Is ramen the eastern barred bandicoot of the food world? The Japanese noodle soup is overtaking Los Angeles about as quickly as the tiny Tasmanian marsupial breeds. FYI: No mammal breeds faster. Munetsugu Okuhara made one of the latest contributions to L.A.’s ramen arms race by opening Ramen Hayatemaru in Torrance’s Carson Western strip mall.

The Okinawa native brought his Hokkaido-style ramen to the South Bay. Ramen Hayatemaru even sells half portions of each variation. My half order of still-hearty Hokkaido Ramen ($5) featured a savory tonkotsu broth fortified with nutrient-rich goma (sesame seeds) and floating white pork fat bits. The broth touted “medium thick chijire (curly) noodles” made in Sapporo. A thin, dark-rimmed pork slice that fell to shreds in the broth, joining green onions, boiled bamboo shoots, flavored, hard-boiled egg, nori and garlic.

Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.