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I have never yet been to Japan, but whenever I visit a big city, I try a ramen shop. To be honest, so far it has been a let down. IDK, I guess maybe I'm expecti

I have never yet been to Japan, but whenever I visit a big city, I try a ramen shop. To be honest, so far it has been a let down. IDK, I guess maybe I'm expecting too much from a bowl of soup, with noodles and condiments. As a form factor, it's genius. But for the price that it is usually sold at in western cities, it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I feel like it has been a bit too overhyped for what it is. BTW, you can also replicate the form factor using western cooking ingredients/traditions and it still works pretty well.

emsy 2mo ago
That’s true in my experience, but Ramen in Japan is actually considerably better. The only good Ramen I ever had in Europe was in Düsseldorf but the owner imports pork from Japan.
- sokoloff 2mo ago
  There’s a surprisingly robust Asian restaurant scene within a few blocks of the train station there. I try to eat there every time I visit Drupa.
- jedschmidt 2mo ago
  agreed. i think the economics of ramen make less sense outside of japan, where it’s more expensive and turnaround is slower because folks linger longer (often to amortize the cost of waiting to get seated in the first place).
  - asyx 2mo ago
    In Düsseldorf that’s not the case. The Japanese restaurant are very distinctly less chill than other restaurants. Like, where you’d usually spend 3 hours in a normal restaurant, it is kinda expected that you eat and leave a Ramen shop within an hour.
    - mc32 2mo ago
      Isn’t ramen in Japan fast-food? Of the people who dine-in, few people would stay at a McDonalds an hour to “dine”. It’s go in order, eat and get out. And, like burgers you do have high end joints too. Also, like burgers ramen isn’t considered “healthy” food. High sodium, high fat, and somewhat low in nutrients. It’s basically fast-food.
      - asyx 2mo ago
        I don’t think an hour at McDonald’s is that crazy either though.
        mc32 2mo ago
        I’m guessing back in the late sixties to early seventies going to McDonalds could have been a special night out and it could have been a place people stayed an hour. Some people may still linger in a McDonalds for an hour but I’d have think that’d be an exception. They’re loud, crowded and the seats are not entirely made for comfort. It’s not a place that strikes the imagination with, oh, there’s a place we can go eat and relax at.
        asyx 2mo ago
        They’re not that bad in Germany. The ramen places are actually more noisy.
        toast0 2mo ago
        Lots of McDonalds locations have signs indicating lingering past 30 minutes is loitering.
      - exiguus 2mo ago
        Personally, its my Japanese Pizza. Both ramen and pizza have historical roots as affordable, filling meals for the working class and poor communities. If you avoid the pork, it becomes less fast-food-ish.
    - shermantanktop 2mo ago
- nixass 2mo ago
  Düsselsorf is actually Japanese expats/migrants hotspot in Germany. Had great Japanese foos there on multiple occasions
  - scns 2mo ago
    Highest japanese population outside of Japan IIRC.
    - guessmyname 2mo ago
      Düsseldorf, Germany, is home to Europe’s third-largest Japanese community [1] after London and Paris, featuring roughly 15,000 Japanese residents and hundreds of businesses. Brazil has the largest ethnic Japanese population outside of Japan, with an estimated 2 million people of Japanese descent. Most of these individuals live in the state and city of São Paulo, which features the famous Japanese neighborhood of Liberdade [2][3]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_community_of_Düsseldorf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_community_of_Düsseldo... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberdade_%28district_of_São_Paulo%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberdade_%28district_of_São_P... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora
- asyx 2mo ago
  Happy you enjoyed the ramen in my home city!
- riedel 2mo ago
