Best Tonkotsu (Pork Bone) Ramen with THICKER noodles?

[coweepooh]

Sooo just moved back to L.A. (yay) after spending many years in the east coast...and was excited to scope out tonkotsu ramen places with the BF.

We LOVE tonkotsu ramen with the fatty pork and the deliciously cooked to perfection runny egg BUT we have found that every ramen place we've gone to in L.A. has super super thin noodles!

My friend told me the thin noodles are "Hakata Ramen" style noodles but that you CAN get Tonkotsu Ramen with thicker ramen noodles...

Any suggestions on where to try for Tonkotsu Ramen with thick/thicker noodles?

We've already hit the usual suspects in West LA like Yamadaya, Tsujita, Santouka and the new one on Sawtelle that just opened (next to the Georges Hardware shop)...my boyfriend did NOT like any of them cos of the super thin noodles =(

We're in West LA so would prefer options around here...but would be open to driving a little bit out for the perfect thicker noodle with the Tonkotsu broth!

Thanks!

[cdub]

Yamadaya has thick noodles and ask if you want them. Get the kotteri tonkotsu with kakuni and thick noodles. That should do the job if you haven't had it that way

[Mattapoisett in LA]

I have asked for the Thicker Noodles with my Tonkotsu at the Culver City location and they refused. They said it was only for the Tsukemen only . I have had both with Tokotsu at the Torrance location

[cdub]

that's interesting because i've always had it with the thick noodles at the torrance location as well as the sherman oaks location everytime without fail. haven't been to the culver city or westwood locations though.

[coweepooh]

Hmm will try that cos we DO like the Kotteri Tonkotsu there with the Spicy Garlic but the standard ramen noodles at Yamadaya are just so super thin...we didn't see a "thicker ramen noodle" option, have you (or anyone else on Chowhound) had luck getting the "thicker ramen noodle" option with the Tonkotsu Ramen at Yamadaya on Westwood Blvd?

Thanks!!!

[mrhooks]

How are Santouka's noodles super thin?

[coweepooh]

They are not AS thin as Yamadaya's...but still thinner than we'd like haha...I think out of all of the ones we've tried, Tsujita has been our favorite overall so far--delicious whole egg, tasty fatty pork, yummy porky broth and condiments...we would just love it even more if the noodles were a smidge thicker...

[mrhooks]

I don't know if they still have it, but Mottainai had an unusually thick noodle option. More like udon than ramen.

[TonyC]

Can't stand hosomen myself. Thick noodle ramen can be found at Jidaiya.

I think futomen can also be found at Ikemen, but I have not personally tried.

[coweepooh]

Ahhh so "Hosomen" is thin ramen noodles vs "Futomen" which is the thick ramen noodles?

I read somewhere that Hosomen is thin buckwheat noodles, but is that the type used in Tonkotsu Ramen at Yamadaya, Santouka, etc?

And someone else told me Hakata Style Ramen is Tonkotsu Pork Bone broth but with thin noodles...so what is the style called thats Tonkotsu Pork Bone broth with the thicker noodles...

And what are the "Futomen" thicker noodles made out of?

Thanks!!!

[Tripeler]

All ramen noodles, from thin to thick, are made from wheat, and buckwheat noodles are never used.

[mrhooks]

Hosomen - from "hosoi" (thin) and "men" (noodle). You can infer what futomen means. I don't know if it's specific to ramen, or just a general descriptor for all noodles (I'm assuming the latter until someone corrects me). But they don't speak to the noodle's ingredients at all.

Buckwheat noodles are called soba, but not all soba are buckwheat noodles, because the term "soba" is also used somewhat generically to mean "noodle." Yakisoba, for example, is made from ramen noodles. It can be confusing, and I probably don't have it all correct.

I'd suggest you give udon a try, except I don't think there's such thing as a tonkotsu udon.

[Schweinhaxen]

Robata Jinya on 3rd Street or Ramen Jinya on Sawtelle. I like Robata Jinya because you can get a huge variety of food in addition to your Hakata Tonkotsu ramen.

[raizans]

jidaiya uses thick noodles in their tonkotsu-shio, but it is lighter than straight tonkotsu (though by no means "unporky").