Oodles of noodles

BANGKOK MIGHT already be home to more ramen noodle restaurants than it can count but that hasn’t stopped Komars Group from opening the multi-store Ramen King at A Square mall on Sukhumvit Soi 26. 

Spread over a generous 600 square metres, the two-storey Ramen King is an interesting combination of food court and gourmet restaurant. The interior is warehouse chic with textured stone walls, steel beams, bamboo panels and rustic walls with blistered paint and old corrugated iron adding to the edgy urban feel.

Ramen King brings together five of Japan’s top ramen eateries each serving the noodle soup dishes peculiar to their native province. While honouring the self-serve concept of the food court, the restaurant side comes into play with the payment only coming after eating. Customers are given a cashless card with which they are invited to order their food and present for payment at the exit. 

Among the favourites are tonkotsu (pork bone broth), miso (fermented soybeans and grains), sweet-tasting sukiyaki and tsukemen (dipping noodles) with a choice of toppings. 

Preparing a bowl of noodles takes time and customers are invited to kick back and relax while they wait. They are each given a disc-shaped device that Ramen King refers to as a pager. When the order is ready to be collected, the device will light up and vibrate. It is better than noisy shouting and the customer doesn’t have to waste time queuing in front of the stall and wait.

Komars Group has been operating the multi-store ramen restaurant in Singapore and Hong Kong since 2011 under the brand Ramen Champion. For Bangkok though the brand name has been changed to avoid confusion with business tycoon Tan Passakornnatee’s ramen complex on Soi Thonglor, which calls itself Ramen Champion.

Hakata district in Fukuoka city is well know for its ramen and Tonkotsu Itto from Fukuoka run by Yukihiko Sakamoto offers soup that’s second to none. Sakamoto prepares a rich and milk pork-bone tonkotsu soup with thin, non-curly noodles. The soup is boiled slowly for 12 hours to obtain the creamy colour and infused with a hearty pork flavour.

Sakamoto’s signature bowl is Special Tonkotsu Ramen (Bt240), an aromatic soup that’s creamy but mild and topped with a soft-boiled egg, chashu or roasted pork slices, shredded jew’s ear mushroom and chopped spring onion. Garlic lovers will go wild for the onkotsu Black Ramen (Bt220) topped with crushed garlic that is fried until black but not bitter, a chunk of chashu, shredded jew’s ear mushroom and chopped spring onion. 

Tokyo’s Miyamoto shop is run by Ryutaro Miyamoto who offers tonkotsu soup with wide and flat noodles topped with a generous portion of bean sprouts. Other toppings are crushed garlic, a soft-boiled egg, and one chunk of chashu marbled equally between meat and fat. His signature is Special Garlic and Vegetable Tonkotsu Ramen (Bt240). If you must have more, pay Bt40 for extra noodles, Bt20 for an egg and Bt20 for vegetables. If a full bowl is too much, a Mini Ramen dish is available for Bt140.

Prefer miso? Then opt for the broth prepared by Masakatsu Chiyoda from Misobancho in Hokkaido. Chicken bones and fish are used to enhance the flavour, which is robust and has a decided tang. Do try the Special Miso Ramen (Bt250) made with thin, curly noodles and topped with chashu, a soft-boiled egg, marinated bamboo shoots, golden fried garlic, corn and chopped spring onion. It comes with a large sheet of seaweed. 

Chiba’s Jyoshoken, which is run by Koichi Horikawa, offers Tsukemen or dipping noodles where the noodles and soup are served in separate bowls. He recommends the Special Tsukemen (Bt210), a thick and salty tonkotsu soup with the broth made by simmering chicken and pork bones for three days then topped with chashu, bamboo shoots, soft-boiled egg, katsuo powder and chopped spring onions. To eat, you just dip the thick and cool noodles into the soup. A bowl of light broth is also served to mix with the thick soup.

There’s sweeter fare in store at Butaou run by Toshikazu Yoneda from Tokushima. The star here is King Ramen (Bt230) made by slowly cooking the thinly sliced pork with soy sauce and sugar for a sweet touch and adding pork belly chashu. The chef also opts for poached eggs instead of a usual soft-boiled egg and the toppings are seaweed, bamboo shoots and chopped spring onions.

The Komars Group-operated Uomasa restaurant on Soi Thonglor adds to the selection on offer at Ramen King with sushi, sashimi, rolls, rice and yakimono (grilled and pan-fried dishes.)

 

BOUNTIFUL BROTH

>>Ramen King is at A Square mall on Sukhumvit Soi 26 of Rama IV Road. It’s open Monday to Thursday from 11.30am to 3pm and from 5.30 to 11pm and all day Friday to Sunday.

>>Call (02) 116 5791 or visit www.RamenKing.co.th.