  I was actually surprised by the selection of cities in the OP until I learned that the author is the director of AI at der Spiegel. Related to the other comments on the 3D: maybe this can evolve to some gaussian splatting/diffusion world model thing...
- koziserek 2mo ago
  Vegan ramen in Uki Green in Warsaw..! Mandatory for me whenever visiting this country.
  - m4rtink 2mo ago
    Can also recommend Ramen Brno in Brno, Czech Republic. :)
brailsafe 2mo ago
I don't think this is unique to Ramen at all. Burgers should not cost $20-30 for some limp smooshed beef, a burrito should also not be $15-20, and tacos should sure as hell not be $3-5 per tiny taco. It's all bullshit; none of that food is worth that money. But... I suspect it costs that much because people pay that much, and because the cost of every other aspect of service puts pressure on the restaurants to try to push the ceiling of what it's worth. As a ramen lover, I try to take advantage of value oriented cheaper pricing when it's available. As a relatively tall active man, I need to pregame restaurants with something more cost effective, and even still need to order 1.5 to 2x what everyone else does in order to feel satiated. (~82kg, 192cm) At least ramen takes some time to eat. When I go into a standard burger place nowadays, it takes me literally 20 seconds sometimes to finish a $20+ burger, and then I'm just sitting there waiting for people to delicately nibble their way through what is a deeply overrated culinary experience, in many cases. Like c'mon, give me some damn food, I'll go get it myself.
- Hendrikto 2mo ago
  > it takes me literally 20 seconds sometimes to finish a $20+ burger, and then I'm just sitting there waiting for people to delicately nibble their way through Honestly, that sounds like a you problem. Maybe try eating instead of guzzling. You may even find time to enjoy the food.
  - brailsafe 2mo ago
    > Honestly, that sounds like a you problem. It is a me problem, in the sense that I have eyes and tastebuds; the Emperor has no clothes and tastes no better than many other people. The food is mid and costs double what it should. I usually find that Ramen is not mid but does cost twice as much as it should.
- linguae 2mo ago
  I don’t know where you live, but in the Bay Area prices have exploded since COVID. I remember a decade ago when it was still possible to get a super burrito for under $10; in fact, the price was $7.75 for a carne asada super burrito at El Farolito in San Francisco. A burger was under $10, a deli sandwich was about $8-9, and tacos were around $1.50 at Taco Bell and no more than $3 at a proper taqueria. The prices weren’t cheap, but they never felt bank-breaking. Unfortunately prices have skyrocketed since COVID. Unfortunately my income hasn’t matched; I made the individually fulfilling but poor financial decision of pursuing a research career and not working for OpenAI/Anthropic/FAANG/NVIDIA. Thus, two years ago I quit eating out in the Bay Area, except when socializing. It’s sad making six figures and feeling priced out of dining out, just like I’m priced out of housing and RAM since I can’t compete with Big Tech. I now cook, which I guess is healthier but is also time-consuming. Japan, on the other hand, is heaven for those with US dollars. A bowl of ramen is around ¥1,100 here (I’m here on a research visit), and they generally taste amazing! Even a Big Mac meal from McDonald’s is far cheaper than in the Bay Area.
plaguuuuuu 2mo ago
It's almost like people have different taste in food! It's also kind of a wild take "I have nearly zero experience in <thing from other culture> and I don't understand why people from that culture enjoy it" Re price and prep First, it's quite difficult to make. Try it, lol.. but by your admission you haven't had anything decent. Second - in Japan, Ramen is mostly pretty cheap, a lot of places have a vending machine where you pay for a bowl and get a ticket with an order number. It's really not a fancy or pricey experience unless you're somewhere upmarket.
embedding-shape 2mo ago
