Takakura Nijo (Kyōto-shi, Nakagyō-ku)

麺や 高倉二条
めんや たかくらにじょう
Menya Takakura Nijou

Curry tsukemen : 18 / 20
(カレーつけ麺)

I was quite eager to make discover this favorite ramen restaurant of mine to my family. Being there at 11:10 to avoid the queue, we were unlucky enough to arrive just after a large group of sports kids - so be warned that it can get popular at any time. Anyway, waiting twenty minutes was not that bad for such a great place. My family ordered the regular ramen with ajitama. As for me, I wanted to try the aemen (和え麺 ; that's basically a mazemen); but it wasn’t available on that day, so I turned to a curry tsukemen I had never tried - with, of course, the famous yuzu nooddles.

Broth: A good curry taste that gives a significant twist to the usual excellent sour tonkotsu-gyokai.

Noodles: Yuzu noodles may be the greatest invention of mankind since alkaline water. Brilliant.

Meat: Some bits of meat with melting fat, very good.

Egg: A well-cooked egg, on the hard side, with a very dark yolk.

Topping: A slightly spicy mushroom and a pickled tomato with a slightly sour taste, which both fit very well with the broth. Some very fibrous menma with a mild taste.

Instead of soup wari, you get some rice in your curry sauce for a last curry-rice experience. I’m not a big fan of curry rice but this was convincing - did they also add some cheese?

I could say that this was the best curry ramen-dish I’ve ever eaten, but that would not tell much, since this is only my third one. Let’s put it another way then: this is very probably the best curry ramen-like dish I’m ever going to eat, as I doubt it could get much better than this. If you love kare ramen, you have to try this.

Oh and the ramen was simply divine, as usual. The noodles seemed to get soft a bit faster than last time tough.

More info on ramendb.

The list of all the shops.

Other review: Go Ramen!, Philoramen

Miyoshi (Kyōto-shi, Nakagyō-ku)

博多長浜らーめん みよし
はかたながはまらーめん みよし
Hakata Nagahama Ramen Miyoshi

Ramen: 14 / 20
(ラーメン)

Right in the centre of distinctive and elegant Kyoto, this ramen joint has a resolutely unique feel, purely Hakata yatai atsmophere. Half open onto the street, you will often see people queuing in front of this small restaurant with narrow seats, that serves only one kind of tonkotsu ramen, with various garnishes. I ordered the regular version.

Broth: Ah, the delicious smell of Hakata tonkotsu! Not too thick, smooth, it seemed to me slightly more sweetish than the classical Hakata ramen though (but I'm no expert in Hakata ramen, so it's difficult to tell), with some notes that reminded me a bit of a corn soup.

Noodles: Surprisingly for a Hakata ramen place, the default noodles cooking style was not katame - so if you like them so, make sure to explicitly order them that way.

Meat: Some thin, average chashu bits with too fatty part, which do not bring anything to the dish. The best part of them was the brown outer side.

Toppings: The menma were both spicy and sweet, very good. And like at any respectable Hakata ramen place, you can help yourself with ginger and flakes - but they were old and too soft.

A very local place with a great atmosphere - a bit too local I thought, when I saw the cook taking the money and then cooking without washing her hands… Several components (meat, flakes, noodles) were very average, but the delicious broth and the unique atmosphere push it to a 14. Plus, it’s cheap and open till 6 am.

More info on ramendb.

Other reviews: Ramenate, Ramen Adventures, Umamiart

Takakura Nijo (Kyōto-shi, Nakagyō-ku)

麺や 高倉二条
めんや たかくらにじょう
Menya Takakura Nijou

Ramen (yuzu noodles) with ajitama: 19 / 20
(味玉ラーメン)

The adventure at Takakura Nijo starts before entering, right in the queue, when you smell the delicious scent escaping from the aircon system. As I entered, I had a strong impression of déjà-vu: those golden teapots… this atmospheric lounge music… those two kind of noodles (yuzu and regular)… Of course, it is a Sugari-lookalike! The atmosphere is a bit less fancy here, but they indeed belong to the same chain. I ordered the ramen with ajitama, and chose the yuzu noodles.

