I’m on a special mission. Ichiran has a place in my heart. But what if there is something better? Lets find out!
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[Music] let’s talk Ramen as I mentioned a couple of times on my channel before I’m a big fan of Japanese ramen especially Hakata style tonot surami and that love comes from my first time I visit Japan and ichiran was the trigger for it I went to ichan two times the last time we would been to Japan but to be fair we also tried other Ramen restaurants which weren’t as good in my opinion um but each was the only chain we tried and since then I was hooked on tonkotsu style raming but the internet apparently has some sort of hate to ichiran because a lot of content creators Japan content creators or Tik tokers or whatever always call ichiran Mid for some reason so it’s not apparently not that good which I’m very confused of um yesterday we we went by um one ichiran branch the what there was in our location like near near from our location where we’re staying and people were were lining up outside and not only tourists there were locals lining outside of ichan which I think to myself if locals like stay in line for a for a chain restaurant it can’t be that bad so today we are we are on a mission I picked out five restaurants uh in total um that we will try out one of them will be the ichun headquarters because where else to try Japan if not in the capital of Hakata style tonot ramit in fuka and then we will see I want to know if my love for each run still stands maybe I changed over the past years I don’t know um or is it as good as I remember it and then we will go on a mission to find like something better if there is a couple of like Standalone restaurants which are not big chains so yeah let’s go for our ramen Journey [Music] he [Music] w so the first the first stop our Baseline of tonkotsu Hakata style tonkotsu Ram is done and the Baseline is really high like I my head C process while so why is so many people say that ishan is overrated because I think it’s properly rated and um it was delicious you have I’m let let me try to describe ichan Ramen the broth is Rich but not kind of but but but not too heavy it doesn’t stay in your stomach too much the portion size what was was was was good I’m I’m not like full to till I can’t walk but I’m maybe around 80 to 90% full the noodles were amazing I like the thin noodles um the seasoning was was top-notch the chashu even though kind of thin but that’s but but that’s what I specifically like a lightly thinner chashu which was very tender which was not too fatty not too chewy there was there’s there’s nothing I can say that is negative nothing so I I wonder what else we what what kind what other kind of um Ramen rests we will find or like I know which one we will go to but what they can deliver because I I like like I said before I I don’t understand why people say like other content creators especially that ichiran is overrated in mid because I think it’s it’s it tastes amazing but that’s our Baseline for today because our mission is to find some find a restaurant a store that has better tonot suram than ichiran which is like the whole point and I’m looking forward to it because if we can find something better that’s that’s good for everyone especially for me so let’s see let’s go to the next one [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so we are back in the hotel for a for a quick break so I just want to give you a quick review about the last Ramen Shop we went to and I have to say it is definitely a local a local shop so it it was very small there were locals there and um let’s talk about the broth the broth was very thick it was almost like you put cream in there that’s how thick it was although the flavor was nice but it was um like a little bit too how do I say it a little bit too onedimensional it was good so it wasn’t bad but it was missing something uh the noodles were were fine we’re okay the chashu was a little bit too thick and too fatty for me which made it not as tender as it could be and um yeah overall I would I would rate it rate it like a little bit lower than ichiran so at the current point after the second restaurant ichan is still on top but we have a couple a couple left so um let’s see what the next can offer so it’s the end of the night and we and unfortunately we didn’t make it to the third ramen restaurant that we wanted to because uh we went to the same isaka that we went yesterday and um we just spent most of our time there so so if I sound kind of weird um don’t worry it’s because I drank a little bit of alcohol of course because that’s what you do in in an isaka in Japan but we spoke to one of the waitresses and she gave us a recommendation for a Ramen spot that she likes very much and we will try that out tomorrow so we can continue our ramen Journey or what can beat ichiran Ramen so other than that we have been to another second Second Street um branch that that was a little bit on the out outskirts of Fukuoka and I bought um a pair of pants that are quite nice