In the mood for noodles

Yesterday (and for several days now) I have been having this huge craving for Ramen. I think it might have started when I stumbled upon Go Ramen one morning. Keizo, the guy who owns that blog is just amazing. He's a Japanese born and raised in America by Japanese parents. According to him, he was a bit picky with food when he was young and he didn't like Japanese food since they sounded gross and foreign to him. His mother, who was disappointed with this, dragged him to one of them ramen shops on one of their trips to Japan. After that, he started looking at ramen in a different way.

Although Keizo has been in and out of Japan since he was a kid, it was only in 2008 that he began taking ramen seriously. In fact, in his 2008 trip to Japan, he toured Tokyo and tried out 14 different ramen shops in 8 days. After that, he decided to quit his job as a computer programmer in America and moved to Japan for good. Today, he manages Basa, one of the best ramen shops in Japan. Also, in Keizo's blog, he's been trying out old and new ramen shops all over the country. Last year, he has had about 600 years of ramen bowls alone.

Keizo's story is amazing for me in a sense. Although it might sound a bit stupid for some to leave a high paying job just to sell ramen, I think it is all about going for what really makes you happy. Yes, Keizo might probably earn more by being a computer programmer, but I think that he's really happy making and eating all the ramen he can . It's about having a dream and pursuing it. It's about having the courage to really make it work. For that alone, I put my hands up for you Keizo. :)

So, anyway, after reading Keizo's blog for more than an hour, I suddenly had this urge to find a ramen shop nearby and try ramen for the first time. For a person who professes to love Japanese food, I am a bit ashamed to admit that I haven't really tried eating ramen yet. For me, ramen looks the same as those Chinese noodle soups anyway. But after reading Go Ramen, I figured out they're really different after all.

I invited my boyfriend along with my search for authentic Japanese ramen here in Manila. I could try the one at Teriyaki boy but, then again it wasn't authentic enough for me. I remembered seeing a string of Ramen shops in Pasay near the Mall of Asia (MoA). I wanted to try that out but my boyfriend insisted we go to MoA instead. Okay fine... (bummer)


When we got to MoA we spotted Kimono Ken, a restaurant offering authentic Japanese dishes. It's been in the country for five years now and its first branch can be found in Blue Wave. It also has other branches located in Shangri-la Makati, The Podium, and in Quezon City. Anyway, we tried it out since I saw they had ramen in their menu.

The place was cozy, the staff were quite nice too. We find a table right away and were seated immediately. I ordered Shoyu Ramen while my boyfriend had Negi ramen. We also had gyoza and Coffee Jelly ice cream.

SHOYU RAMEN

Shoyu ramen is soy sauce-based ramen soup characterized by its clear broth. The broth is based on chicken and vegetable stock added with a bit of soy sauce to give it a distinct tangy taste. It's garnished with Naruto (fish cakes), Chasyu (sliced pork), Nori (seaweed), egg and vegetables. To be honest, I couldn't taste chicken in the soup but shrimps! The soup was filling and the noodles firm. It was quite a big bowl and I got so full halfway already.

NEGI RAMEN

Next up, we have the Negi ramen my boyfriend ordered. He wanted something spicy so I suggested he try this since the menu sated it was a spicy ramen. The soup was a bit peppery in taste. I don't like spicy soups but I tried it out since it looks so delish. It wasn't really super spicy though. Ivan liked it and ate with gusto. He hated the negi though (Welsh onion).

GYOZA

What is ramen without Gyoza? So we ordered gyoza to eat along with our bowls or ramen. Gyoza are Japanese dumplings and they're filled with pork and cabbages. We both loved it!

and lastly, what is a good meal without dessert? We simply couldn't forget that right? Boyfie and I ordered coffee jelly to take out any meaty ramen aftertaste.

COFFEE JELLY

So what's my verdict on Kimono Ken? Well, overall, I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. The service, the ambiance was nice. The food was great and delish and were given in generous proportions. However, I still feel like there's something missing. Maybe I should give those ramen shops I've seen in Pasay a try so I could do some comparisons. Will I come back again? A big YES to that! :)