- Official website: http://www.raumen.co.jp/ramen/
- Japan Guide: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3202.html
The museum underground….fake sky!
I still have no idea where I’m going…
Pay for your ramen from the vending machine outside! All done before sitting down…so brilliantly Japanese! Some buttons have pictures…some don’t! Take your best guess and see what gets cooked up for you! =)
We visited two of the ramen restaurants…here’s what we got:
Toride area /Tokyo prefecture
- category: tonkotsu (豚骨, “pork bone”). Cloudy white colored broth made by boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat for many hours!
- basic seasoning: soy sauce
- ingredients: pork
Shinasobaya area / Kanagawa prefecture
- category: shoyu (soy sauce) – clear brown broth, chicken or vegetable based.
- basic seasoning: soy sauce
- ingredients: chicken, seafood, pork, ginger, garlic
Hungry Cactus’ Verdict: B-
It’s hard to actually consider the Raumen Museum a museum, because it’s really more like a restaurant sampler than anything else. And mind you, at ~$3 entrance fee and ~$8/ramen, things can really add up quickly! (Granted, they have smaller sampler bowls, but ~$6 makes it a bad value).
As for taste — their no frills ramens were neither amazing nor horrible. It might be that I just haven’t tried the ‘better’ ones yet, but understand you can only stuff yourself with 2~3 bowls in a visit!
So far, ramen is still ramen to me. Nothing too special. But if I were to pick my favorite, it would have to be the tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen. I like the complexity and harmony of the flavors and textures.
Overall, the museum wasn’t that interesting. You’d probably enjoy an authentic and specialized ramen restaurant instead.