I love Japanese comfort food and was lucky to live not far from Foo Foo Tei for many years and have enjoyed their Omurice for decades now. So of course, when the Kichi Kichi Omurice from Japan went viral those few years ago, I was absolutely enthralled!
A few years ago, I got to try it in NYC at Bar Moga and it was all I had hoped. I kept my ear to the ground to see if hopefully someone would try to make it here. Then I heard of Kyuramen which also opened up in New York was expanding out west. I knew they had a California location planned and I hope it wasn’t NorCal. Well a month or so ago, they finally opened here in SoCal! Arcadia!
The spot is in a small shopping center, away from the main drag. But the inside looks just like the NYC location. A bit kitschy but fun. They mostly sell Ramen but they also sell Kichi Kichi style Omurice! You can get it with Katsu or Not. With Demi glacé or curry. They cut it open at your table!
And just like the videos, it just pours out. So good! It’s on top of some Chicken Fried Rice with sansho. I would have preferred Ketchup Fried Rice, but it still was really good. I also got the Katsu, which is a small portion, but well fried and tender and the Curry sauce. Next time I’m would for sure get the Demiglace, the Curry was decent, but nothing to write home about.
We also tried their Tonkotsu ramen and it was very porky, not too rich. The chasu was so good. Very tender and the jammy egg was stellar. Great marinade. The noodles were a bit softer to our liking but overall, it was a very good bowl.
I would not put this place on the tier of the really higher end artisan bowl places like Tsujita. It runs pretty much like a casual spot. But I would definitely return for that Omurice and the Takoyaki which also were one of the better ones I’ve had anywhere. So it was well worth the journey with especially with a pit stop to 626 Hospitality afterwards
by Dommichu