> But for the price that it is usually sold at in western cities What are those prices specifically? In Barcelona (one of those western cities, imo) at a good ramen place, you get Gyozas for ~5 EUR, and a nice ramen for ~12-14 EUR, add a drink and you end up with ~20 EUR per person, which strikes me as relatively affordable for eating out, but maybe the metropolitan prices have biased me over time. Is this expensive/cheap compared to the other cities you've tried ramen in? > BTW, you can also replicate the form factor using western cooking ingredients/traditions and it still works pretty well. Isn't that just a stew at that point? How is it still ramen if you switch out all the ingredients and the broth that makes ramen ramen?
- postexitus 2mo ago
  Nice Ramen sold at 14 EUR are those prices. In Japan, you can have a nice hinge quality bowl of Ramen for around 7-8 EUR.
  - embedding-shape 2mo ago
    Besides fast food, isn't it always like that though? Of course Japanese food is cheaper in Japan, but I bet Spanish food is more expensive there than in Spain? Or Peruvian food being a lot more expensive in Europe compared to in Peru itself, it kind of makes sense.
    - riffraff 2mo ago
      yes, that is the case. But I think the point is that paying 7€ makes it a pretty good deal, at 14€ for "a bowl of soup" it becomes a meh experience. Similarly, as an Italian abroad, I can get a decent pizza margherita in Budapest, but it costs 12 euros and I get upset every time, you shouldn't spend that much for a bit of dough and mozzarella :)
      - OJFord 2mo ago
        Cries in London
postexitus 2mo ago
That's why you should try it in Japan.
_0ffh 2mo ago
I've been to Japan - the first cheap buy-and-nuke-at-home ramen from the konbini around the corner I ate there completely blew me away (†)! It was decisively better than what I would realistically expect to get in a restaurant in the west. I don't know how they do it, but I learned never to underestimate the Japanese people’s dedication to their craft. (†) For the curious, it was chāshū ramen. Edit: To avoid confusion, I do not mean instant ramen, but a plastic bowl of chilled, pre-prepared take away ramen soup.
- dzhiurgis 2mo ago
  That impressed me too, but I brush it off to hunger and other biases. > chāshū ramen. Chashu is just name for pork theh put in soup. Main charecterization is type of broth - tonkotsu is the hardest to pull off as it requires 8 hours of boiling bones (but I’ve seen ready made broth to buy so I suspect most shops use that). Miso one is pretty trivial to make at home. I guess not many know this but one type of tare (condiment you put in ramen) is literally charred garlic (30 minutes in oil or so, then blend it). Once you learn this you’ll always spot it (typically in tonkotsu). As for western shops I agree they are mostly meh, some very much so. Even decent ones you are more of a buying Japanese ramen experience than the food itself lol (I succumb to it myself).
  - hurflmurfl 2mo ago
    I think the boiling is closer to 18 hours. I do a pretty good one in about 5 in my instant pot, though. Another big problem with getting a "ramen" in a random western restaurant is noodles. If they don't make them themselves, the dry shelf stable stuff is just not good (at least what I can find in my EU country). As I was slowly upping my ramen game at home, the single biggest difference in quality was when I started making my own noodles. I suppose if a shop markets itself as a ramen shop, you have a chance of getting a decent bowl. Most of the "asian" or even "japanese" restaurants in my city are places where they add cream to tonkotsu to make it white...
  - _0ffh 2mo ago
    I know chashu is the pork, but I don't remember the broth type. Sure it wasn't miso, I think maybe salt or soy sauce type.
makeitdouble 2mo ago
For most foreign dishes you can't just compare the total price to local food. I'm saying that having ordered pizza in Japan, and an actually good one with Buffala for instance will be twice to three times the price you'd pay in Italy. Ramen chains managed by Japanese people are decently good when I tried them in France (Ippudo for instance), it's not that far from what's served in Japan. It costs 1.5x to 2x more, and the default orders will be slightly adapted to the locals (harder noodles and lower grease by default) but that's par for the course. > BTW, you can also replicate the form factor using western cooking ingredients/traditions and it still works pretty well. The toughest part is the sheer amount of time to prepare the soup and dexterity to get good noodles. Spending 8h on the soup with all the ingredients, and repeat I don't know how many times to get to a decent balance is a dedication I don't think I'll ever have to be honest.
- cactusplant7374 2mo ago
  Not everyone can fly to Italy for a pizza to save money! But seriously, pizza in most countries is horrible. When I lived in Ecuador the pizza had some really funky cheese. I'm not sure if you can even call it cheese. That's probably why it is almost impossible to order a plain cheese pizza. They are trying to cover it up with an assortment of vegetables and meats.
- yonaguska 2mo ago
  I've been able get better or equivalent results than most non-japanese ramen places near me by starting with miso paste and fresh noodles from the local h-mart, without the massive amount of work that typically goes into ramen.
- titanomachy 2mo ago
  I'm currently in a coastal American city, and all food is expensive here! You can have a casual lunch or dinner at a ramen shop, a Neapolitan pizzeria, a Thai restaurant, or an American burger spot and you will pay $25-30 per person after tax and tip at each of them. (Assuming you don't drink alcohol, and assuming you avoid both bottom-barrel and upscale places.) There doesn't really seem to be a "cheap local default" option like there would be in Japan, or Portugal. I guess McDonald's sort of fills that niche, but this neighbourhood doesn't have one. The two best "cheap" options near me are both Vietnamese. One nice thing about this is that there's no penalty for experiencing a variety of food.
Hikikomori 2mo ago
Tried many ramen places in Europe and only two were close to good ramen in Japan. Kodawari in Paris and totemo ramen in Stockholm.
StilesCrisis 2mo ago
I had a lousy burger in Japan.
retrochameleon 2mo ago
San Francisco is an example of a place with higher than average Japanese population where you have a chance of getting some really good authentic stuff. I recently ate at a place that caught my eye with chicken katsu curry, and that meal teleported me back to Japan.
- zomglings 2mo ago
  Could you share the restaurant? I maintain a list.
  - retrochameleon 2mo ago
    Curry Hyuga, Burlingame, CA
- bmelton 2mo ago
  Hawaii would be another place (or set of places, depending on how you want to collate)
  - gusgus01 2mo ago
    Oahu has some of the best US ramen I've ever had. Pretty much incomparable to most cities I've lived in, including places like SF and Seattle.
- Anamon 2mo ago
  A Japanese former co-worker of mine once said the best sushi in the world is served in Vancouver BC :)
mark_l_watson 2mo ago
You can buy really good Ramen ingredients online and make your own. If you are not a vegetarian and don’t mind eating pork, you can buy sealed packets containing about 2 or 3 fluid ounces of thick pork bone broth, reduced to a thick liquid. I like a lot of veggies, and buy good noodles. My wife, who I have been married to most of my long life, has never liked vegetables. I make Ramen and she eats her veggies as if they weren’t even in the Ramen. Just a little life hack I thought I would share, it might work with kids also.
ngruhn 2mo ago
Ramen is a great soup. But I haven't been blown away in any shop not even Japan. EXCEPT that random place in Kyoto we went into without plan. I think it's even a franchise. Not an ancient shop with 100 year tradition or something: https://salmonnoodlekyoto.com/ https://salmonnoodlekyoto.com/ I got the "Salmon Dandan Noodles". Good lord that broth. No idea what was in there. It wasn't clear; rather slightly thick and creamy. And the salmon was so tender. I don't even like pork but I also ate that without thinking. Man I still miss that dish.
cedws 2mo ago
Ramen in London is atrocious, not only is it priced as a luxury food (ramen is supposed to be fast and cheap), it's tasteless and often lukewarm. I went on holiday to Spain and found they have a lot of pretty decent Japanese restaurants for some reason.

