Ramen Yashichi — Restaurant in Osaka

We discovered Ramen Yashichi in Dec 2013, quite by accident. We stayed at a hotel nearby, and saw a very long queue outside the restaurant, so like good Singaporeans, we decided to join the queue. We have been back every time we visit Osaka.

So why do I find it great? Firstly, the noodle is made in-house by the chef, great texture. The broth is at the right temperature, so it doesn’t continue to cook the noodles after it has been served; this is important as the ramen can get overcooked like good spagetti and meepok. The broth is rich but not too salty like many other ramen shops. He heats each serving of the broth separately with each order. The char siew has the right mix of lean and fat meat, tender. He also pan fries a separate serving of pork bits (see top left of the bowl) so that there’s a good amount of wok hey aroma in them. The topping is generous with different types of greens (sorry if you’re a vegetable hater!) and a dash of sesame. I only wish the onsen egg was a bit more runny.

The restaurant only sits 10. Here you order from the ticket machine, sit and watch your order being cooked, slurp it all up and leave. No chit chatting as there’s usually a long queue of people waiting in the cold outside for their turn!

The friendly service is provided by a lady (assume she’s the chef’s wife). They even provide umbrellas outside if it rains and you have to queue to get in.

The price has gone up to 1200 yen since we started coming here but it is still great quality food at this price, especially when compared to Singapore’s ramen which cost between $15 and $20 these days.

As many of you realise, I don’t post pictures of my food. This is an exception. 👍

PS the queue for the queue numbers start at 10.15am Mon-Fri. The restaurant opens at 10.45am. Queue starts...

There is only one word that I can use to describe Ramen Yashichi: EXCELLENT!!!

This is hands down the best ramen place I have been to so far in my life. If you love ramen and you are in Osaka, you must eat here. If you don't then you are doing yourself a disservice. The nice thing about this place is that you don't have to line up at the shop while waiting to get in. The shop gives out little time cards in the shape of a duck(?) with a time for you to come back. For my visit I think I waited for about an hour or so.

Just like most great ramen shops in Japan, there are only a few items on the menu. There are three types: Shoyu, Shio and Tsukemen. I got the Shoyu and the Tsukemen. The Shoyu was very tasty with its rich chicken broth and melt-in-your-mouth chashu. However, the star of the show for me was the Tsukemen. With the first bite I felt like I was punched in the face with flavor and left speechless! I honestly can't find the words to describe the richness of the flavor of both the dipping sauce and the meaty pork bits inside. I am not ashamed to say that I have dreamed about the Tsukemen many times since eating at this place.

If you are still reading my review, stop. Just go here and experience it for yourself!

Just a side note, if you are not a fan of onions then you should definitely ask the restaurant to take it out as there is a generous helping of them...

The best ramen I have ever had. I grew up eating ramen in Tokyo during my teenage years but never ran across anything like the ramen that I had here. It has a very tasty salt-based soup with a smoky aroma of grilled chicken that pairs well with the chewy noodles and strong yet mild soup. If you like slighty salty, yet super flavorful chicken soup, this is the place to come. The two ramen masters grill up your pork and chicken on the spot after you place your order so everything comes out fresh and piping hot. Be sure to come early though and grab a ticket to reserve your place in line. I ended up waiting for a good hour and a half, but enjoyed walking around the neighborhood to explore bakeries and other promising restaurants to kill time. I will definitely be coming back here. On a side note, the restaurant owners also told me that they sell, for a limited time, their ramen in instant noodle form at seven-eleven stores near the store. I went straight over to the closest 7-11 to get my hands on a few, but found out that obviously the ramen made in the store tasted much better than the one I had out of the box (obviously to be expected). I will definitely be back here anytime I make...