During our first family trip to Japan in 2015, I was quite vocal about my dislike for ramen. Well, dislike might be too strong but I definitely wasn’t convinced by the hype. A few people immediately messaged me to tell me their non-ramen loving ways were changed by a particular ramen chain – Ichiran.
Fast forward to today, there are a few ramen restaurants that have convinced me not to generalize (maybe reviews for another day) but I would still wonder about Ichiran sometimes. Even the Twitter threads discrediting it as the best ramen in Japan weren’t enough to discourage me, though I did take note of their alternate recommendations.
Picture from Ichiran’s website because it was too dark outside
After leaving our things in our Airbnb, we headed towards Dotonbori for a late lunch and immediately ran into the familiar Ichiran logo. But wait, it said “No Pork Ramen.” I was confused. I told my family, “I don’t think this is the ‘legit’ one.” But we were already so hungry that we decided to give it a try.
The place was similar to what I’d read about. A vending machine to place your order and to pay. Individual stalls to eat in. I was relieved it wasn’t as claustrophobic as I’d imagined. The chopsticks, soup spoon, and drinking cup were already ready in each stall. I loved that there was a tap for water for each person, so you didn’t have to keep asking a server to refill your cup.
Like many locally popular ramen restaurants, you could customize your ramen to your preference – the richness of the broth, the spice level, the garlic, and the green onions, among others. If you didn’t want to think too much, there was also a recommended choice for each category. I chose those for everything except for spice level, where I chose Spicy (supposedly 2x the recommended).
Just by the appearance alone, I was excited to try it out. The rectangular bowl (is it still a bowl if it’s not round?) was so unique to me and the plating of the noodles, beef, and garnish was neat and enticing. When I took a bite, I immediately forgot this was the “non-legit” ‘No-Pork Ramen.’ It was so flavorful! The umami taste was on point and yet it wasn’t as ‘nakakaumay’ as many ramen bowls I’ve tried – it was heavy enough to satisfy you, but light enough that you could keep going without feeling bad. The spice felt just right too, exciting my taste buds but not requiring me to drink cup after cup of water.
My only complaint would have to be the noodles. I don’t know if I’ve just never had authentic Japanese noodles but it felt quite gummy, or a little on the soft side. I would have liked it a bit firmer.
Overall, I was happy with my first Ichiran experience. I think it’s a great option for people who can’t have pork, but I don’t think it would be okay for our vegetarian friends – you can opt to not have the beef topping but according to an online article, the broth is chicken-based. And if what I read about the original still holds true (¥790), the non-pork version is pricier at ¥1180.
My family also loved our first meal in Japan. Even my picky-eater little sister, who’d never wanted to try ramen in her life, ended up finishing more than half of the bowl she was supposed to share with our poor mom. She even kept requesting ramen for the rest of the trip. I guess that proves that, even if it’s not the best ramen for everyone, it still maintains its reputation of transforming non-ramen eaters into ramen lovers.
TL;DR
– wonderful umami flavor but not as ‘nakakaumay’ as other ramen bowls
– noodles were too gummy, or soft
– pricier at ¥1180
This branch can be found at: Gurukasu City Building 2F, 2-4-2 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka-fu
Check out for the rest of my Japan 2019 series! After all, the best part of traveling is the food ❤️
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