Fukuoka is often called the ramen capital of Japan for good reason. Many of its ramen restaurants are famous and a few have gone on to become well known internationally(I’m looking at you Ichiran ramen and Hakata Ikkousha). However, there’s one ramen chain that’s renowned but often gets overshadowed by Ichiran. It’s called ShinShin ramen, and I finally was able try it after several misses in Fukuoka(due to it being so immensely popular with the locals).
There are several outlets of ShinShin in Fukuoka, and the one I went to was in KITTE Hakata. However, due to its popularity, I had to wait for almost 40 minutes before I was finally led into the restaurant.
Much to my surprise, they had an English menu and I was astonished at their wide variety of items that they offered. Not only did they sell ramen, they even had champon noodles and fried rice as well! Though I was tempted to order the champon noodles, I ordered the staff’s recommendation of the Hakata ShinShin noodles for 760 yen/SGD$6.90 and a half sized fried rice for 370 yen/SGD$3.36. Once again I was in awe of the affordable prices of food in Japan. The ramen was as cheap as Takagi ramen, which is the cheapest bowl of ramen you can find in Singapore.
II got a rather big bowl of the signature ShinShin ramen noodles which was littered with green onion, black fungus, 2 pieces of char siu and surprisingly thin noodles. It didn’t include an onsen egg, but I didn’t mind as I already had eggs for lunch. The most important feature of ramen is the broth, and ShinShin’s one was perhaps the tastiest I’ve ever had! It was flavourful yet was light enough to prevent you from feeling full after drinking it. Most importantly, it had the taste of umami and it blended perfectly with all the ingredients in the bowl. In addition, ShinShin’s noodles remind me of wanton noodles, they are so thin that you don’t feel tired of eating them. The char siu slices were also tender and the strips of fat that were layered in them made them scrumptious to eat! In addition, they tasted sweet too, and I suspect that some sort of sweet sauce was added to get that sweet flavour from the meat. In conclusion, the ramen was so addictive that I finished all of it!
Whereas the half sized fried rice that I ordered was the only item that I could criticise as although the rice was moist and soft due to it being Japanese rice, it was overly salty and I had to drink water in order to quell my thirst. In addition, I wouldn’t call it half sized as it was as big as a normal plate of fried rice.
Eating ShinShin ramen has been a breath of fresh air, and I can now safely say it has beaten Ichiran when it comes to my favourite ramen. What separates it are 2 things: the lip-smacking broth and the thin noodles. It’s no wonder that so many people queue up just to eat ShinShin ramen. I’d like to note that it’s mainly a Fukuoka ramen chain and cannot be found anywhere else in Japan, so if anyone wants to try it, you’ll have to visit Fukuoka. However, I can assure you that the trip will be worth it as you’ll be treated to a delicious and enchanting bowl of ramen!
Ratings
Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 5.5/10
ShinShin Ramen KITTE Hakata
9-1 Hakataekichuogai, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, 812-0012, Japan
Floor B1: KITTE Hakata
Opening hours: Daily from 11am – 12am