for like1 or something so a nice basic pants and we decided to go tomorrow again to the same isaka because we sort of made friends with them and the drinks are kind of cheap the the food is is quite nice so Tommy Maru in Fukuoka is the place to go if you are like in Fukuoka in anytime go to that isaka it is fun drinks are good drinks are cheap food is good you have you will have a nice time and if you want to have some sort of activity around the area there’s a Tio there’s a gigo and there’s a round one so there is enough opportunity to spend your time around this area so that’s it for today and we will continue our ramen Journey tomorrow good morning today is the second part of our ramen tour we have a couple of restaurants on our list we get out out of the hotel a little bit earlier today so we should get a couple of ramen into and don’t worry I look a little bit younger because that’s what Japan does to you and um yeah let’s let’s go eat [Music] so we are back in the hotel for a short toil Break um so let’s review the last ramen restaurant I I will show the name right here I forgot how it how it was called but holy [ __ ] that’s the first Ramen Shop um I’ve been to that gives each run R for his money like the broth was nice the noodles were nice the chashu was amazing the egg was better than at ich because ich you just get a plain egg you have have to peel it yourself in this shop they used like marinated eggs which is a big plus um at the table you have a lot of condiments you have you have uh um chili sesame oil you have extra garlic you have sesame seeds you have ginger and yeah at first I thought the soup was was okay until I put the garlic in and that’s what I do at each run as well I always put some garlic in with with my order and that made the soup like extremely extremely delicious so I wouldn’t say that that one is better than the other I think right now they are like on par with each other um yeah but I’m surprised I mean this AR Ramen Shop gets like the the gets the bonus of um like not being a big chain like being a little bit more a little bit more local there were a lot of people waiting in line because we came right at dinner time at lunchtime I’m sorry and um overall great experience and instead of water you get uh green tea which is also a big plus so Ramen wise like like like this the product itself is pretty much on the same level as each round for me but the overall shop experience is even a tiny bit better I would say so I’m excited to see what else or what experience we will have with the next Ramen Shop that we will go to so let’s get some something to eat [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] what is up guys present day Ray here um the review for the last um ramen restaurant that’s called something something Gaga um unfortunately had no sound that’s why I have to record it right now in post production so um what can I say about this Ramen place this place had probably one of the most delicate tonkotsu Ramen I’ve ever had the noodles are very fine very thin um the chashu also was very thin and very melty so overall if you want to have a a more delicate more almost fine dining tonkotsu Ram experience and you’re in Fukuoka go to this place and I have to say looking back at it like um right now this bowl of ramen was like exceptional so it was very very very good and they also have um small portion sizes so if you want to make sort of a Ramen tour just like I did um small portion sizes are your Savor because you can try multiple um restaurants out in one day and yeah so um that’s the review for the for the place and also it was very stylish very very well uh um decorated it was a very beautiful place it was a little bit hidden um behind another building um but overall very nice place very um friendly um employees so yeah definitely check this place out if you are in Fukuoka Japan [Music] quick review about the last Ramen Shop Hakata ISO in nakasu so I couldn’t film much there because it was very fast you had to go in there eat and get the [ __ ] out um we were in line before the store opened so um yeah it’s a quite popular shop I think this bowl of ramen is um quite polarizing because I think this is like from my feeling I don’t know 100% um correct but from my feeling um this could be the most traditional um Hakata style tonot Sur Ramen um I might be wrong here but like for my taste personally I know everything here is uh subjective a couple of points the broth was very rich very fatty and very heavy like because and like it was almost I I don’t want to say it because I don’t want to want to sound mean but that’s the closest word I I can find here it tasted almost kind of dirty in a way um so very Porky it was was it had a like like a slight stench to it it was it was subjectively in my opinion not the best broth the noodles were fine the chashu was okay and the egg was also all right um I had to put a little bit of garlic um that’s a funny thing they had um like complete garlic clothes there with a garlic press that you could put into your soup um which was fine