handle the pork bowl and gave it to my friends after two more bites.
I want to like this location since the others have been a bit better in my experience. But they also don’t serve alcohol here! What?! I love ramen but the execution just isn’t here. :(

MY FAVORITE ramen spot in Hacienda! Been coming here for the past four years and never thought that the food here was mediocre.
I LOVE the broth and whatever you order from here, you will enjoy! Take my word for it, promise you don’t be disappointed.
However, compared to FOO FOO TEI, the place is much cleaner and more of a Japanese Ramen spot. BUT… the more value-​worthy bowls of ramen, you go to Foo Foo Tei.

After my awe-​inspiring bowl of Daikokuya ramen I had a few weeks ago in West L.A., I was having that ramen craving again and figured I would come to my local location in Hacienda Heights. Because who has time to go all the way to Little Tokyo or West L.A. when there’s a spot right there? Well, when quality matters… you gotta make that decision on whether it’s worth it.
It’s still very good, but it’s not the epic level quality that I had at the West L.A. location (and, without actually having been there yet, presumably Little Tokyo). Noodles were tasty, but the broth was definitely much more watery. It’s still got flavor to it, but it was noticeably diluted compared to the West L.A. location. I also noted the far less generous portions of bamboo/​green onions/​bean sprouts. On a side note, I rectified my idiotic mistake of not getting the shredded pork rice bowl last time. That right there is some good stuff, the pork was marinated very well and was also extremely soft. Went well with rice! Service here was also very good, very friendly and helpful.
It’s still worth it to come here because I was able to sit down immediately, rather than have to probably wait something between 1 to 2 hours at Little Tokyo or West L.A. If I’m in the area, yeah, I’ll go there. If not, I’ll take the quality hit… I don’t got time to waste like that!

I’ve heard so much about Daikokuya so I was looking forward to lunch during the weekday. Parking can be a challenge due to the small parking lot.
The restaurant is small but what the heck — I’m here for the food. I noticed they had combos so I tried the ramen and shredded pork bowl. The bowl of ramen was huge and there were generous portions of sliced black pork, whole egg. bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and yummy broth. I was pretty full towards the end of eating my ramen and then my shredded pork over rice arrived. I tasted the pork and rice and it was delish although I couldn’t finish it and had to take it to go. If you’re super hungry I would recommend this combo but beware it’s a lot of food.
I’ll definitely be returning to this location, especially since it’s so close to home.

Since my last review of Daikokuya, i have obviously returned numerous times only to be blown away from the marked difference of improvement from the service staff.
They all greet «irashimasen». They are quick to ask if I am ready to order. And prompt to give the check when asked.
My usual now is their kotteri daikokuya ramen with their six piece gyoza.
So yey!
They have become my go to ramen spot next to Tamaya!
Keep up the good work and I ll keep on supporting you!

This Hacienda Heights branch of the famed Little Tokyo restaurant does not disappoint. Their gyoza with egg is very delicious and special. I ordered it after looking at reviews on Unilocal and it did not disappoint. It makes gyoza so much more moist and tasty. Their ramen noodles are great as well. The service was awesome and there wasn’t that much of a wait.
The only thing that was surprising to me was the time it took for them to serve the food. It was a good 20 minutes before even the appetizer was served. But it was well worth the wait. I would highly recommend skipping the lines in Little Tokyo and come here instead.

I like this Daikokuya location! Although it doesn’t have the cuteness factor of being in Little Tokyo with all the other Japanese businesses around it and that the area of this location looks kind of ghetto IMO, this Daikokuya has never made me wait forever and a day to eat. Now they have a spicy miso ramen flavor which I actually prefer over Santouka’s bc it actually tastes a bit spicy! I was just a bit disappointed that they wouldn’t let me order the spicy miso in the half size. Overall the spicy miso had good flavor that I perfected with the garlic paste, dashes of chili powder and extra ginger. The only thing I didn’t appreciate was how salty it all became as I ate, my mouth was so thirsty even though I gulped down my water & Pinky’s water. I ended up buying the large smartwater bottle and chugged the thing down.
Overall, I’d still come when in the mood for real ramen instead of the instant packaged stuff especially now that I have a stamp card!

I know THE original location in Little Tokyo is happening but I seriously think you still can get your fix at this location as well minus the extreme wait. Well, I guess I should make the disclaimer that I came here in the afternoon on Chinese New Year Day.
The portions still are the same as the original location and so is the taste when I ordered their Daikokuya original ramen. I would say that you can have a larger group at this location than the Little Tokyo. I do have to add my half boiled egg was almost well done though. There’s a little more room to this location and also it’s not as loud. This restaurant dimension is more of a big square as a opposed to a long narrow pathway/​rectangle in Little Tokyo. You can see how it looks like on their website actually.
It was my friend’s first time at Daikokuya and he thought the broth was kinda light. I think he should try the kottori where it’s extra pork flavor/(fat?). I assume this broth is richer and probably oilier. I’ll come back here since it’s the next door neighborhood and I don’t have to deal with metered parking.

As the population of Japan grows, so does my love of ramen.
127,817,277 people can’t be wrong.
After visiting this location on a Monday night and not waiting a single minute to get in, I wanted to thank all the fools who wait in line at the Little Tokyo location who do not want to drive east of the 605 freeway.
And if you don’t know where the 605 freeway is, lmgtfy.
PS. they have those stamp cards so after 8 ramen bowls, your 9^th is free. If you eat 8 bowls of ramen you will become Unilocal elite too so just go to any of the other locations so there’s no wait here the next time I come.

