Ramen Touhichi — Restaurant in Kyoto

This ramen shop’s Michelin star is well deserved and the hype is well deserved! We came here on a Sunday morning, roughly 30mins after it open and there was a line outside, before you get seated, you need to place an order at the vending machine and it only takes cash. We ordered the limited edition chicken broth tsukemen, chicken and soy sauce ramen and chicken and soy sauce Tsukesoba. We got seated at one of the tables rather than the counter, the atmosphere was cosy and intimate there was one waiter whom was patient and spoke very little English however all the menus have English on them. I had very little expectation as I didn’t want to cloud my judgement. When I had that first bite of ramen it was love at first bite. The chicken broth was so strong it felt like they used over farm full of chicken bones to make the broth. The ramen and Tsukesoba texture was nice and chewy, there was an egg yolk like texture coating the Tsukesoba which was sensational. Suffice to say we devoured this without saying a thing, the restaurant was full of slurps and silences. A very good sign of good food! We will be coming back for another round of heir limited editions. The Michelin...

The heating was on full blast, the air was muggy, the door and windows were closed, it was very stuffy and unpleasant inside. Granted it was December, but the weather was warm and sunny at around lunch time that day. I ordered the chicken ramen in a white broth (鳥白湯ラーメン) and the fried chicken (5 pieces). The fried chicken is a big serving, and is better shared. The chicken flavor of the broth is quite strong, almost pungently so, but I liked the creaminess of it which was like a creamy pasta. Both were quite salty and didn't have much depth of flavor, so after the novelty of the first few bites, it got boring, I really didn't want to eat anymore. The staff didn't really make the whole experience any better, unsmiling, impersonal, matter-of-fact, taking each bowl of ramen...

My rating is solely based on their 鶏白湯ラーメ (Ramen in thick chicken broth). I must admit, this is my first time trying 鶏白湯ラーメ, despite having tried hundreds of ramen and thousands of bowls of various Chinese and Asian noodle soups. This is by far the richest noodle soup I've ever tasted—the broth is incredibly thick, almost foamy, leaving you feeling thirsty after each sip. As a noodle soups lover, I found this ramen to be too heavy for my taste, and likely not suited for most regular tourists like myself.

If you've never tried it before, you might still want to give it a taste just for the experience, but be prepared that you may not enjoy it. I gave it a try, but I'm unlikely to...