Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen, is one of the new entrants in the Manila ramen wars. They opened their first store in Shangrila Plaza’s East Wing last March but have quickly branched out to SM Aura Premier and Rockwell. We’ve eaten at the East Wing branch a couple of times already and we’ve had good experiences each time. This time Irene and I was invited to check out their SM Aura branch as well as more of their dishes
We were met by Kenji Komuro, PR Director and Masanori Ogata, CEO of Y.S Food Co., Ltd. Ogata-san barely speaks any English but gamely smiled during our whole meal.
The SM Aura branch is about double the size of the East Wing branch but retains the beautiful wooden louvers with hand-painted calligraphy by Japanese contemporary artist Sensyu Yasuko. She personally flew to Manila to do each one. It looks so very Zen like.
This branch also has a number of booth seating for a more private meal. Those bigger groups can sit in their semi-enclosed function areas.
We were told the best seating in Ikkkoryu Fukuoka Ramen is the counter seats in front of the kitchen. You are guaranteed to get the hottest bowl of ramen here.
We started out meal with a plate of Gyoza (P150). The bottom is just right and not burnt, keeping all the juices inside.
Irene requested her favorite Ikkoryu Terriyaki Chicken Wings (P180). She really likes the bony parts, the sweetish terriyaki coating just adds to the umami flavor. These are very popular in Japan as accompaniment for beer drinkers. We were served this dish both warm and cold before. Kenji-san explained that they made big batches before but now make smaller ones so the temperature depends on how long it was made.
Chashu Maki Salad (P230). Chashu slices on top of lettuce, topped with beansprouts and spring onion. To eat this, you roll it like how you’d eat at Korean restaurants.
Ikkoryu Original Tonkutsu (P330). Irene went for the basic bowl of ramen, garnished with chashu, wood ear, bamboo shoots and green onion. She was quite happy with her bowl and before I had a chance to have a taste, it was all gone.
Yaki Tonkutsu (P280). I tried this ramen dish stir fried in tonkutsu sauce with lots of vegetables and shredded chashu. Using the tonkutsu stock gives this loads of smooth flavor, nothing overpowering, it was just clean and fresh. The vegetables gives it lots of textural crunch but you can hardly find the chashu, only taste their meaty flavor. The serving size of this one seemed to be much much larger but I was surprised to find out that it has exactly the same amount of noodles as their other bowls.
Ikkoryu Salad Ramen (P280). I had this one before, a bit weird but tasted refreshing with all the greens. The noodles are cold, so the al dente feel/ “katamen” is more evident.
Ice cream Shiratama Zensai (P180). Glutinous rice balls, red bean and a scoop of ice cream (vanilla, green tea or black sesame). Our black sesame choice made it look much better, visual wise. Irene and I loved the chewy glutinous rice balls, a perfect partner to the sweet and creamy adzuki red bean and the
Have you tried Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen already? How was your experience, share it here.
Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen @ SM Aura
2/F SM Aura Premier McKinley Parkway Bonifacio Global City Taguig City, PhilippinesIkkoryu Fukuoka Ramen on Facebook
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