Having been my first time, I followed my friends suggestion and went ahead with the kotteri flavored broth. The menu says it’s richer because of the added soup extracted from back fat. I can’t prove if that’s true or not, but I will say that the broth was very flavorful. I easily could just drink it without the ramen lol. The large bowl came with a good amount of noodles, pork, bamboo shoots, and the icing on the cake was probably that tasty egg that is a little bit gooey in the middle.
It was a great meal, and I’d recommend Daikokuya only because I haven’t had many other ramen to compare it to. This has set a challenge for me now, and if there is one that is better, this review will fluctuate. Until that time, I’ll give Daikokuya a ⁴⁄₅.
Other details worth noting:
Not much space, and can get packed around 1pm.
My friends say to try the spicy broth (I couldn’t find it) & the fried rice.

They brought back the bento boxes but. there’s less options now. no eel. so no longer my go-​to
Last night me & porky shared the ramen + add extra meat + small eel bowl combo. Compared to my last picture, they give waaaay less eel. 2 VERY small pieces, like 2 inches long. Not worth it. And got a half size of their new citrus steak bowl. I liked it but just wish it had more steak. I shoulda got the full size… a half size wouldn’t even satisfy me for lunch.
I prefer foo foo tei since they have way more options and portions are huuge but porky doesn’t like their pork ramen which is the only reason we came back here last night. The broth here IS pretty satisfying on a cold night. They always seem short staffed when we come at night vs when I come at lunch. tables will be left dirty with dishes for quite awhile until their forced to clean it when a new party comes in.

3.5 stars
I first tried the store in Lil’ Tokyo so was keen to check out one near Samantha’s office.
Step 1: put your name on the list outside beside the door. And wait outside. (If you come inside and the waitresses will politely explain that you have to wait outside. The waitresses patiently explained to about 7 groups of customers. Arghhh! :))
Step 2: order the classic Daikokuya ramen!
Mine was a bit too salty for me — it was a miso soup base, but I think a bit high in sodium. But the egg was cooked «soft» — but not runny. Perfectly done and I’ve never experienced that before unless I cook it myself! So big kudos. It wasn’t a fluke, all of our ramens came with the same soft egg.

I came here after a friend recommended it (somewhere local, not too far).
This ramen stuff is all new to me (as far as having it at restaurants) so I can’t really compare other places just yet.
Overall I had a great experience. I ordered the pork ramen and it was pretty good, at least it wasn’t bland or anything. Don’t know what else to say

Tried ramen, the broth was too salty for my taste, salmon roe bowl was delicious. They didn’t have any bento boxes. :(
The prices have gone up since last time we ate there, everything is $ 3 more. Ramen with salmon roe bowl is $ 15.95, with tuna sashimi is $ 16.95. Bento box two items is $ 11.95, three items is $ 13.95. They haven’t updated their new menu prices on their site yet.
Serive is still good, friendly and attentive. Appetizer selections are good, I like it they have spicy tuna roll, tuna sashimi, and fried spicy tuna.

Even though Richard K. warned me about the liquid heart attack aka Daikokuya’s «kotteri» broth, I’ve been curious to try it for a while. You know, when somebody tells you to not do something, you end up wanting to do it more, right?
Besides, I had a feeling that ordering the kotteri ramen would address some of the shortcomings of the regular one I had my first time here: too watery, not rich and hearty enough, and bland. Well, it addressed most of the issues, but was it worth the cost of consuming so much fat?
Well, the kotteri is definitely the superior ramen; in fact, they should get rid of that regular one because that one is a terrible, watery and bland ramen. Even though I could see the white pork fat floating around, it didn’t bother me that much. But although it was rich and hearty, the flavor was still lacking and that’s the biggest issue with Daikokuya for me. Chili oil and garlic paste tried valiantly to give it some distinct flavor, but their efforts were in vain.
The beef bowl that came out with the combo was pretty weak. I know the beef pieces are supposed to have some fat, but they had way too much fat. I mean I just consumed a bowl of liquid pork fat and now they want me to consume that much beef fat? And despite the fat, the meat was pretty dry somehow and well… I felt Yoshinoya was 10x better than this.
I also got to try some of the summer seasonal special Hiyashi Chu-​ka, which is a cold noodle dish with ham, pork, egg, sprouts, cucumber, avocado, tomato, seaweed, mustard and served with either soy sauce dressing or sesame sauce dressing. I tried it with the sesame sauce dressing. I wasn’t a fan of this dish at all. It reminded me of those mustardy dishes my parents order at Korean-​Chinese restaurants that I hate so much.
Last time I came here, I was told they got rid of lunch specials. This time, I couldn’t locate their half ramen combos on the menu. I thought they got rid of that too, but they told me they just removed it from the menu and you can still order it. Well, how are you supposed to know the prices? Not cool, stop removing shit from the menu!
Well, since the kotteri was a big improvement over the regular ramen, I will bump them up to 3 stars. But because it’s still lacking in flavor, I think I’m done with this Daikokuya.

I have been to the Daikokuya at the Little Tokyo location and I think this location is better. It is more spacious, cleaner, newer, and less waiting time to be seated.
I ordered the Daikokuya ramen ($ 8.95). Even though the restaurant was not busy at the time, it took forever for my bowl of ramen to come out! I waited and waited and my bowl of ramen was finally served. The waitress apologized for the wait but I was already a little irritated!
I began digging into my bowl of ramen and I did not get the satisfaction that I was looking for. For some reason the broth was not that hot, it was almost lukewarm. Eating this bowl of ramen, I remember why I am not that much of a fan of Daikokuya. I personally do not enjoy having bean sprouts in my ramen. The broth is also not that good and flavorful.
If you are in the area, you should try Foo Foo Tei instead!