Alas, all the hoopla, but yet we were quite disappointed. So the backstory, if you can finish the spicy ramen special #2 which is 2 levels higher than their original spiciest ramen, within 30 minutes, than your picture goes up on the wall of fame. Being Indonesian, and seeking spicy food, we decided to go there and try this.
Place: This is J Town, so obviously parking, although easy to find, was expensive. The restaurant itself is a small place in a 3 story complex, above another ramen place. Even from the floor below, you could smell the chili powder. It is a relatively small restaurant, with enough seating for 35-40 in tight quarters and decor is modern lines but not materials and simple. It was a full restaurant on this weekday lunch, but we were seated at the last available table almost immediately. Seated beside us, 2 men had just finished the special #2 ramen challenge.One immediately took off for the bathroom, the other turned multiple shades of red then pale in his seat. Both got their pictures and their spots on the wall of fame.
Food: Well, its ramen, but I will show you our table's 3 orders and you can see the difference between the spiciness levels.
This was #5 on the scale up to ten of the original spicy ramens. Look at the lack of jalapenos and miso colored soup broth.
I wimped out, I decided to make sure my food was edible and had the #1, it is the original spiciest of the ramens, but now they have 2 special ramen above this one. Notice, the jalapenos.
Ah, my wife ordered the famed special #2. The contest special. Note the blood red broth and the excessive amount of jalapenos. Oh and don't forget to note the toxic looking bubbles.
Impression: I try not to be biased, but here we go... All 3 ramen were slightly on the bland side, losing the miso flavor of the broth. The noodles were undercooked and stuck together. What made it worse, was that the jalapenos tasted funny .... So anyway, all 3 ramens we ordered a side of corn in them (ala Brittany Murphy's "The Ramen Girl"), the #5 and #1, were finished pretty much, the portions were huge. I will have to say that the #1 was underwhelmingly spicy. It tickled the taste buds although if the powder got stuck in your throat or in your nose, an immediate cough/sneeze attack would ensue. The special #2, tasted like pure chili powder topped off with jalapenos. The miso flavor was totally lost. My wife could not finish it, she did not make the wall of fame. Indonesians are more used to spicy from fresh chili peppers and not the powders.
The afterthought: Something that day was not very fresh, and I could only narrow it down to
Impression: I try not to be biased, but here we go... All 3 ramen were slightly on the bland side, losing the miso flavor of the broth. The noodles were undercooked and stuck together. What made it worse, was that the jalapenos tasted funny .... So anyway, all 3 ramens we ordered a side of corn in them (ala Brittany Murphy's "The Ramen Girl"), the #5 and #1, were finished pretty much, the portions were huge. I will have to say that the #1 was underwhelmingly spicy. It tickled the taste buds although if the powder got stuck in your throat or in your nose, an immediate cough/sneeze attack would ensue. The special #2, tasted like pure chili powder topped off with jalapenos. The miso flavor was totally lost. My wife could not finish it, she did not make the wall of fame. Indonesians are more used to spicy from fresh chili peppers and not the powders.
The afterthought: Something that day was not very fresh, and I could only narrow it down to
Warning: may be too descriptive or too much info for some people.
I ate the #1 and ended up with "the runs" later that afternoon, it wasn't even the spicy kind after eating spicy foods. My wife, 5 minutes after leaving the restaurant, threw up her lunch into a nearby planter.
The conclusion: Yes this place is famous, yes this place has a challenge, yes this place is relatively cheap for the large portions you get. On the down side, the ramen is much better at Santouka, and even slightly better at Ajisen Ramen, Aji man in San Gabriel, Gaja kitchen in Harbor City and even at Teri Bamboo in Long Beach. The further down side is something was not fresh and caused sickness in us that day, and wasn't the chili powder of the spicy level. I would not go here again, next time in J town, maybe we should try the curry, or the BBQ, or even the Ramen place downstairs from here. 2 stars out of 5 today, 2.5 starts if the food didn't cause the sickness.
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