emsy 2mo ago

That’s true in my experience, but Ramen in Japan is actually considerably better. The only good Ramen I ever had in Europe was in Düsseldorf but the owner imports pork from Japan.

sokoloff 2mo ago
There’s a surprisingly robust Asian restaurant scene within a few blocks of the train station there. I try to eat there every time I visit Drupa.
jedschmidt 2mo ago
agreed. i think the economics of ramen make less sense outside of japan, where it’s more expensive and turnaround is slower because folks linger longer (often to amortize the cost of waiting to get seated in the first place).
- asyx 2mo ago
  In Düsseldorf that’s not the case. The Japanese restaurant are very distinctly less chill than other restaurants. Like, where you’d usually spend 3 hours in a normal restaurant, it is kinda expected that you eat and leave a Ramen shop within an hour.
  - mc32 2mo ago
    Isn’t ramen in Japan fast-food? Of the people who dine-in, few people would stay at a McDonalds an hour to “dine”. It’s go in order, eat and get out. And, like burgers you do have high end joints too. Also, like burgers ramen isn’t considered “healthy” food. High sodium, high fat, and somewhat low in nutrients. It’s basically fast-food.
    - asyx 2mo ago
      I don’t think an hour at McDonald’s is that crazy either though.
      - mc32 2mo ago
        I’m guessing back in the late sixties to early seventies going to McDonalds could have been a special night out and it could have been a place people stayed an hour. Some people may still linger in a McDonalds for an hour but I’d have think that’d be an exception. They’re loud, crowded and the seats are not entirely made for comfort. It’s not a place that strikes the imagination with, oh, there’s a place we can go eat and relax at.
        asyx 2mo ago
        They’re not that bad in Germany. The ramen places are actually more noisy.
      - toast0 2mo ago
        Lots of McDonalds locations have signs indicating lingering past 30 minutes is loitering.
    - exiguus 2mo ago
      Personally, its my Japanese Pizza. Both ramen and pizza have historical roots as affordable, filling meals for the working class and poor communities. If you avoid the pork, it becomes less fast-food-ish.
  - shermantanktop 2mo ago
nixass 2mo ago
Düsselsorf is actually Japanese expats/migrants hotspot in Germany. Had great Japanese foos there on multiple occasions
- scns 2mo ago
  Highest japanese population outside of Japan IIRC.
  - guessmyname 2mo ago
    Düsseldorf, Germany, is home to Europe’s third-largest Japanese community [1] after London and Paris, featuring roughly 15,000 Japanese residents and hundreds of businesses. Brazil has the largest ethnic Japanese population outside of Japan, with an estimated 2 million people of Japanese descent. Most of these individuals live in the state and city of São Paulo, which features the famous Japanese neighborhood of Liberdade [2][3]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_community_of_Düsseldorf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_community_of_Düsseldo... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberdade_%28district_of_São_Paulo%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberdade_%28district_of_São_P... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_diaspora
asyx 2mo ago
Happy you enjoyed the ramen in my home city!
riedel 2mo ago
I was actually surprised by the selection of cities in the OP until I learned that the author is the director of AI at der Spiegel. Related to the other comments on the 3D: maybe this can evolve to some gaussian splatting/diffusion world model thing...
koziserek 2mo ago
Vegan ramen in Uki Green in Warsaw..! Mandatory for me whenever visiting this country.
- m4rtink 2mo ago
  Can also recommend Ramen Brno in Brno, Czech Republic. :)

brailsafe 2mo ago

I don't think this is unique to Ramen at all. Burgers should not cost $20-30 for some limp smooshed beef, a burrito should also not be $15-20, and tacos should sure as hell not be $3-5 per tiny taco. It's all bullshit; none of that food is worth that money. But... I suspect it costs that much because people pay that much, and because the cost of every other aspect of service puts pressure on the restaurants to try to push the ceiling of what it's worth. As a ramen lover, I try to take advantage of value oriented cheaper pricing when it's available. As a relatively tall active man, I need to pregame restaurants with something more cost effective, and even still need to order 1.5 to 2x what everyone else does in order to feel satiated. (~82kg, 192cm) At least ramen takes some time to eat. When I go into a standard burger place nowadays, it takes me literally 20 seconds sometimes to finish a $20+ burger, and then I'm just sitting there waiting for people to delicately nibble their way through what is a deeply overrated culinary experience, in many cases. Like c'mon, give me some damn food, I'll go get it myself.

Hendrikto 2mo ago
> it takes me literally 20 seconds sometimes to finish a $20+ burger, and then I'm just sitting there waiting for people to delicately nibble their way through Honestly, that sounds like a you problem. Maybe try eating instead of guzzling. You may even find time to enjoy the food.
- brailsafe 2mo ago
  > Honestly, that sounds like a you problem. It is a me problem, in the sense that I have eyes and tastebuds; the Emperor has no clothes and tastes no better than many other people. The food is mid and costs double what it should. I usually find that Ramen is not mid but does cost twice as much as it should.
linguae 2mo ago
I don’t know where you live, but in the Bay Area prices have exploded since COVID. I remember a decade ago when it was still possible to get a super burrito for under $10; in fact, the price was $7.75 for a carne asada super burrito at El Farolito in San Francisco. A burger was under $10, a deli sandwich was about $8-9, and tacos were around $1.50 at Taco Bell and no more than $3 at a proper taqueria. The prices weren’t cheap, but they never felt bank-breaking. Unfortunately prices have skyrocketed since COVID. Unfortunately my income hasn’t matched; I made the individually fulfilling but poor financial decision of pursuing a research career and not working for OpenAI/Anthropic/FAANG/NVIDIA. Thus, two years ago I quit eating out in the Bay Area, except when socializing. It’s sad making six figures and feeling priced out of dining out, just like I’m priced out of housing and RAM since I can’t compete with Big Tech. I now cook, which I guess is healthier but is also time-consuming. Japan, on the other hand, is heaven for those with US dollars. A bowl of ramen is around ¥1,100 here (I’m here on a research visit), and they generally taste amazing! Even a Big Mac meal from McDonald’s is far cheaper than in the Bay Area.

