Kyoto Ramen Alley – Kyoto Station, Kyoto.
Kyoto is one of most culturally rich cities in the world with over 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines. But there is more to it than this: head down to Gion and you will find geishas appearing and disappearing into alleys; or you can spend the whole day exploring around Kyoto station which is a hub of department stores, endless eateries and a transport network that will lose even the most prepared travelers (such as myself). What immediately caught my attention when researching places to eat in Kyoto was a converging opinion amongst forums and blogs that a must visit place is Kyoto Ramen Alley above Kyoto station.
This place can be reached by going to 10th floor of Isetan then heading to the connecting passage which is at the side of the floor. The alley itself is composed of seven ramen shops: Hakata Ikkousha, Ginza Shouriki, Kyoto Takaraya, Osaka Kamigata Zanmaiya, Sumire, Kakiokaya and Yokohama Ichihachiya. With the intention of trying a bowl at each place for dinner, I was disappointed in myself that after the second ramen shop I was at my limit, in hindsight I should have ordered the small serving.
The first place we hit up was Takaraya, which specialises in light flavoured shoyu base, the broth is chicken-based soup with pork and what stood out for me is how their eggs are prepared: the chicken is fed fish bones in their feed with a mixture of bran, corn and soybeans such that no chemical fertilizers are used.
Toro-niki Chashumen (800 yen)
I’m easily lured into going for a dish that is “limited” for reasons unknown to me, thus explaining my choice of this. The delicate slices of toro meat, which I believe means a more marbled part of pork was a new experience: a moist piece of meat that had the oily marbled texture in the mouth but was flavorsome of pork at the same time. The description on Takaraya’s website of the sensation when eating toro-niki is that one should be able to compare it with eating toro tuna, which I found to be very accurate. The noodles used at Takaraya are thin and have a firm and chewy texture, which went perfectly with the broth, the best I’ve ever had.
Tamago Chashumen (780 yen)
The same broth is used in this bowl of ramen as the previously mentioned, what it differs in is ingredients: half an egg, scallions and roast pork. The pork is not as tasty as the toro-niki but still just as enjoyable. The addition of the scallions add a sharp and sweet taste to the dish and heightens the overall flavor. Personally I would recommend ordering the toro-niki for maximum pleasure.
Noodles!
Next up is Sumire, which specialises in a Sapporo style ramen that comes with a heavy miso flavour.
We order two bowls of their house specialty: one normal and one small miso ramen.
The normal sized portion.
The small portion (which was the same size as the normal portion imo)
The broth is thick and rich with collagen, a heavy layer of oil floats on top. The flavour of the broth is very intense, a bit too much for my palate as I find it hard to enjoy. The noodles are cooked to my liking and the addition of bamboo shoots and green onions helps cut through the flavour. My partner struggles to finish her small portion, leaving me with the task of finishing off both bowls.
A bit light-headed with ramen and a noticeably together waist-line, with 5 other ramen shops that I didn’t try, I headed down to the food level of Isetan to peruse the treats being offered.
Like a bee to honey, I spotted the snaking line forming at one particular shop and decided to join the queue, not knowing what exactly I was lining up for.
A few moments later, and some hundred or so yen poorer, I opened up the packaging to reveal…
A mini dorayaki, freshly made with the sweetness of the castella pancakes and red bean filling.
JR Kyoto Station 10F
[connecting passage from Isetan 10F] Open 11am-9:30pm (LO) daily.
Website with all the Ramen Shops: http://www.kyoto-station-building.co.jp/search/search.cgi?mode=search&f=zone&key=ramen
Bonus pictures from this day:
Our room had a little arrow pointing to the entrance of Nijo Castle
Bed of leaves
February 25th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
hehe love lining up for random things that must be good
February 25th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Weeeeeakk man!! Sif not eat 7 bowls of ramen?!?! haha
looks so tasty tho mmm
February 26th, 2010 at 12:57 am
OH WOW. i’ve never been to Japan but I seriously want to. it looks like a foodie and culture heaven
February 26th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
If it’s the same system as they use in Tokyo, the arrows are to define which windows the fire brigade will break to get to you when the next big earthquake hits. Not a pointer.
February 28th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Haha, such an Asian trait to join a queue assuming that there must be something excellent at the front! Love the bed of leaves – did you make a leaves angel?
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:25 am
After seven bowls of ramen I can imagine one spreadeagled in a meadow…but after only two? More training needed for this one…
You make me feel like I’m in Japan…thanks for a tiny vacation-slice before the morning gets started =)