There’s something looming in the water, and it’s come to take a bite out of your wallet! Chef Kenji Chiba of Chibaki-ya returns to Los Angeles with a taste of his exclusive shark’s fin ramen! Terrorizing customers at $18 a bowl, is it worth its weight in political incorrectness? Rameniac sure hopes so!

You know things are foo-bar’d when a cheap knock off can sully the reputation of a perfectly fine ramen shop. Tucked into the middle of nowhere, the original Foo Foo Tei serves up a menu of David Lynchian weirdness that sounds worse than it really is. Like Twin Peaks, nanchatte paitan ramen isn’t for everyone!

Intrigue plagues the existence of dual Foo Foo Tei in the San Gabriel Valley. Spite and litigation apparently abound, and rumor has it that the Monterey Park branch is merely a cheap knock-off of the Hacienda Heights original. All theatrics aside, are its noodles even worth fussing over?

The Little Tokyo branch of San Sui Tei is so new, it doesn’t even have a proper sign up yet! Perhaps rameniac should have waited for them to get settled in before writing a review, yet that bowl of spicy tonkotsu ramen looks oddly familiar...

Kick things up a notch with rameniac as he samples the Chinese-influenced paiko pork cutlets and tantanmen-style noodles of Shisen Ramen in Torrance, Calfornia! Bam!

Aesthetics are everything at Wagamama UK. Rameniac takes a break from his Japan coverage to hop clear across the globe. Teleporting across the space-time continuum can be so much fun!

Taishoken higashi-ikebukuro will be closing its doors for good come February 2007! Journey with rameniac as he investigates this hugely influential shop, where tsukemen dipping-style ramen was first invented. We’ll miss you, Yamagishi-san!

Rameniac lands in Japan and immediately makes for the nearest ramen shop! Does he get lucky on his first night in town? Click here to find out!

When high-concept Chabuya opened amid promises of a “premium” ramen experience, Rameniac began stalking the place with some seriously great expectations. Do a pedigree chef, quality organic ingredients and swanky decor a perfect bowl of ramen make? Read more to find out!