Ramen Meets Szechuan at Chin-Ma-Ya

A szechuan inspired ramen-ya right below Orochon and their Special #2? It's not just putting spicy under spicy though as Chin-Ma-Ya has garnered more positive reviews than their higher older brother.

One of those positive reviews came from Choisauce who claimed that the chicken karaage was the best ever, and that even though she hates the original Chinese version of dan dan mien, she loves the tan tan men here. I actually love dan dan mien though (even if I have to drink 5 glasses of water for it), so I was curious about the difference.

That and $1 beer during happy hour was enough to entice me to join her, Go Ramen, and Food GPS there for a quick meal.

Chicken karaage ($3.90) w/ chili-mayo sauce
It was true, these chicken karaage were pretty damn good, especially when fresh and hot. The fried batter was amazing and crunchy while keeping the chicken meat inside tender and juicy. While "the best" for me may go for the Jidori chicken karaage at Bincho or Torihei, the ones here are worth getting every visit.

Tan-Tan Men ($6.90)
Choose between mild, medium, or original and served with ground beef and pork mixture, spinach, hard boiled egg. Needless to say this is completely different than the chinese dan dan mien. The only resemblance is perhaps the ground meat and the fact that it is spicy? When we had it they have the yellow curly noodles which were a-ok but the broth itself was very satisfying. The broth was spicy and full of flavors - it's just the type you would gulp down when your noodles are gone.

I heard that they have now replaced the noodles with the original recipe from Japan, which should make this even better, though I've yet to try it!


Chin-Ma-Ya of Tokyo
123 Astronaut Ellison S Onizuka St. #202
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 625-3400
www.chinmayaoftokyo.com