It’s super, it comes in a bowl, it’s Ippudo Ramen!

R eally tasty food from Japan,

A vailable almost everywhere,

M eaty broth that will tantalize your taste buds,

E veryone can afford it, and it’s

N ot the same as the dried stuff you had as a kid!

When most of us think about ramen the first thing that comes to mind is the dried fast food version available in most supermarkets, even those in Japan, but the difference between the compressed dried ramen squares and ‘real’ ramen is as vast as the ocean separating Japan from the United States.

Ramen was brought to Japan from China over 300 years ago and has been personalized and perfected by chefs across Japan.  Shigemi Kawahara perfected his version of ramen in Fukuoka, specifically Hakata, and it has become famous throughout Japan, so much so that he earned the title of Ramen King  in 2005 when he was named Japan’s top Ramen Chef.

Shigemi Kawahara’s created Ippudo Ramen to share his particular brand of ramen with Japan.  Ippudo Ramen restaurants feature casual, family style dining with an open kitchen and employees that are cheerful, very enthusiastic and helpful.

Ippodo Ramen serves Hakata Style Ramen in a rich and hearty home made broth served with noodles that can be ordered firm, medium or soft.  Topped with a generous slice of yakibuta (roast pork) and personalized with your choice of toppings served ala carte at your table.

Combination meals include savory bite-sized gyoza or rice.  Additional noodles can be ordered as can other sides like fried or steamed rice.  My favorite bowl of ramen is the traditional Shiromaru Mote-aji and my husband always orders the Kiwami Shin-aji.  Click the image below to see a larger version of the Ippudo Ramen Menu.

Ippudo Ramen in Chiba (closest to my home) is not as well know as Ippudo in Ebisu and keeps much shorter hours.  It’s only open for lunch in Chiba (11AM -3PM) while the Ebisu branch stays open until 4AM.   With over 30 locations around Japan (hover over the Kanji on the map to see the area name) there is one bound to be one near you!  If you aren’t in Japan be sure to check out Ippudo New York to get yourself a super bowl of Japanese ramen.

This is my entry into this month’s Japan Blog Matsuri, hosted by Deas at Rocking in Hakata.

Image Credit:  Personal Collection & Flickr, best ramen in town!

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