Max Kawabata already has six restaurants in Japan, with cuisines ranging from izakaya fare to barbecue.

It would have made sense to repeat one of his successes when he decided to expand to Los Angeles, but why go the easy route? Not one to repeat himself, his Hollywood debut came via ramen, and Lady Gaga, among other celebs, is a fan.

You can check it out firsthand during the two weeks Ikemen has set up shop at Shirokiya’s Yataimura.

Although Ikemen offers the soup ramen most familiar here, its specialty is tsukemen, or dip-style ramen, in which the noodles are served at room temperature and dipped into a warm Ikemen pork broth.

The tonkatsu au jus, as it’s called, is then enhanced with other ingredients in variations on the basic ramen. Inspired by the change of address — right at 1655 N. La Brea and Hollywood Boulevard — names of dishes are inspired by Hollywood. These would include the Johnny Dip (a basil-enhanced, pesto-style broth), the fiery Back Draft and, most amusing, the Ghost Buster, a cream of mushroom broth with a marshmallow reduced in flames and stirred into the broth on the spot in a homage to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in "Ghostbusters."

The stylish Ikemen team will be at the Yataimura through July 4, and if response is good, Kawabata just may open a permanent outpost here, though it may morph with a theme unique to Hawaii.