Miso Chikura Saigon — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

🍜 辛ネギ味噌 / kara negi miso 🗓️ 08/2024

Finally made my way to Misomen Chikura. iirc they used to be on Thai Van Lung street before the relocation to this alley on Le Thanh Ton street. The owner Kubota-san ran a miso ramen shop in Japan for 26 years before coming to Vietnam to retire. I'm glad he decided to start his ramen venture again in HCMC because we don't actually have any other proper miso ramen here. The broth was made with pork and chicken bones and then combined with their blend of 3 different types of miso (but mostly white miso I think). The miso was then wok tossed with lard and bean sprouts to bring out that addicting, smoky aroma and flavor. I wanted some heat in my ramen but was worried that the gekikara would mask out the miso flavor, so I opted for the kara negi. These spicy negi were pretty well-seasoned while also able to add the additional crunch to the bowl. The medium thicc curly noodles work great here but I think I prefer them cooked a bit firmer. Located in HCMC's Japantown area, Chikura was packed with Japanese salarymen during lunchtime on my visit. It really felt like I was back in Japan for a second there. They recently opened a newer branch in Thao Dien but Kubota-san seems to mostly stay at the main shop to oversee its operations.

Come read more of my gibberish writings on ig...

Just had lunch here.

1. Excellent Miso Ramen. Believe the noodles are made in-house. Thicker than many ramen outlets. Good bite and chew in its texture. Enjoyed the noodles. Whilst the noodles were very good, the star is the miso based broth - OUTSTANDING!

2. Had a plate of gyoza that I thought was very average. (Hence the 4 star rating - I’d give their miso ramen 6 stars). The gyoza was rather large. The minced meat inside was loosely packed. Skin was a little too thick for my liking. My preference is for a smaller tightly filled, thin skinned gyoza that’s crisp on the bottom.

Note: I arrived late and the stated close time is 2.30pm. I put my order in just at last call at 2pm. At 2.30, I still had 2pcs of gyoza and 2/3 my Sapporo beer to finish when the wait staff reminded us that we need to leave as they close at 2.30pm. Don’t think they would have kicked us out but I felt uncomfortable staying in so did not finish my meal and left. No complaints though, I was late and it’s stated they close at 2.30pm. Just for info that timing...

I liked the food, although I probably would have liked other items more.

I often want to try stuff that's new to me. Thus, I tried the jyukusei shoyu/aged soy sauce ramen (L - 170K/$6.70) and the misobuta don (mini - 65K/$2.55). Both are new to me.

The ramen is good quality and probably tastes like it should. Flattened noodles. It was a weaker flavor than I anticipated. One slice of chashu, which was kind of average. I still remember the ramen I had (although a different kind) at Hasu Restaurant towards the back area of J-Town, which I had a year ago... because it was so good (at least in my memory). This was okay.

The pork was sauced, which I couldn't tell that's what it would be when I saw it on the menu. It was good, but, again, I should have just gotten a chashu bowl.

It looks like 5% service fee and another 5% VAT shown on the receipt... on top of which, 10K for 30 mins of...