Saw this tiny Japanese ramen shop along one of the main roads of Hongdae. Since it was one of the only restaurants that wasn’t a Korean BBQ joint open at 1am, my buddy and I decided to give it a shot. It was pretty satisfying, but had its own unique quirks that could be a deal breaker for some. I was just happy to find something that wasn’t going to clog my poor arteries that late at night.
You can find this place by going out of Hongdae exit 9 and heading south for 2 blocks before you make a left. It will be on the left side of that street.
Atmosphere and Menu
The restaurant is small, probably only able to accommodate 16 people at the most, if that. It definitely has a very local feel, despite actually being a chain. The dishes seem reasonably priced with most costing around 7000 won.However, the portions seems somewhat on the small side(I’m comparing this to America, so it might be my standard that’s not right). They do have a larger size for an additional 2000 won.
The only problem about the menu is that there’s no English, granted there is Japanese. The waiter that served me seemed to have proficient English, which should be adequate for most foreigners.
쇼유라멘 (Shoyu Ramen) – 7000 won
The shoyu ramen comes with a thin slice of fatty pork, bean sprouts, a salted egg, green onions, and of course ramen noodles, in a nice soy sauce-based broth. The pork was nice with a larger ratio of lean meat to fat than I was used to. I was a bit disappointed that they only offered one slice, but I enjoyed it quite well.
The egg was room temperature, which was better than a cold egg, but I still prefer an egg that is the same temperature as the soup. The noodles were somewhat limp and soft, but still had a unique chewiness to them. I personally liked them. They worked very well with the broth, which was actually a little bit blander than I was used to for shoyu. In fact, I couldn’t really taste the soy sauce compared to most places I’ve had. On the good side, it’s most likely healthier, but it does lack that saltiness that I was craving.
The amount of noodles was a bit disappointing, so I ended up getting an extra serving for 1000 won more. They offered a ramen challenge consisting of 5 servings which made me think I might actually stand a chance of completing.
While not the best ramen, there were certain unique aspects that made it stand out. The decent quality was somewhat overlooked by the meager portions. If you’re not a complete glutton like me, this place might be a decent ramen place to try.
Finding the Seoul 