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My ramen obsession began when I first saw Juzo Itami’s 1985 comedy, Tampopo (Dandelion). Tagged as the first Japanese “noodle western”, this quirky film provided great insight into the importance of food in Japanese society as well as thoroughly exploring the ways in which to make a perfect bowl of arguably Japan’s favourite noodle dish, ramen.

Before we left for Japan, Mellie and I nominated the Japanese food that we each craved the most and would most like to eat first. My instant reply was ramen. I’ve had so-called ramen in Melbourne, but I have never had the proper Japanese version and I was keen to establish a culinary baseline. I didn’t get to sample some on the first day, but my wish came true on the second day when we journeyed to Yokohama to the Shin Yokohama Raumen (sic) Museum.

People from outside Japan often think that ramen is only found in the instant variety. There are certainly instant ramen, but the fresh version is a very different proposition. Ramen is Japan’s answer to fast food, and is a version of Chinese hand-pulled noodles (lah mien). There are literally hundreds of shops everywhere in Japan, most of which are usually packed to the brim with people tucking into this hearty bowl of noodles in broth.

The Museum is the place to know all about the difference between instant and fresh ramen, the history and the different styles of this great noodle dish. It combines the two great loves of the Japanese: ramen AND quirky food-related theme parks.

The museum is divided into several floors. The top floor contains a shop where you can purchase souvenir items related to ramen, from keychains and T-shirts to ramen bowls and take-home noodle packs. There is also a purikura machine (sticker photo club) with various ramen themes.

The bottom levels are where the action and fun begins! Styled like a typical Yokohama neighbourhood, circa the 1950s, the space is dotted with period-style restaurants, shops and houses. It was like travelling back in time, or being on the set of a 1950s period movie!

The main attraction here is of course the eight ramen shops, each serving its own unique style of ramen. There is also a bakery and old-style bars. The tagline is that ramen restaurants highly regarded in areas famous for local ramen have come together in the Raumen Museum to contend with each other. It’s all very Iron Chef, but means you get to choose from noodles that have come from all over Japan: Sapporo, Asahikawa, Tokyo, Yokohama, Wakaya, Hakata and Kumamoto. Whether your preference is for a soy sauce, miso or tonkotsu-based broth, or whether you like your noodles thick or thin, curly or straight, you can find it in one of these shops!

Mel and I decided to start at Ryushanhai, a shop serving Yamagata-style ramen, known as Akayu Karamiso Ramen. As with a lot of eateries in Japan, each noodle shop has a ticket machine in front, where you can buy a food ticket. The procedure is: Choose the size you want, toppings and side dishes; hand your ticket to the attendent; then queue in line with other patrons outside until a seat frees up.

Akayu Karamiso Ramen is a shoyu (soy sauce) based broth. The Karamiso is a red dollop of spicy miso paste (see above) that you can dissolve into the soup to adjust the spiciness. Toppings include the chasu (fatty pork), spring onions, and fish cake. And the taste?? Well, what can I say. The very first sip of that heavenly broth completely blew me away; it was so damn tasty I almost exclaimed out loud (Mellie had to hold me down)!! It was almost like experiencing sex for the first time, I kid you not! The soup was rich, flavoursome, SPICY, and had a depth of flavour that blew away every so-called ramen that I’ve previously tried in Melbourne. There was NO comparison. I was like a born-again ramen eater! And the chasu, oh my God, the chasu! It was meltingly tender and fatty and just made you crave for more than the two pieces that they gave you. I should have supersized it!! The noodles were thick and firm and had fantastic texture and bite.

Suffice to say, I finished every bit of it It may not be the best ramen in Japan but for me, experiencing “real ramen” for the first time, I felt at the time that there was nothing better.

Hungry for more ramen, we decided to try Komurasaki, from Kumamoto City, on the island of Kyushu. Luckily you can get ramen in a tasting size, otherwise we would not have been able to fit this one in! This ramen is a mild tonkotsu (pork bone blended with chicken bone) broth that is mixed with garlic chips. As you can see above, it is a very rich and creamy broth, very garlicky, with thin noodles. Toppings include char shu, cloud ear mushrooms and sungan (Japanese veggies). This ramen was very good as well, although we found the soup to be a tad too creamy, and was thankful that there was a tasting size (perhaps owing to the fact that we were still full from the other place). Nevertheless, it was good to try this other style.

Completely full from noodle overdose, we spent the rest of the time wondering around the museum to work off the calorie hit, and spent a fair bit of time in the gift shop Although quirky, the museum is highly recommended, especially if you like ramen, but also to experience a small nostalgic slice of Japanese pop-culture. It might be touristy, but I did see plenty of locals there, probably because the noodles were excellent, especially the Yamagata version! I was to experience better ramen later on in our trip, but I will always remember this Museum as when I tasted true ramen for the very first time!

Written by ElegantGourmand on December 1st, 2007 | Tags: Japan, Ramen | Category: Uncategorized |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL