Popular tonkotsu ramen chain with many locations throughout Japan
Intro – This ramen chain is very popular amongst locals and tourists. It’s very accessible with many locations so they usually don’t have a wait.
Ambiance – Unique single-stall seating with curtains between you and the server where you’re able to order without even speaking to the server.
What I ordered
- Tonkotsu Ramen – They give you a piece of paper to customize your ramen in numerous aspects. I got the medium dashi, extra rice, 1 clove of garlic, with green onion, chashu, and medium spicy with medium noodles. The soup was so fatty and rich. However, I think the extra rich was too rich for me, I would go for just rich or medium next time. I’m assuming they don’t salt the bowls differently and there was so much fat in the extra-rich bowl that it needed a little more salt for balance. As an alternative, I asked for extra spicy paste a few bites in so the spiciness would cut through the richness instead. 1 clove of garlic was nice but I honestly could have added more as well. The egg was not marinated but cooked to a good runny yolk. My only gripe is that it was cold and we had to peel it ourselves so you should peel it and let it sit in the soup to warm up. The medium noodles are a good size for me because I think they carry more of the soup per bite. However, my wife loves thicker noodles and she really enjoyed her choice of the thickest choice. The spices they used provided a great depth of flavor and contrast to the richness. Even if you’re not a fan of spice, I would recommend asking for some on the side to add to a few bites to clean the palate. The meat was not fatty because it was pork shoulder or leg instead of belly but the soup was so fatty, having pork belly would have been overkill. They do allow the option to add on pork belly though. My wife did add on pork belly and thought it was just too much meat overall to finish. I would only recommend adding on pork belly if you opted for a lighter or medium richness broth. Rating – 8.8/10
Conclusion – My bias of ramen is heavily skewed towards tonkotsu ramen which is the most popular style in the US. This spot is right up my alley. I love that you get to customize your on bowl of ramen so you can balance your bowl to your liking. It’s up there with some of the best ramen I’ve had. We didn’t have that much ramen in Japan but this was one of the best bowls of ramen in my life. I think if I ordered slightly better, my bowl could have been more balanced and could have been a 9.0/10. It’s so cheap and convenient I would recommend anyone to try it if you’re a fan of tonkotsu. It is worth the hype. This will be some of the best tonkotsu you’ll have.
Overall Rating 8.8/10