ICHIRAN Hakata (within the Sun Plaza underground mall) — Restaurant in Fukuoka

Located in the basement of the mall right across the Hakata station, Ichiran is a chain that is raved as the best Ramen in Hakata.

Arrived at about 6pm and there was about 5 person in the queue. There is 2 levels for dining and the turnover time is pretty fast. There are 2 machines when we reached the entered the shop, where we get to select our preferred Ramen set and add ons. The basic bowl with noodles and 2 slices of pork comes at about 980 yen. Eggs comes at an extra 140 yen. They have a set that comes with egg and extra noodles that costs 1330 yen. I would think that these prices are slightly higher and meant for tourists and for the brand name they have built.

They pride themselves in their undisturbed dining space where you get your individual “cubicle” and the kitchen staff will serve you behind the blinds. When you need their services, just select a request wooden instruction place card and press the button. They will fulfill your request pretty quickly.

The ramen stock is rich and flavourful, kind of saltier than what I expected it to be. However, this taste profile is similar to most tonkatsu broth ramen that I have tasted and nothing stood out particularly considering the rave. Good to try once for the experience but I think I will not queue for more than 15 min just to have...

Ichiran is legendary tonkotsu ramen. The pork bone broth tasted unparalleled. That's their secret. The broth is creamy, thickish and full of umami. We're on a short transit break at Hakata and made it a point to go to Ichiran. From the machine we had tickets for our orders of ramen with half boiled egg with extra pork chasu. The staff are very kind to arrange space for our luggage. The sitting area is a long stretch of separate cubicles. No person is connected. No disturbance, no noise. It's like meditation with ramen. I filled out my preferences for dashi, richness, noodle consistency, spice level etc. and lifting the bamboo curtain in front of the cubicle the ramen master quietly takes my form with noted preferences. After a while the curtain is lifted and the bowl of ramen is put by the master in front of me with two small plates of egg and pork chasu. I take the first sip, such flavor! You can really go into meditation while having this ramen. I was full and happy when finished. A truly...

There was a bit of a wait but wasn't too bad. I thought the ramen was pretty good. You first must use a vending machine to order your ramen and anything else. Don't worry if you forgot to order your extra ramen, you'll be able to do that later after you're seated. Then you'll get a ticket and you'll be asked to fill out a questionnaire asking your preferences in the ramen. (English and some other language questionnaires were available, just ask for it) the questionnaire included the thickness in the flavor of your ramen soup, the hardness of the noodle, and spiciness, and some other questions. When you are seated you'll hand them your ticket and questionnaire. On the chopstick holder you'll have the option to add anything additional to your order (just circle whatever you want and hand it to the server). Not a lot of human interactions here. Well enjoy your ramen. My flavor will probably be different from yours, so I won't...