As a ramen lover, I usually go out for ramen at least twice a week and since there are so much variations of the noodles, soup or toppings within a single bowl of ramen, I never got bored of it. In recent months, I have been lingering on trying a new genre of ramen since it is something I’ve heard yet afraid to give a first try as it might destroy my fantasy of ramen. But For the sake of all FUNJAPAN readers, I know it is something I need to face and surprisingly, it was rewarding.
Soranoiro / Tokyo Ramen Street (Tokyo Station)
The infamous Tokyo Ramen Street is one place I have always avoided. Despite the fact that It has a convenient location- sits right underneath Tokyo station and offers 8 different ramen shops, the lineups were always horrific. Places like Rokurinsha usually take 30 minutes to an hour since it was the most famous within the 8 shops.
When I arrived Soranoiro, the lineup was surprisingly short- 15 minutes of wait.
And there, my first slurp of Vegan Ramen ever. As you can see on the photo, the toppings are all veggies as they include fried lotus root, tomatoes, pickled cabbages, carrots, yam and some yuzukosho (Yuzu pepper chillies) for the extra spiciness.
The noodles were infused with paprika which gives out a distinctive flavour and colour to the noodles.
As mentioned before, IT WAS DELICIOUS. You can see pulps of squash in the soup which gives a perfect balance of sweetness to the soup. All other toppings went so well together with the soup and noodles and as a ramen maniac, I would give it a 9/10.
For those who are planning to go with a non- vegetarian friend, this restaurant also serves normal ramen.
Special Edo Soba
- Website: http://soranoiro-vege.com/
- Hours: 10:30am to 11:00pm (Last Order at 10:30pm)
- Access: Tokyo Ramen Street, Tokyo Station
Map:
Afuri
Days after my first encounter with vegan ramen at Soranoiro, I was eager to find out more about this new genre of my favourite delicacy. After several researches online, “Afuri” became my next target for its highly-rated vegan ramen.
There are 8 afuri branches in Tokyo and even one in Portland,USA. I went to the one in Naka-Meguro
since it is relatively closer to my house. Walking inside the restaurant, you can feel the modernness of this ramen chain and they definitely did a good job on bringing a different atmosphere to a ramen store. The counters are huge and they are stylish cubic shelfs for your jackets or bags.
Now, let’s talk about the ramen itself.
As you can see, the presentation looks excellent. For toppings, there are pumpkin, carrots, beet and wakame. Since they use seasonal Kamakura veggies (exclusively planted in the Kamakura area, south of Tokyo city), the toppings might be different every time you visit. When it comes to taste, it was surprising good. Unlike Soranoio, the soup here in afuri are clear, light and you can definitely taste the sweetness of vegetables without that funky odor of the greens you usually get from green juices. When combined with toppings and noodles, the overall picture was very subtle, light, yet well balanced with a little spiciness at the end.
And just like Soranoio, afuri offers normal ramen like the Yuzu-shio ramen below.
Vegan is rapidly growing trend that more and more Japanese are following, for the next time you are in town, don’t be surprised by the up rising genre of vegan ramen!
- Hours: 11:00am to 05:00am (Open 7 days a week)
- Access: Toyoko Line, Naka-Meguro Station, East exit
Map:
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