Address: 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Website: https://www.facebook.com/orochonramen/

Ramen: Miso Ramen with Egg & Corn (Hyper level spicy)

Price: $12

I’ve heard of the legendary Orochon Ramen from friends and Ramen enthusiasts as well as seeing it on Man V. Food a few years ago, I felt it was time for a visit. I wasn’t going to go “balls to the wall” on their spice challenge on my first visit, no I wanted to taste their broth first but at the same time, you know me, I love it spicy. So I went for the Miso Ramen broth, added an egg and asked for a HYPER level spice. At Orochon the spice levels are as follow:

SPECIAL 2
SPECIAL 1
EXTREME Orochon 1
HYPER Orochon 2
IMPACT Orochon 3
Orochon 4
OSAE Orochon 5
OSAE-OSAE Orochon 6
NON-SPICY Orochon 7

The Special 2 is the killer, the one that gets you your name on the wall and was featured on TV. Orochon 4 is regular so I went with Hyper 2 and let me tell you, it’s still extremely sweat-inducingly spicy but you still get all the flavors of their excellent Miso broth and fresh noodles. This was a monster bowl of ramen, so much so, I couldn’t finish it (I think the spice had something to do with it as well but really, it was a lot of ramen). If I had one complaint, it was the egg. While tasty, it was ice cold inside and really was a letdown considering the rest of the flavors and heat presented in the bowl. Would I go back to Orochon? Absolutely. Would I ever do their Spice Challenge? If I was a younger, dumber man… yes but I think that ship has sailed for me. Oh well, more tasty ramen for me.

SCORE: