IPPUDO is another famous ramen restaurant in Japan. Well is it? I only say that because I know they have a branch in New York and if that isn’t fancy, I don’t know what is. This brings back wonderful memories because I first had IPPUDO in New York and it was a fantastic meal. We decided to check this place out before our first day in Disney. Have you been to this Ikspiari mall? Their lunch menu is pretty much set so I couldn’t try too many different dishes. A lot of people seemed to have the same idea as us, they ate here before heading out to Disney.
Akamaru Modern | ¥820 (plus tax)
Mentaiko Rice and Gyoza Add-on Set | ¥200 (plus tax)
This picture is a bit misleading, we both got add-on sets and they served both our gyozas on the same serving dish. The ramen, gyoza and rice was good. I still prefer Ichiran, sorry. It would be nice if Ichiran would serve gyoza too but I’ll just eat the ramen if I need to.
The day has come. Ichiran POST! Here we are on the stairs in line waiting to get in. No worries, the line moves pretty fast.
Look at this helpful guide they give you as you wait! Cash only by the way.
Here’s what you can choose from. I used to get the set menu but it’s actually more expensive that way. You know me, I get the bowl of ramen and two eggs. No shame.
Half-boiled Salted Egg | ¥130
Classic Tonkotsu Ramen | ¥980
Oh yum yum yum. The noodles are thin but hold their own in the nice broth. You can choose how salty the broth is, how spicy it is, how the noodles are cooked – totally customizable! No wonder we ate there so much…definitely our favorite ramen joint this trip.
So I had all these worries about our domestic flight from Osaka to Tokyo. I made sure I didn’t buy much from Osaka so that my luggage would stay within weight limit for the domestic flight (smaller weight limit compared to international). We got to the airport pretty early but well, not necessary because there is no real security check. Nothing serious anyway. You can keep your shoes on as long as they’re not high tops.
The flight is about an hour and I had an aisle seat. A Japanese businessman had the middle seat and he kept going to the bathroom. At least twice. On a one hour flight. It was totally fine with me but it was one hour!
Anyway, we got to Haneda, grabbed our luggage and headed to the Airport Limousine ticketing right away. We couldn’t believe our eyes, the next available bus was in HOURS. We weren’t about to take a taxi so we bit it and took the earliest ride we could get. We were both hungry so we decided to eat at the airport. Usually a no no right? Well in Hawaii that is…but the food was not bad (both taste and price)! Check it out.
Zangi (Hokkaido-style deep fried chicken) | ¥520 (plus tax)
My ramen. Pretty good! I do enjoy a cleaner broth from time to time so it was nice. Good egg as you can see, perfect yolk! Too bad I had to pay for the egg. The gyoza was good too. It was nice to have a seat in a casual restaurant to eat. We were able to rest a bit after finishing our food, no real rush from them for us to leave. Although, it was not a busy period. Haha
Another post on Hokkaido Ramen Santouka! I’ve been back at least twice since my first bad experience. Service has gotten better and it’s not as busy as it has been in the past. I think the ramen is good – but not the best. I actually went to Japanese Kai Ramen this week and that might be my current favorite. I’ll have a post up on that one next week sometime. Let me share the pictures from my newest visit to Hokkaido, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we ordered the bigger size…by the way, my first visit is detailed here.
Miso Ramen
You really do feast with your eyes first…doesn’t this look delicious? My friend had this dish, she enjoys the broth and char siu. I think she prefers a firmer noodle but I wonder…maybe next time we could ask for firmer noodles. I think they would comply!
Toroniku Kara Miso Ramen
Red hot! Well not for me, but it looks red hot!
Toroniku. This is the limited quantity special each day. The char siu made of the pork cheeks which is extra tender and soft…so good yet so bad for you. They leave the char siu off of the broth I think to preserve the softness and prevent overcooking.
Not sure why they leave the other toppings off too. Here are the toppings I tried to place nicely. Good dish, broth definitely looks more spicy than it actually is. I still say it’s great to see these new Japanese ramen shops pop up. Have you folks tried them all yet? 🙂
