“Crazy Rich Ramen” was going to be the name of my review of Ushio if I ever get to revisit it, but I’m just not sure if my arteries can take it again.
The owner of Ushio had trained to be a French chef who later turned his attention to noodles, but the legacy of his training is evident in his ramen, notably the
toripaitan. The base version of this ramen features a rich paitan broth mixed with cream, and with broccoli, fried onions (and bacon?) bits in the broth. But there’s an extensive à là carte menu, which is where things get really interesting (and expensive). To get the full novelty effect, I went with garlic butter, a poached egg (his term; it’s just an
onsen tamago), the pork-wrapped asparagus, and the duck chashu. The result is one of the most unique bowls I can recall seeing in a ramen shop.
But it’s not all looks, because the ramen’s flavors were equal to the bowl’s appearance. The toripaitan was creamy, almost like a potage, and benefited from the the garlic butter and fried onion adding new dimensions to the broth. Upon later reflection, the amount of garlic butter could’ve been rolled back a tad. The noodles were made in-house, with a free 50g upgrade (to 200g). I thought they were above average: cooked al dente and with less
kansui in them than other bowls, possibly so as to not interfere with the broth. The tender duck chashu was a real highlight: it was smoked and topped with garlic butter glaze. The pork-wrapped asparagus was well-seasoned and peppery, with its taste living up to its unique look. It was rare to see a poached egg in a bowl of ramen, but in the case of such a rich paitan broth, I thought it actually worked better than an ajitama would have. Finally, though I didn’t get the pork chashu as it was the most “ordinary” topping, my friend who did get it said it was quite well done.
Any assessment of this bowl will immediately cite how unique it looks and its use of novel ingredients, but it’s clear after eating it that these different flavors were thoughtfully combined. After making RamenDB list as the #5 toripaitan bowl in the country in 2013, Ushio returned in 2018 to #3. It’s a bowl I would strongly recommend to others, but it’s not one that I think I could have more than once a year, it was that rich.
On an accessibility/sightseeing note, Ushio’s Awajicho neighborhood is lightly trafficked at night and especially during weekend evenings, so there won’t be much of a line. And this neighborhood, south of the Kanda river and a bit west of the well-trafficked Akihabara area, offers a few interesting sites at night, including the stunning Holy Resurrection Cathedral lit up at night. Indulging in a contemplative walk in this area at night is well worth it, especially considering all the calories one has to work off after eating this bowl.
Q Factor: None (Weekend 1820)
Sense: Visiting Awajicho on a rainy Saturday night with noone out in the neighborhood is a bit eerie.
Price: Chicken Paitan Ramen (¥870), Garlic Butter (¥100), Poached Egg (¥100), Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus (¥200), Duck Chashu (¥200),
麺巧 潮 (Mentaku Ushio)
〒101-0063 東京都千代田区神田淡路町2-4-4 アール神田淡路町地下1階
Awajicho Station, Shin-Ochanomizu Station (Marunouchi, Chioyoda Lines, JR Chuo-Rapid, Chuo-Sobu Lines)
