Ippudo

I am literally in pyjamas and socks as I am writing this blog post on this cold, rainy night, and all I can think about is how much I just want to cuddle in bed with a big bowl of ramen.

My favorite time of the year is hands down December to February because that's when we have colder weather here in the Philippines. So recently, my boyfriend Martin and I decided to make the most of the chilly weather to have some ramen at Ippudo.

When we got to Ippudo, there was a long cue of people waiting to be seated so I suggest that you don't go there hungry, like we did. Trust me, seeing people slurping their noodles while I was cold starving was torture.

By the time we got in, I seriously needed to get something in my stomach so we started with their famous pork bun. Let me tell you, it is one of the softest, tastiest things you will ever put in your mouth. The bun is so light and soft that it practically collapses in your mouth when you eat it. The pork is tender and has a sweet, salty glaze to it which somehow reminds me of Christmas ham. It was so good that we wanted to order more but we figured we better save some room for the ramen (if only I had a bigger stomach).

Since it was our first time there, I ordered the Shiromaru Motoaji which is their original tonkotsu broth served with ultra-thin noodles, pork loin, bean sprouts, kikurage and spring onions. The broth was creamy and delicate. To be honest, I was surprised by how subtle the flavors were because I usually think of ramen as having a very rich broth. 

Martin had the Karaka-men which has the same original tonkotsu broth but is served with wavy noodles instead. Special spicy minced meat, miso paste and fragrant garlic oil are added for an added kick. Now, I don't want to compare but after tasting other ramens which are also pumped up with spices, I find that this ramen isn't as spicy as the others.

However, I think it is precisely this careful balance of flavors that has made Ipuddo's ramen so universally paletteable hence, making it one of the most famous ramen restaurants in the world. If you want to explore the world of ramen, Ippudo is a good introduction to how an authentic bowl of ramen should really taste like.