When you see a long queue outside a restaurant, it is quite un-Singaporean to ignore the queue and walk away. It will almost be a crime to ignore the queue when it is just right next to my hotel
On the first night we arrived in Osaka, we noticed this long line at this hole-in-the-wall ramen restaurant and made a note to come back another night. We returned on the 2nd night at around 10 pm and joined the queue, which had about 10 groups in front of us. It took us close to an hour to get to the door of the restaurant
We were passed the menu while waiting in line, and they had quite a variety of ramen to choose from. The signature is their Kyushu-style char siew ramen in pork bone broth, which comes in the non-spicy, spicy and black garlic versions. They also had the special tomato-based ramen in both spicy and non-spicy versions. For lovers of soy-based noodles, they also have that on the menu
The restaurant is really quite small and has 8 counter seats, a 2-seater table and another 4-seater table available for customers at any one time. The staff work pretty fast, so the moment the staff sit down, the food gets served in less than 10 minutes
I ordered the black garlic char siu ramen, which came with 4 pieces of char siu, a piece of seaweed, bamboo shoots, black fungus and an onsen egg. The soup was very fragrant with a strong smell of sesame and garlic and a small dash of chilli oil. The noodles were bouncy and chewy, which paired well with the thick and flavourful soup. The char siu was thick and very flavourful with strong braised flavours. It was a thick bowl of soup which leaves a layer of satisfactory oil on your lips as you slurp up all the soup with the noodles
We also had a side of gyoza, which also came with a flat, crispy bottom. The gyozas were quite juicy and flavourful, but the highlight was definitely the ramen, as I kept going back to my bowl of ramen and leaving out the gyoza
Overall, this is a hidden gem for ramen, and the fact that it was just next to my hotel was a bonus. We wanted to have a few more meals here for the next few days, as the soup really leaves an addictive aftertaste in my brain and taste buds
Address: Japan, 〒542-0071 Osaka, Chuo Ward, Dotonbori, 2 Chome−2−17 忠兵衛ビル 1f
Opening hours: 11 am to 2 am
Bear Travels . Bear Eats . Bear Cooks 