Restaurant Review: DAIKAYA

After circling the National Building Museum, I popped into DAIKAYA's ramen shop in Chinatown. It's close to the Verizon Center making it the perfect pit stop before attending sporting events and concerts.The lights flooding the restaurant are beautifully lit. Dim, yet give to perfect amount of luminescence for an evening out.Even during off-peak hours, the Japanese restaurant is filled with ramen-eaters at every single table. Waiters consistently fill water pitchers placed throughout the dining area. Metal tins with napkins, wooden chopsticks and pepper flakes are also scattered near place settings.If you sit near the kitchen, you get a clear view of everything happening in the kitchen. From perfectly sliced pork bellies to composing each bowl with a number of ingredients, our meals came out quick.The spicy miso ramen comes complete with bean sprouts, scallions, meat, noodles and more. For an additional cost you can add other specialities such as corn, a tea-boiled egg and fried seaweed. The consistency of the noodles is what you want in every bowl of ramen: a touch of crunch in a soft noodle. The miso broth came out with a great consistency that didn't need additional spice or pepper. Definitely a dish that hits the top of my ramen rankings.The tonkatsu broth has a great combination of beef flavors and soy sauce. The bits of ground pork bring out the flavor and ultimate meat-lovers noodle dish. To make a story short, I went to DAIKAYA right around when it opened. I left unsatisfied, but now after visiting when a restaurant is thriving, my mind has changed. DAIKAYA's noodle soup definitely makes the top of my ramen list. I would visit again and eat this every weekend if I could. It's a bit disappointing the bowl doesn't 'come with the tea-boiled egg, but I personally don't mind paying the extra cost for such a delicious runny yolked egg.DAIKAYA is located at 705 6th St. NW. The restaurant does not take reservations at the ramen shop.