japan

Ramen is almost synonymous with rain, cold weather and comfort. There is nothing more satisfying than a hot bowl of ramen on a cold winter’s day, or in this case, a breezy and slightly chilly summer afternoon.

Excitement was building as the construction for Genkotsu Ramen was underway and as soon as it was open, we quickly ventured over and lined up with the quickly growing crowd of diners. The restaurant itself was a lot smaller thank anticipated, seating about 20 people at once. Despite that, the table was still quite spacious to fit all the food (which of course is the most important thing). The menu offered a large range of ramen, making the decision quite hard as everything sounded absolutely delicious.

The first thing we decided on was the spicy gyoza which was delicious. A little moist on the inside and slightly charred and crispy on the outside. The gyoza itself wasn’t overly spicy, but had enough of a hint to give it an extra zing on the taste buds.

The kaarage was flavoursome and succulent, with a slight crisp which melted in the mouth. The sauce worked beautifully with the kaarage, adding just the perfect tang and creaminess.

With nine different types of ramen, it was hard trying to decide what we would order first (although we knew we would be back again). The Gyokai Tonkotsu, a seafood flavoured soup was the first pick. The ramen was topped with charshu, boiled egg, bamboo shoots, dried seaweed and shallot. The first mouthful of the soup ended up tasting quite fishy, which was a let down. After mixing everything together, the fishy taste was still there. However, a friend had ordered the same ramen but that fishy taste was barely present. This however could be due to being newly open and not having everything to perfection just yet.

As a caution to those that don’t fare to well with spicy meals, avoid the Karamen. The extremely spicy chilli flavoured broth definitely got the sweat dripping. Topped with pork chashu, shallots and a boiled egg, the ramen was definitely delicious and flavoursome if you could brave through the spices.

With our second visit to Genkotsu Ramen, we decided to try out more simpler flavours. The Black Garlic ramen with soy sauce was mouth watering and tantalising on the taste buds. The garlic oil, pork chat, boiled eggs, bamboo shoots and dried seaweed worked so well together without any particular ingredient being overpowering. A definite must try if you can’t decide on what to order and don’t mind trying something a little different.

With a slightly salted pork broth and pork chashu, the Shio Tonkotsu is the perfect ramen for those who are looking for a simple ramen with all the flavours but without the frills. With this ramen, you can add your own chilli powder and sesame to taste without altering the original flavours.

With such a flavoursome broth, Genkotsu Ramen is the perfect restaurant to taste authentic ramen. The only fault would be that the pork chashu was cut quite thick and didn’t tie in as seamlessly with the noodles, but that however is a personal preference. The broth however is spot on, making sure you have slurped up every last drop before leaving with an extremely full belly.

In love and food,

Vivi

If a single word was used to describe Japan, it would be the word ‘mesmerising’ and all the synonyms that belong to it.

The people were charming, the landscape was captivating, the culture was enchanting and the food (*inserts a big sigh of love*) the food was absolutely spellbinding.

My love affair with Dōtonbori started as soon as I caught a glimpse of the bright lights and the whiff of food circulating from the street vendors. Time slowed down, but my heartbeat quicken as I wandered from store to store, enamoured by all the food on the menus. The hardest decisions were, what was I going to eat and how was I going to fit it all in.

From takoyaki to ramen, this is a sample of my food journey through Dōtonbori in Osaka.