Shin-Sen-Gumi (Fountain Valley)

My cousins and I were trying to find a place to eat in Fountain Valley and we decided to get ramen at Shin-Sen-Gumi. I have tried their special event edition ramen at the Ramen Yokocho Festival in Los Angeles but had never been to one of their restaurants. I was pretty excited as their ramen was one of my favorites that day!

We arrived at the restaurant late into the afternoon and found other groups ahead of us. The restaurant was going to close in half an hour so we were a little worried that we would not have enough time. I was stoked when the waiter called our group from the waiting list but was then disheartened when he said he couldn't seat us because all of party members were not present. Doh!

By the time our last family member showed up we only had about twenty minutes left. Luckily we'd been eyeing the menu while waiting outside so we pretty much knew what we wanted to order.

T-set (ramen + appetizer) at Shin-Sen-Gumi in Fountain Valley CA

I decided to get the T-set which was Hakata Ramen and Deep Fried Takoyaki which sold for only $8.50! My goodness. Why can't we get prices like this in San Diego?!

The interesting thing about this place is the way you order your ramen. Similar to how most restaurants have a selection sheet for sushi, this place had one designed for ramen. You would first write down which combination you would like to get. I got the T-set for example. Then you would choose the firmness of the noodles, amount of oil, strength of the broth, extra toppings, and if you want any special toppings like kimchi, garlic miso butter, or seaweed to name a few.

By the time we had placed our order, most of the other customers were already finishing up and leaving. So our food came out pretty fast. Each of us ordered one of the combination sets which was a ramen bowl plus one appetizer.

Gyoza appetizer at Shin-Sen-Gumi in Fountain Valley CA

The first appetizer was the gyoza. These were super tiny but pretty meaty and flavorful. You can't really tell from the picture but these were probably around an inch and a half in length.

Spam Musubi at Shin-Sen-Gumi in Fountain Valley CA

Next was the spam musubi which was average tasting for me. They came in a pretty good size.

Small Beef Bowl at Shin-Sen-Gumi in Fountain Valley CA

Then there was the small beef bowl with rice. I didn't get to taste this one but I heard it was okay.

Takoyaki appetizer at Shin-Sen-Gumi in Fountain Valley CA

And the last appetizer was the takoyaki balls which were soft, but not gooey, and oh-so tasty.

Hakata Ramen at Shin-Sen-Gumi in Fountain Valley CA

As for the ramen I was quite satisfied. I ordered regular level in each category with exception of extra chashu which totaled about eight pieces of meat. Pretty good size bowl too. I originally was debating if I should order a large size bowl but my waiter told me that I can order extra noodles during my meal if I wanted to. They would just bring another smaller bowl of noodles out for me which was about a dollar add-on.

When we finished our meal it was about five minutes past closing. So we were inside for only about 25 minutes or so? That's probably the fastest meal I've ever had eating at a ramen restaurant. I'd definitely come back here.

Extra Noodle Challenge Nov. 27 2014 at Shin-Sen-Gumi in Fountain Valley CA

We didn't post in time but apparently there was an Extra Noodle Challenge that went down on Thanksgiving Day at a few of their locations. You pay an entry fee of $10 and get to eat as much ramen as you possibly can! Oh man. I'd probably just stop after two bowls and call it quits. But it sounded like a good deal if you want an all you can eat ramen for cheap. And the winner would get a giftcard for even more. I wonder who those lucky people were! =)

Shin-Sen-Gumi (Fountain Valley)
18315 Brookhurst St. #1
Fountain Valley CA 92708
(714) 962-8971

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Comments

J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats's picture
Submitted by J.S. @ Sun Dieg... (not verified) on Wed, 12/03/2014 - 12:46pm

That is such a good price for ramen + takoyaki! I just tried takoyaki for the first time and really liked it. Love octopus and the inside is kind of like mashed potatoes which I love to soooo win-win.

dennis's picture
Submitted by dennis on Wed, 12/03/2014 - 1:12pm

Where did you go for Takoyaki? I really like it too but Lynn isn't a fan of octopus and so I don't always get to order it...

J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats's picture
Submitted by J.S. @ Sun Dieg... (not verified) on Mon, 01/12/2015 - 9:09pm

Hillcrest Farmer's Market! There is a takoyaki stand. And have tried them from Tajima too. I am not a takoyaki expert though so no idea how good these are. But I quite like them, then again I am a huge fan of octopus...

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