There is ramen - Ogikubo
There is ramen is the name and the whole vibe of this ramen shop. Their self-declared mission is to bring ramen back to basics, bo information overflow, no unnecessary bells and whistles. There is ramen, isn’t that enough?
The front of There is ramen just before opening time.
I was accompanied by James Steward, the owner of the ramen shop "Tomo no Ramen" in Bristol, Wales. If you are in or around the UK, you absolutely have to check out his ramen shop, which is allegedly one of the best on the British Isles:
► https://maps.app.goo.gl/YEGFgVbxqm8Tykhv6
There is ramen is near Ogikubo station, a really amazing ramen hunting spot with lots of other great food and drinking spots all around. Foodies can easily spend the whole day here, bouncing between ramen spots, great coffee shops, bars and izakayas. Noteworthy other ramen shops around Ogikubo station are Harukiya, Neiroya, Goryokaku and Hook, just to name a few.
The full menu of There is ramen just screams simplicity. Who needs more options?
The menu at there is ramen is purposely kept simple. One bowl of ramen is served with some ways to modify in terms of adding chashu, adding eggs, more noodles and adding wantan wrappers (no filling!). That’s it, no other styles, no alternatives. You get what you get. And what you get is a beautiful bowl of shio ramen.
Maybe the most beautiful shio ramen I have seen in 2023.
The soup consists mainly of chicken and niboshi, probably also some pork elements. It is mainly chicken forward, but does have nice niboshi complexities without feeling like a niboshi heavy soup, despite the pot in the background being filled over the brim with dried sardines. There’s basically no bitterness, so it should be enjoyable even if you’re not a niboshi fan.
One piece of narutomaki floats in the delectable shio ramen soup.
I personally was really convinced by the soup, its aroma lingered even hours after finishing the bowl. Good stuff. The seasoning, I would call it shio ramen even though it probably has some shoyu in it due to the complexity in the background.
There is ramen noodles!
The noodles are great too, medium thickness with a really good bite and chew, good slurpiness too. It’s basically THE noodle I would think of, when I’m thinking about a ramen noodle, a perfect standard that would probably fit with most bowls out there.
Dark and short cut menma, the strong seasoning is clearly visible.
I personally like these really dark and flavorful menma. Despite the short cut, they did have a good bite and crunch. Having this many smaller ones means that you have enough for every second bite or so.
Wantan without filling. Be aware of this before you get them.
The wantan are a bit deceptive. Because I actually only got wantan wrappers with no filling? All for simplicity, but that was a bit too simple for 210 Yen extra. Although I like the change in texture, I can’t really recommend it for that upcharge.
Classic fatty and tender pork belly chashu.
The chashu is classic and super tender, very juicy. Not overcomplicated, simplicity is key here. But it fits well to the shio soup.
Beautifully prepared egg, unfortunately halved and served cold on the side.
The egg, while visually very pleasant, was served cold on the side of the bowl. To be honest, I am not the biggest fan of cold served eggs. At least some effort to heat them up should be made. I am also team “whole egg”, maybe because I enjoy the struggle of opening the egg or the satisfying bite into whole egg. Flavor wise it was good, albeit cold.
Overall, I was a big fan of There is ramen. The simplicity approach works and the quality is definitely there. For shio ramen fans, There is ramen is a go-to shop for me now that I will readily recommend when asked for shio ramen recommendations.
This place also reminded me of Sakurajosui Funakoshi, another super high impact ship ramen that has left a lasting impression in my mind.
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