Vegan Ramen by Playpen Friends — Restaurant in Osaka

The food was not as impressive as expected. Probably 6/10 if you ask me. The noodle in the miso base was too chewy for my liking. I don't understand why the vegan ramen has to be so expensive. It defeats the purpose of encouraging more people to become vegan. Think about it, the ingredients are very commonly seen and readily available, either the soup base (miso, soy sauce and tomato) or the veggies or tofu. So why do all vegan places have to upmarket and make it something that can only be enjoyed by people who can afford to pay a higher price, such as foreign vegan tourists like myself? I would really like to see a vegan place that is humble, unpretentious and more approachable. Unfortunately, all vegan places I have been to in Osaka so far is aimed at higer market with a price tag 30%-50% more than their non-vegan counterparts, which is really ironic. Are they trying to say that the above ingredients are that much more expensive...

The ramen was mediocre, but the real issue was the staff—by far the most unfriendly I’ve encountered in Japan, especially the blonde girl. I asked for some spicy sauce or pepper, and she grabbed it and practically shoved it on the table.

The ramen noodles weren’t fully cooked, and the broth was bland. I ended up adding a ton of seasoning at the table just to make it better.

On the plus side, this was the first place in Japan that actually gave me a full glass of soda, so one star for that. But I have to deduct two stars for the fact that I left with a stomachache and felt gassy all day after eating here.

Definitely won’t be coming back. A suggestion: if the staff don’t want to interact with customers, maybe implement a QR code system...

I’m not vegan but have been trying a bunch of vegan food recently. Ramen is my absolute favorite dish of all time, so it’s tough to find vegan ramen living up to my high expectations - this gets relatively close. The shoyu is the shop’s recommendation, so I got that (tonkotsu is their most popular, but can’t judge that). Now, the broth is actually pretty good for a vegan ramen, but the whole grain noodles weren’t my favorite taste-wise. The toppings were excellent though - especially the bean sprouts (which were probs my favorite thing about this ramen!). The shop itself has a cozy vibe and I can imagine it’s great to visit with friends in the evening for a...