Broth: An excellent tonkotsu gyoukai broth, relatively thin but intense in taste, without being overwhelming, on the sour side. Delightful and original at the same time.

Noodles: Absolutely delicious yuzu noodles. They were slightly on the soft side, but despite my addiction to barikata noodles, I loved them.

Meat: One slice of braised chashu, perfectly balanced, firm enough but with just what is should have of melting fat, and a powerful - but not overwhelming - taste.

Egg: A very well cooked ajitama, on the hard side, which fits perfectly well with the rest.

Toppings: One thick, fibrous, firm menma with a very balanced mild, salty taste. A cherry tomato with a pickled taste.

You can also help yourself with some sanshou (japanese pepper), and some garam masala that for some reason tasted like cinnamon and fits DIVINELY well with the broth.

Let me put it shortly: this is the most perfectly crafted ramen I ever ate in my life. Period. They even beat their brother Sugari by having a better cooked egg (although you may prefer Sugari if you're more into motsu than into chashu). I don’t see how this bowl could get any better - except maybe by moving to the even more atmospheric Sugari. Obviously, this is subjective, you may not like this kind of broth and find it too sour. But for me, this is perfection made ramen. I’ll keep the 20/20 rating for the day some ramen will fall from heaven on Earth. But this one may as well have been.

More info on ramendb.

The list of all the shops.

Other review: Go Ramen!

Ryukishin (Kyoto, Nakagyo-ku)

龍旗信 (京都店)
りゅうきしん


Shio reimen: 16 / 20

Just before meeting some friends for Yoiyama, I had to eat a ramen at one of my favorite place around Karawamachi, namely Ryukishin (see here for my former review of Kansai airport's Ryukishin shio ramen). I ordered a tempting seasonal shio reimen (cold noodles).

Broth: A subtle, shellfish-flavored cold broth.

Noodles: Firm and good.

Meat: A slice of bacon with a very mild taste.

Toppings: A profusion: salad and coriander, a couple of cherry tomatoes, a very well cooked and savoury aubergine, chili stripes, and a few bits of light-tasting crab.

A very refreshing experience with a delicate taste. Recommended.

More info on ramendb.

The website of the chain.

Sugari (Kyoto, Nakagyō-ku)

和醸良麺 すがり
わじょうりょうめん すがり

19/20

Tucked in a small alley with no obvious sign, this ramen restaurant is difficult to find. You should persist, though, as this is the best ramen restaurant in the old capital I’ve tried so far (and I've lived one year there). They serve ramen and tsukemen, that you can both order with motsu. I ordered the motsu tsukemen with yuzu noodles (they have another variety of noodles too, not sure what it was).

Broth: A good tonkotsu gyokai broth; a bit on the liquid side, but it sticked enough to the noodles.

Noodles: Excellent home-made, firm yuzu noodles.

Meat: The motsu bits in the broth were just the best I have ever eaten. Juicy and grilled, they will explode in your mouth in a firework of sensations that will leave memories on your tastebuds long time after you’ve left the restaurant.

Egg: That was, to some extent, the let-down of this otherwise awesome bowl. The ajitama was good, but slightly overcooked.

Toppings: Some soft tasty cabbage in the soup, which was obviously cooked longer than the usual crunchy japanese cabbage; it was more the kind of cabbage you would find in a French countryside-ish soup. A piece of large white negi, delicately flavored, slightly sweet; two small pieces of firmer, green negi, with the same delicious flavor. And some thin, delicate, more classical negi, mixed with red chili threads.

This ramen restaurant is not only the best one I’ve tried in Kyoto, it is also the most beautiful: a long counter in a beautifully decorated machiya, a mix of modernity and tradition, an atmosphere halfway between the contemporary lounge and the classical, exclusive Kyoto restaurant. This place is awesome. If you like motsu, it would be a crime to miss it; same if you like yuzu (I love both). With a better egg, I would have rated this place 20/20. Don’t lose a second, if you’re in Kansai, run there NOW. You don’t know what tomorrow will be made of.

More information on ramendb.

Other review: Ramen adventures