When you sit down at the counter at Ramen Hood, the new ramen stall at Grand Central Market, nothing is as it seems. The woman next to you is hunched over a steamy bowl of ramen, slurping slightly curled noodles and using her chopsticks to carefully break off pieces of a halved egg for each bite.

The ramen broth is a cloudy milk color, flecked with togarashi and topped with bean sprouts, green onion and what looks like a couple of small rounds of chashu.

But at Ramen Hood, Ilan Hall, the chef-owner of the now-closed downtown L.A. restaurant the Gorbals and winner of the second season of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” isn’t just making ramen. He and his team, led by Rahul Khopkar, are making vegan ramen.

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The rich broth is made from sunflower seeds, the rounds of pork are actually meaty mushrooms and that egg in the middle is made from soy milk and nutritional yeast. The broth has a mild, toasted nutty flavor and the vegan egg is similar in texture to a soft-boiled egg.

The opening friends and family menu includes spicy ramen or regular ramen and a handful of side dishes, including fried broccoli with a soy and malt vinegar sauce; pickled vegetables; and fried tofu smothered in a red al pastor sauce (think al pastor marinade, as a sauce).

Ramen Hood is open daily from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. There are plans to extend the menu and the hours in the near future.

317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, (213) 265-7331, www.grandcentralmarket.com.


I slurp. Follow me on Twitter @Jenn_Harris_

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