Day 4: Kyoto – Takaraya Ramen Pontocho (宝屋ラーメン)

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So if it is made in Japan, it must be good no?

Even in Japan, you can get crappy food.

I had a below average vending machine coffee and ramen in ajinomoto-saturated soup. In hope to taste good ramen while in Japan, I searched for recommendations on the Internet again. I came across a rating of 10/10 for Sumashi ramen by Takaraya restaurant located somewhere near the intersection between the Sanjo street and Kamo river. I was glad that Yang readily agreed to search the restaurant out as it was a bit out of the way on our itinerary and he is not much of a foodie.

We were the first in the queue at opening hours, 5:00 PM sharp!

We were the first to arrive at the restaurant and waited for it to open at 5:00 PM. Soon a queue formed behind us. :) We were warmly welcomed into the little restaurant and seated with a special blanket-like napkin for 2 persons. The restaurant had plenty of little stickers stuck to its pillars. If I remember correctly, these stickers are signs of approval and compliments from their patrons. Some of them from maikos even. Pity we didn’t have our own customised stickers.

Patron-approved stickers! These are better endorsements than the countless but also practically unreliable foodie endorsements in Singapore hawker centers.
So many items to try and no stomach space for them all! Where's Matt when we need him?! :)

We ordered 2 bowls of Sumashi ramen and waited a while to be served. Apparently, it required a slightly longer time for preparation. The first thing we always do with ramen is to take a sip of the broth. It is the essence of any ramen. This ramen didn’t blow me away at the first impression. It has a subtle taste for broth unlike the many ramen I had tried. However, the more I ate of the garnishes, the more stimulated the palate got. Indeed, like those reviews for this Sumashi ramen, the deep-fried burdock root strips, bacon pieces and mozzarella cheese added sophistication to the texture and flavor of the ramen. Yang drank up most of the broth!

Sumashi Ramen @ 850円!
This gets my approval.:)

I feel unqualified to rate this innovative ramen. It is very unique for certain. The chef succeeded in harmonising his choice of unusual ingredients.  I enjoyed it too especially the deep-fried burdock root strips. However, it would have been perfect for me if there was a little less salt in it (not that it was salty). There I’ve said it. :)