Ramen Food Crawl @ Ramen Street, Kyoto Station.

This is a long time coming, and to all those noodle fanatics out there, this one is for you. And the quest for that ultimate bowl never ends.

A list of the shops in the area

Just like its Tokyo counterpart, Kyoto Station houses its own Ramen Street. However, unlike its Tokyo cousin, this place houses ramen styles from all over Japan instead just having a branch of a famous local hotspot and setting shop in the vicinity. As such, this has a more vibrant and unique variety of noodles and you do not need to ride the JR Rail to the next prefecture. You can just wait in line right here. There are nine shops to choose from and it can be a challenge to pick which one to try. But lets say that half of the battle was won (more or less) as I had tried four of those said joints.

So here are my picks in this food tour, which was carb heavy, loaded with sodium and a whole lot of fun...

Kinsei

It is actually golden!

The first shop for this tour is actually kind of special. Have you had golden ramen before? Well not for me and this would be my first.The store specialty is their golden shio (salt) ramen and standing at ¥800. And when it comes to Japanese food in Japan, the description often times is the reflection of the end result. And the soup was literally golden!

Porky

I am not sure how they do it, but it was like a painting. A feast to the eyes, and the strips of dried chillies gave it a contrast that is unique and colourful. How about the flavour? In short, it was a shio bowl well executed. The soup is clean and a little crisp. I suspect a chicken and pork broth, but with more percentage of chicken in it. And the charshu was fatty and delicious.

Probably a reason why there is so little chilli oil. 

Being a salt based ramen, there is not much when it comes to the seasoning oils or sauces. "Afura" and "tare" for you ramen heads out there. Still, you get something that feels clean and crushing. The noodles has a gret bite, akin to an al dente pasta. And the pork strips that came with it were fatty and well seasoned. I suspect a mirin and dashi marinade was involved.

There was not egg involved in their base bowl, which is surprising, and it is an additional order. Still, this was a well executed bowl and I thoroughly enjoyed it. And that bowl was for ¥800. Not bad really.

Front of the house. Do take note of the ticket machine. 

Taishoken

Busy...

Now we are heading for the big hitters. Taishoken is the legendary brand that created tsukemen and their seafood inspired dipping broth is their main star. I did not have the chance to have this during my past Tokyo visits, so I am now here to make amends to that error.

The noodle shines!

The noodles are more springy, as expected. Tsukemen noodles tend to have a stronger consistency so that it can absorb that liquid potion without breaking. So for some people, they may not be a fan. But if you are into pan mee, you would love this.

Intense

The broth is spiked with copious amounts of dried sardines and mackarel. Even a small sip of you and you feel like you have been teleported to the center of the ocean. However, I feel like it lacked a bit of vibrancy. Maybe because I have been spoiled by Malaysian tsukemen, that has some zest and spice and that became my usual image of the dish. Still, it was filling and packs alot of flavour. I do not mind the fishy aftertaste, but I would not be surprised if some people would not like. This was for a price tag of ¥950. 

Spot the ticket machine!

Masutani

A heart patient's nightmare

Another heavyweight comes into the ring! And Masutani is one Kyoto mainstay that has a reputation of being one of the best. With its thick chicken and pork broth and a strong reputation, I thought it would be able to try something big. Well, it was something.

Look at the floating bits of fat!

The soup was thick and dense, like any ramen soup. And the chicken flavour is evident too although i feel like the pork flavour dominated the whole bowl. Also, I felt like it was like it is one of the "just passed minimum" standard and "good enough" ramen. Honestly, I felt that this taste alot like the Kin Ryu ramen that I had prior, which was just as good but miles cheaper. However, it cannot be denied that this was very fatty due to the back fat of the pork being used to layer on top the soup. It had a buttery quality that doctors would probably avoid, but I for one will relish.

Still, not a bad bowl. But as mentioned earlier, I had tasted better. This was for ¥800 as well.

Front of the house. 

Iroha

Witness the darkness!

Another superstar in the ramen scene, Iroha's killer strike is its black soy ramen from Toyama. Being famed for actually playing the part, the soup is black and probably darker than space. There are a few variations if you think the black facade puts you off, like the white shrimp ramen, which sounded really good. But since I have to really take care of stomach space, their most popular dish would do.

Chewy...

The noodles are very springy, almost to tsukeken level. I do think that if it was a bit more "fragile" it would have absorbed the soup better. The soup itself was actually not bad. Like the Taishoken tsukemen, it has a lot of dried seafood flavours. Maybe it was just me, but somehow, I was not a fan of dried seafood being the centerstage of my ramen. Sure, dried fish and squid have been in ramen pots for ages. But they have always been a supporting role. Perhaps having such ingredients on the forefront is just not my thing.  Still it was a filling bowl and I can see why alot of people flock to this place.

Now , this is a meat roll!

Their charshu was very good though, and deserves some praise. Like a bacon swiss roll, this was fatty, savoury and slightly sweet. This would go well with a bowl of rice. All of this with an egg, was for ¥1000.

A couple making their final food selection. 

Final thoughts

So there you have it! The noodles here are decent and the stalls here do deserve a visit. However, I have to say that the Tokyo Station Ramen Street is much better. Also on another note, if I have to pick one out of the four, then the golden one takes the ticket. It was indeed special.

Just make a left turn after this sign and take the elevator, and you will be on your way!

So if you are ever in Kyoto, and you are not sure on what to eat or need something filling and delicious, the Kyoto Station Ramen Street has got you covered. It is a bit hard to spot though, but once you have spotted the elevator near the JR Isetan, choose floor 10 and you will be on your way. 

PS: if you are interested in reading about my visit to Tokyo's Ramen Street, do click here and you will be guided there in no time!