I am not sure about other countries, but most Malaysians would say definitely recommend Ichiran whenever you travel to Japan. Hence, here I am to check out how yummy is this Ichiran which most Malaysians has fallen in love with. As there were many Ichiran branches, I decided to visit to one at Shinjuku Kabuki-cho. To my surprise, there wasn’t any queue when I reached there.
The restaurant area is at the basement. You need to go downstairs once you enter the entrance at ground floor. You will then see two vending machines the moment you enter the restaurant area. The instructions on the vending machine were very clear and there were three languages on it (English, Chinese and Korean). If you have any problem with the vending machine, the staffs at Ichiran Ramen will help you. They were very friendly and most importantly, they could speak English.
There is only one type of ramen at Ichiran Ramen which is tonkotsu ramen. I ordered a bowl of it and added the half-boiled salted egg for a total of JPY1,020. The vending machine will dispense coupons based on your selection. Hold on to these coupons until you’re seated. There were already seaweed and onion in the ramen. Hence, you do no need to order them separately from the vending machine.
The restaurant staffs will then lead you to an empty cubicle and give you an order sheet at the same time. No, I didn’t type wrongly. The customers sit in cubicles in Ichiran Ramen. If you are dining alone, you might probably feel less lonely eating in a cubicle. But don’t worry, the partition can actually be removed if you’re eating in a group. There might be round or rectangle tables at certain branches.
From the order sheet, you can actually customize your soup base, noodle texture, sides, etc. This was like making your own ramen.
After filling up the order sheet (I chose the recommended selection of everything), I put the sheet on the sensor (located on the table near the curtain). The kitchen staff will then collect the order sheet from you. I gave the sheet to the staff at the kitchen. Each cubicle is connected directly to the kitchen and the blinds are raised when your food isn’t ready. Once your food is served, the kitchen staff will pull the blinds down so that you can enjoy your ramen without any distractions. Water and cups are available at every cubicle.
The salted egg was very delicious. The taste was just nice as it wasn’t too salty. It was different from other ramen restaurants which were braised until it turns brown. The only thing is you need to peel your own eggs.
Here comes my tonkotsu ramen. The broth was creamy, medium rich and with some touch of spice. It wasn’t too concentrated nor was it too mild (I chose medium for the broth richness). The thin springy noodle texture was a bit soft to me. Next time, I would probably try a harder noodle texture. The portion of red sauce was not alright for me. The chashu was soft and not too fat. But sadly, it wasn’t the “melt-in-your mouth” type.
Not enough? You can actually get the packed instant noodles and cook it yourself when you are back in your country. There were available at the front desk of the restaurant at JPY790 for one serving or JPY2,200 for one box (3 servings). You can also eat as many times as you want in Japan since some outlets were opened for 24 hours.
How I wish Ichiran will open a branch in Malaysia. I will certainly pay Ichiran another visit if I come to Japan in future again. It was so delicious just like what every Malaysian told me. Perhaps it suits Malaysian taste since some of my Japanese colleagues claimed Ichiran is not much different from other ramens.
Ichiran @ Shinjuku Kabuki-cho
Address: 〒160-0021, 1-17-10 Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo
Operating hours: 10.00am - 6.00am
Contact No.: +81 3 6233 7667
Website: https://en.ichiran.com/index.php
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