Santouka & Gyutan Tsukasa - Costa Mesa

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

- is my favorite ramen shop here in Los Angeles, hands down. When I went to Japan a few years ago, it amazed me how delicious the ramen was. People rave about sushi in Japan which I don't disagree but, I can honestly say you can find compromisable sushi here as well. Going back to ramen in Japan, I was blown away with the layers of flavors within the broth. A lot of soup bases here are imported or have fat delivered to recreate the umami-ness you would expect in a tonkotsu broth that have been bathing for 12+ hours. A lot of times, you would just find the soup to be heavy and fatty. Say goodnight after breakfast. At Santouka, the broth is clean, rich and deep in depths of flavor.

Shio Ramen

Shio Ramen (salt ramen) is my favorite. This is their white tonkotsu soup with melt-in-your-mouth charsiu pork.00

Char Siu bowl

You can create combos with your ramen. I'm not sure why, yet, but I will do research later to why the sets are so ginormous and loaded with carbs. Literally. In Japan and Japanese restaurants here, you can get chirashi with a side of udon. Oyakodon with a side of udon. Why?! I don't mind. I love it actually but, just curious.

665 Paularino Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Mitsuwa Marketplace Costa Mesa Store

21515 Western Ave., Torrance, CA 90501 Mitsuwa Marketplace Torrance Store

3760 S.Centinela Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90066 Mitsuwa Marketplace Santa Monica Store

More locations >>HERE<<

Gyutan Tsukasa

665 Paularino Ave Mitsuwa Marketplace Costa Mesa, CA 92626

I've talked about this place before. So nothing much about this besides they are amazing. Delicious beef tongue grilled over binchotan served with wasabie, pickled veggies, miso nanban and a heaping of steamed rice.

Gyutan Tsukasa - Costa Mesa

Gyutan Tsukasa is located in the popular market, Mitsuwa. As much as this market is known for selling Japanese ingredients, a lot of people know Mitsuwa for their food court. Most popular is Santouka, Hokkaido style Ramen. As much as a I love getting the ramen, there's a restaurant at this food court that I love just as much if not more. Gyutan Tsukasa serves everything Ox tongue. They serve the tongue in a curry, a simple broth, stew/demi glace, and my favorite over charcoal.

It's charred to perfection and served with a side of wasabi and pickled/preserved veggies. I eat each piece with a little wasabi and a dash of Shichimi (Japanese spicy red pepper). Each bite will also get a big scoop of fried wheat rice.

This right here is the perfect bite. If you've never had beef tongue, it's not as weird as it sounds. Just think of it as just beef. I know the texture is unique, but it's also fatty. And when it's cooked perfectly, it will have a nice snap, but well slowly melt in your mouth. Beef tongue is one of my favorite items to order, always, at a Japanese restaurant. It's normally priced high for a small portion, but it's definitely manageable here at Gyutan Tsukasa.

I highly recommend this if you come. The food court in Costa Mesa now serves draft beer.