but overall like in my opinion from the restaurants we tried in those two days this is probably like I would say on the last place so just to finish the this this whole Ramen Journey Let’s uh finish this off starting from the last place we have the store I just talked about the Hakata ISO unfortunately it was not to my taste I know or I have a feeling why some people might like it and it felt like a very traditional way the one that comes after that was the store we went yesterday I forgot how it how how it was called where we had this this really white soup this goes um like on the second to last at at spot number three we have um we have the store which is called something Gaga uh I I can’t remember the names because the names are kind of complicated um but the gager place is on is on Place three you know what let’s put it as at place number two because the first place are shared be between ichun and the other place that we have been the first today I don’t know what it is about ichan that I love so much um I know taste is always subjective and for some reason ichon fits my taste especially but the other place that we went to um the first today was very good was very good like everything was fine just the egg was a tiny bit better than ichun that’s why I placed them both at the same at the same place you know what screw it ichan is the second place and the other place that we went today was is in the first place that is the the only place that is better than ichiran because of several reasons taste-wise they pretty much the same if you put Garlic in the soup then they are the same the egg was better and the atmosphere had a little bit more of a like real Japanese restaurant and not some sort of chain restaurant Vibe that’s why ichiran is placed at number two so we kind of fulfilled our mission to find a restaurant a ramen restaurant that beats ichiran yet why I’m doing this here there are so many Japan content creators who like really bash on ichon for whatever reason I think from a from a from from a from a fla flavor standpoint ichon is very good the fact that you have a lot of customization specifically to your taste makes a good restaurant in general I know some people just hate on the fact that ichon is a chain even though the soup might be in industrially produced in some way but nonetheless I think the the soup and everything is kind of engineered to taste in a way you have a consistent good flavor like like all the time and that’s also a sign of quality in my opinion many other restaurants especially from those who I know like in Germany the the quality can vary slightly from uh day by day um that’s why I think ichiran is not m ichiran is a very good and tasting Ramen I know for some people it’s not their taste and I know probably some content creators and people bash on it just for the reason because it is a chain it is sort of industrially St um uh standardized or for whatever reason but I think each run deserves a good place because it tastes very good in my opinion I but the other place I will put I will put the name somewhere here is slightly better slightly better because with the atmosphere and the Egg it’s that simple so yeah that is our aren journey we found a place that is better than ichan and I’m glad I found it and just a quick little note because most of the time content creators on the internet say there are so many other restaurants in Tokyo if if you visit Tokyo don’t go to ichan or whatever if you compare ramen restaurants make sure to compare the same kind of ramen in general if you’re comparing foods make sure it’s the same thing you can’t compare it to kotu Ramen to a shya Ramen or to a sh Ramen that just doesn’t make any sense you wouldn’t compare the uh the spaghetti bolognese from one Italian restaurant to the Spaghetti Caro from another restaurant that doesn’t make any sense and that’s what many content creators do and that’s what I stand against because that is just that is just the most wrong thing you can do in food reviews in general you wouldn’t go to One supermarket and Compare the Apple to the pairs of another Supermarket that doesn’t make any sense and most content creators on the internet do exactly that when it comes to Ramen in Japan they say yeah go to there are many other um ramen restaurants in Tokyo whatever yes but how many Hakata style tonkotsu ramen places are there that are better than each R and that narrows down the selection I I think quite significantly even though I didn’t try everything but just make sure if you compare ramen restaurants make sure that they have the same style of product because as I said it doesn’t make sense to compare a to Ramen place to a showyou or a sh Ramen place it doesn’t make any sense may that be my last word on the topic of ichiran um that’s just of course my opinion according to my taste I know many people will have a different opinion and I’m totally fine with that so maybe you have some ideas if you come to fukoka try the restaurants I try today and make your own opinion and I see you in the next video bye-bye [Music]