Kopan Ramen - Westwood
My favorite ramen shop, Kopan Ramen, opens up a new location in Westwood. How does it compare to the original location?
Large Ramen, level 2 spice, with fatty pork, chashu, and egg
Ratings
Broth
Noodles
Chashu
Egg
Toppings
Overall
Date of Visit: July 2018
What I Ordered: Large Ramen, Level 2 Spice, with Fatty Pork, Chashu, and Egg
Offers Extra Noodles: Unknown
Offers Extra Broth: Unknown
Review
-
The broth had an awesome creaminess and flavor, something so rich and so smooth that no other ramen restaurant does. The spice is the perfect mix to go with the broth, adding spice and flavor. The broth is entirely milky in color, and just looks delicious. However, the richness that makes you wet your pants a little isn’t as strong as the original Kopan’s broth in Fullerton. Reguardless, it is still superior to almost every other ramen restaurants broth.
-
The noodles are thin, skinny, and straight. They have a full noodle flour taste, and have good flavor by themselves. However, they are a bit over cooked, and are not as firm as they could be. Thin noodles are hard to cook as it is very easy to over cook it. Also, the thin noodles clumps up as you try to eat them, which is why I like fatter noodles. The noodles are the same style as the original Kopan, but they aren’t cooked as well. Perhaps this is a bad batch, but I would assume they cook them on a per bowl basis.
-
The noodles still complements the broth in texture. The broth is nice and creamy, and the noodles gives a soft and pleasant chew to enjoy with the noodles. When eating them together, you get to experience the spice and creaminess of the broth, and also the flavor of the noodles. A great pairing.
-
The chashu in the bowl are nice fat strips of pork belly. They are rich in flavor and have a good amount of fat, but it is missing that buttery quality of fat that melts in your mouth. It does require a bit of chew, but nothing close to dry. It is nice and moist and full of pork richness. Fatty Pork: 7.5/10. The fatty pork is nice and soft, but ironically less fatty. It is just the name of the cut of pork, not that the restaurant has done anything wrong. It is soft in your mouth and has a nice fatty pork flavor. The flavor is not nearly as rich as the chashu, but it is a great side by side meat.
-
The egg is nice and soft, and just melts in your mouth. It is cooked perfectly, the only thing it is missing is a dash more soy flavor in the marinade. You can taste a slight sweetness at the end, by the soy saltiness isn’t there.
-
No review.
Overall: 8/10
Would recommend, although the Fullerton location is better.
Read Eat More Ramen
