While the foodies among us (myself included) were busy chasing after the latest trends in overstuffed smashburgers, artisanal tacos, and omakase feasts built around sea critters long thought to be extinct, Old Pasadena was quietly turning into Noodle City.

It has become a hotbed of Japanese noodles. Of ramen and soba and udon, with toppings and mix-ins both expected and exotic, both standard and madcap. Old Pasadena isn’t the Little Tokyo of the San Gabriel Valley … yet. But give it time. As with Tokyo, there are narrow streets enough to create a world of yokocho, aka dining alleys. In the meantime, we’ve got noodles galore. And noodles rule!

10 S. DeLacey Ave., Old Pasadena; 626-889-3397, tsujita.com

Tsujita Artisan Noodle isn’t quite the Din Tai Fung of noodles. But give it time. The latest branch is in Old Pasadena — joining locations in nearby San Gabriel, along with the Downtown Arts District, the Westside Little Tokyo of Sawtelle Boulevard, Westchester, Texas; and Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Its line is seemingly constant, its menu is long, its artisan noodles live up to their name.

Though I hesitate to say this is the best Japanese noodle house in Old Pasadena (the competition is fierce for the title), it certainly does raise the bar.

The signature noodle here is tsukemen, in which you’re served cold noodles in one bowl, and warm broth in another. The broth is simmered for more than 10 hours, to give it a strong umami tang. You dip the cold noodles in the warm broth, along with fun add-ons like a seasoned hard-cooked egg, thick-cut slices of chashu pork, scallions, seaweed, pickled bamboo and wood ear mushrooms.

The bowls of hot tonkatsu ramen follow pretty much the same path — though there is one served with fresh truffles for $40. There’s gyoza dumplings, too, spicy tuna bowls and fried chicken karaage. But mostly, there are noodles, which are heaven enough.

16 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Old Pasadena; 626-432-1768, tatsunoyausa.net

I think the first Japanese noodle shop in Old Pasadena was Ramen Tatsunoya, which, for a decade or so, has been the destination of choice for those who hunger for a hot, steaming bowl of Japanese goodness. You can hear the joyous slurps blocks away; the diners at Ramen Tatsunoya eat with an excess of gusto.

The history of the place is a bit roundabout. It was born with a single shop in Kurume City in Japan, which eventually expanded to 14 ramen restaurants around the country under two different names — ramen shops with a reputation for being among the best.

Then, in 2009, the chef was invited to show off his ramen at food festivals at the Mitsuwa Marketplace — including the one in Torrance. Tatsunoya became a yearly pop-up at Mitsuwa, until being an annual one-off evolved into a brick-and-mortar location in Old Pasadena.

The menu is very simple — which is both very ramenesque, and very Japanese. Pure minimalism on every level … except for the broth itself. There’s a choice of six bowls, with three types of ramen spread across the six bowls.

There’s koku tonkotsu, which is a broth so thick and rich, I wouldn’t be surprised to see my spoon dissolve in it. It’s made by cooking pork fatback and bones down to their most essential elements, then flavoring the hot tasty mess with spiced miso, garlic and burned onion oil.

There’s jun tonkotsu, which is like the second child in a family, a bit less intense than the first-born, but still strong enough to change the prescription in your glasses. And finally, there’s miso tonkatsu, which is fine for beginners, but perhaps a bit mild for seasoned veterans of the ramen wars.

The smart money tricks up the ramens with chashu pork, egg, seaweed and onions — though goodness knows the broth arrives with enough tasty bits and pieces percolating in it.

The kitchen, which is completely open, looks like a café in Hades, with flames and smoke and steam and noise. And if they serve food as good down there, forget about heaven, for this broth is heavenly and then some. This is the ramen of dreams. Served quickly, in a room where you sit at tables or a counter, and where many make noises as they eat. Poetic noises. But noises of rapt pleasure nonetheless.

87 E. Colorado Blvd., Old Pasadena; 626-584-7088, noodlestusa.com

Around the corner sits Noodle St, which on a Saturday night may have the biggest crowd of any of the noodle houses.

It’s a boisterous shop, dispensing a bigger menu than most, with the 11 “handcrafted” noodle dishes, stretching from bowls of ramen to plates of stir-fried noodles with beef, chicken, shrimp or tofu.

There’s a choice of four noodle “shapes” — round, triangular, flat and knife-cut — plus five rice dishes and sundries like lamb skewers and scallion pancakes. There are seasoned French fries, along with fried chicken wings. Tsujita and Tatsunoya are doctrinaire; Noodle St is a whole different avenue.

34 S. Raymond Ave., Old Pasadena; 626-529-5375, satoramenhouse.com

And then, there’s Sato Ramen House, which sits south of Colorado on relatively peaceful Raymond Avenue. There are four ramen dishes, four soba dishes, three rice bowls, and “Signature Appetizers” that include black truffle chawanmushi, tamagoyaki, arabiki sausage, takoyaki, soft crab buns and — yes! — spicy onion rings.

Sato sits a bit closer to Noodle St in style. What we have are two classics … and two modernists. What ties them all together are … the noodles. Noodles are the tie that binds. And what a pleasure it is to rend them asunder with every bite.

Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.