plaguuuuuu 2mo ago

It's almost like people have different taste in food! It's also kind of a wild take "I have nearly zero experience in <thing from other culture> and I don't understand why people from that culture enjoy it" Re price and prep First, it's quite difficult to make. Try it, lol.. but by your admission you haven't had anything decent. Second - in Japan, Ramen is mostly pretty cheap, a lot of places have a vending machine where you pay for a bowl and get a ticket with an order number. It's really not a fancy or pricey experience unless you're somewhere upmarket.

embedding-shape 2mo ago

> But for the price that it is usually sold at in western cities What are those prices specifically? In Barcelona (one of those western cities, imo) at a good ramen place, you get Gyozas for ~5 EUR, and a nice ramen for ~12-14 EUR, add a drink and you end up with ~20 EUR per person, which strikes me as relatively affordable for eating out, but maybe the metropolitan prices have biased me over time. Is this expensive/cheap compared to the other cities you've tried ramen in? > BTW, you can also replicate the form factor using western cooking ingredients/traditions and it still works pretty well. Isn't that just a stew at that point? How is it still ramen if you switch out all the ingredients and the broth that makes ramen ramen?

postexitus 2mo ago
Nice Ramen sold at 14 EUR are those prices. In Japan, you can have a nice hinge quality bowl of Ramen for around 7-8 EUR.
- embedding-shape 2mo ago
  Besides fast food, isn't it always like that though? Of course Japanese food is cheaper in Japan, but I bet Spanish food is more expensive there than in Spain? Or Peruvian food being a lot more expensive in Europe compared to in Peru itself, it kind of makes sense.
  - riffraff 2mo ago
    yes, that is the case. But I think the point is that paying 7€ makes it a pretty good deal, at 14€ for "a bowl of soup" it becomes a meh experience. Similarly, as an Italian abroad, I can get a decent pizza margherita in Budapest, but it costs 12 euros and I get upset every time, you shouldn't spend that much for a bit of dough and mozzarella :)
    - OJFord 2mo ago
      Cries in London

postexitus 2mo ago

That's why you should try it in Japan.

_0ffh 2mo ago

I've been to Japan - the first cheap buy-and-nuke-at-home ramen from the konbini around the corner I ate there completely blew me away (†)! It was decisively better than what I would realistically expect to get in a restaurant in the west. I don't know how they do it, but I learned never to underestimate the Japanese people’s dedication to their craft. (†) For the curious, it was chāshū ramen. Edit: To avoid confusion, I do not mean instant ramen, but a plastic bowl of chilled, pre-prepared take away ramen soup.

dzhiurgis 2mo ago
That impressed me too, but I brush it off to hunger and other biases. > chāshū ramen. Chashu is just name for pork theh put in soup. Main charecterization is type of broth - tonkotsu is the hardest to pull off as it requires 8 hours of boiling bones (but I’ve seen ready made broth to buy so I suspect most shops use that). Miso one is pretty trivial to make at home. I guess not many know this but one type of tare (condiment you put in ramen) is literally charred garlic (30 minutes in oil or so, then blend it). Once you learn this you’ll always spot it (typically in tonkotsu). As for western shops I agree they are mostly meh, some very much so. Even decent ones you are more of a buying Japanese ramen experience than the food itself lol (I succumb to it myself).
- hurflmurfl 2mo ago
  I think the boiling is closer to 18 hours. I do a pretty good one in about 5 in my instant pot, though. Another big problem with getting a "ramen" in a random western restaurant is noodles. If they don't make them themselves, the dry shelf stable stuff is just not good (at least what I can find in my EU country). As I was slowly upping my ramen game at home, the single biggest difference in quality was when I started making my own noodles. I suppose if a shop markets itself as a ramen shop, you have a chance of getting a decent bowl. Most of the "asian" or even "japanese" restaurants in my city are places where they add cream to tonkotsu to make it white...
- _0ffh 2mo ago
  I know chashu is the pork, but I don't remember the broth type. Sure it wasn't miso, I think maybe salt or soy sauce type.

