Daikokuya

On Tuesday last week, Amy and I went to Daikokuya Ramen after our Olvera Street shopping. I don't know if I have blogged about the ramen place before, but for those unfamiliar, the restaurant is bustlin'. It is never not busy. We got there around 2:45 on a weekday and we were still met with a 30 minute wait. The wait wasn't so bad as we had nibbled on churros earlier in the afternoon.

Daikokuya is super cute on the inside and has a cabin vibe with all the wood beams. There are several vintage Japanese ads and bookshelf full of Naruto manga to read while waiting. The pork ramen is their specialty and is what we both got. While it tasted ok, the pork was a bit fatty for my liking and I ended up leaving most of it behind. Amy ordered smart and asked for no pork in the soup. While the soup and noodles hit the spot when going down, about an hour or so after, both of us were dehydrated to the extreme. I couldn't quench my thirst at all. The next day, I found myself hit with a migraine which coupled with the severe dehydration, suggested msg in the soup. Duh. I did some researching and on the website, while they don't admit to putting additional MSG in the soup, the restaurant admits they can't control if some of the ingredients they use are laden with the substance prior to use. So I probably wont be going back anytime soon. Ramen lovers rave about the place so if this is your thing, definitely check it out.