A Week in the Life of Jonathan Gold's Stomach

Dear Diary

Comments (0) By Jonathan Gold Wednesday, Mar 19 2008

How do you follow paella? With noodles. In ramen, as in indie rock, obscurity is a virtue to be prized. And there is probably no ramen shop as obscure as Ahsah, a dim storefront in a distant Gardena mini-mall, red sign untranslated, train-car-narrow interior shrouded in billowing steam. The noodle blogger who calls himself Rameniac praises the kotteri shoyu broth, a murky, long-simmered boiled-bone creation enriched with floating bits of ground pork, as well as the California-made noodles and the optional half-boiled eggs. I like the special fatty pork, soft enough to dissolve like porcine snowflakes on your tongue, but I prefer the funky punch of the broth at nearby Shin Sen Gumi to Ahsah’s, and the unconventional noodles, properly bouncy but nearly as thin as vermicelli, are less soulful than the thicker, soup-sopping traditional ones. Ahsah’s other specialty is takoyaki, fried pingpong balls of batter with a bit of octopus floating in the gooey center. Sanuki No Sato, whose soba and udon are so elegant, is in the same mall, and Gardena Ramen is across the street — this is a tough neighborhood for noodles.

Ahsah, 18202 S. Western Ave., Gardena, (310) 769-1010.