makeitdouble 2mo ago

For most foreign dishes you can't just compare the total price to local food. I'm saying that having ordered pizza in Japan, and an actually good one with Buffala for instance will be twice to three times the price you'd pay in Italy. Ramen chains managed by Japanese people are decently good when I tried them in France (Ippudo for instance), it's not that far from what's served in Japan. It costs 1.5x to 2x more, and the default orders will be slightly adapted to the locals (harder noodles and lower grease by default) but that's par for the course. > BTW, you can also replicate the form factor using western cooking ingredients/traditions and it still works pretty well. The toughest part is the sheer amount of time to prepare the soup and dexterity to get good noodles. Spending 8h on the soup with all the ingredients, and repeat I don't know how many times to get to a decent balance is a dedication I don't think I'll ever have to be honest.

cactusplant7374 2mo ago
Not everyone can fly to Italy for a pizza to save money! But seriously, pizza in most countries is horrible. When I lived in Ecuador the pizza had some really funky cheese. I'm not sure if you can even call it cheese. That's probably why it is almost impossible to order a plain cheese pizza. They are trying to cover it up with an assortment of vegetables and meats.
yonaguska 2mo ago
I've been able get better or equivalent results than most non-japanese ramen places near me by starting with miso paste and fresh noodles from the local h-mart, without the massive amount of work that typically goes into ramen.
titanomachy 2mo ago
I'm currently in a coastal American city, and all food is expensive here! You can have a casual lunch or dinner at a ramen shop, a Neapolitan pizzeria, a Thai restaurant, or an American burger spot and you will pay $25-30 per person after tax and tip at each of them. (Assuming you don't drink alcohol, and assuming you avoid both bottom-barrel and upscale places.) There doesn't really seem to be a "cheap local default" option like there would be in Japan, or Portugal. I guess McDonald's sort of fills that niche, but this neighbourhood doesn't have one. The two best "cheap" options near me are both Vietnamese. One nice thing about this is that there's no penalty for experiencing a variety of food.

Hikikomori 2mo ago

Tried many ramen places in Europe and only two were close to good ramen in Japan. Kodawari in Paris and totemo ramen in Stockholm.

StilesCrisis 2mo ago

I had a lousy burger in Japan.

retrochameleon 2mo ago

San Francisco is an example of a place with higher than average Japanese population where you have a chance of getting some really good authentic stuff. I recently ate at a place that caught my eye with chicken katsu curry, and that meal teleported me back to Japan.

zomglings 2mo ago
Could you share the restaurant? I maintain a list.
- retrochameleon 2mo ago
  Curry Hyuga, Burlingame, CA
bmelton 2mo ago
Hawaii would be another place (or set of places, depending on how you want to collate)
- gusgus01 2mo ago
  Oahu has some of the best US ramen I've ever had. Pretty much incomparable to most cities I've lived in, including places like SF and Seattle.
Anamon 2mo ago
A Japanese former co-worker of mine once said the best sushi in the world is served in Vancouver BC :)

mark_l_watson 2mo ago

You can buy really good Ramen ingredients online and make your own. If you are not a vegetarian and don’t mind eating pork, you can buy sealed packets containing about 2 or 3 fluid ounces of thick pork bone broth, reduced to a thick liquid. I like a lot of veggies, and buy good noodles. My wife, who I have been married to most of my long life, has never liked vegetables. I make Ramen and she eats her veggies as if they weren’t even in the Ramen. Just a little life hack I thought I would share, it might work with kids also.

ngruhn 2mo ago

Ramen is a great soup. But I haven't been blown away in any shop not even Japan. EXCEPT that random place in Kyoto we went into without plan. I think it's even a franchise. Not an ancient shop with 100 year tradition or something: https://salmonnoodlekyoto.com/ https://salmonnoodlekyoto.com/ I got the "Salmon Dandan Noodles". Good lord that broth. No idea what was in there. It wasn't clear; rather slightly thick and creamy. And the salmon was so tender. I don't even like pork but I also ate that without thinking. Man I still miss that dish.

cedws 2mo ago

Ramen in London is atrocious, not only is it priced as a luxury food (ramen is supposed to be fast and cheap), it's tasteless and often lukewarm. I went on holiday to Spain and found they have a lot of pretty decent Japanese restaurants for some reason.