Curry Ramen and Tonkotsu Ramen at Ramen Tei

Ramen Tei, Sukhunvit 33/1 (Japan Town)
Curry Ramen and Tokotsu Ramen

Price: 180 baht (US $5.83)

Ramen Tei is an institution that has been around in Bangkok's Japan Town for as long as memory serves. Targeting the large Japanese expatriate community, they serve authentic an authentic menu of ramen in typically Japanese surroundings.

When stepping into the restaurant, the entire staff will greet you with a hearty "irrashaimase!", while you can choose to be seated at normal tables, at the ramen counter or of course, at the tatami tables.

Their ramen doesn't come cheap though, starting at around 180 baht (US $5.83) for a bowl. Their tonkotsu ramen is excellent:  the soup is hearty and creamy and stays true to its Hakata origins, and one bowl will fill you up. It comes accompanied with the usual condiments, including a few slices of Japanese roasted pork (chashu), cabbage and other vegetables.

Having always come here to have the tonkotsu ramen, I decided to go for the curry ramen. I am quite a big fan of curry, and while living in Japan, I often went around different shops just to sample the different and unique varieties of curry on sale.

The curry ramen is basically ramen soup, with thick curry poured on top. When mixed together, the curry is watered down to the right consistency for ramen. It comes with vegetables and thick chunks of pork.

The flavour is strong and the meat is well marinated. For such as strong tasting food such as curry, its surprising to see that the texture and flavour of the ramen is well maintained.

If you have deep pockets, then Ramen Tei comes highly recommended. For a taste of the Japanese ambiance in the heart of Thailand, watch the short video below.

Ajisen Ramen - Japanese noodles in Thailand

Ajisen Ramen proves that chain stores can still make decent noodles at a good price.

Tenderloin beef ramen: 135 baht (4.08 USD)
Bottle of water: 15 baht (0.45 USD)
Ice: 5 baht a glass (0.15 USD)

Ajisen Ramen is a Japanese fast food chain selling Japanese noodles with chains across the globe, which actually makes decent noodles.

I’ve often found that noodle chains tend to taste more artificial than your traditional local family run stores, as they take shortcuts to make the same bowl of noodle over and over again, but Ajisen Ramen was a rather pleasant surprise.

I ordered the beef tenderloin ramen, which came in miso soup-based broth accompanies by cabbage, bean sprouts and other vegetables, along with half a boiled egg.

The broth was delicious and the taste didn’t burn your tongue or throat when eating it. The beef tenderloin had been broiled for so long it was soft and crumbled in the mouth. It had obviously been marinated well, for the taste of the beef itself was excellent, slightly sweet and savory.

At first, I was afraid that the noodles themselves would taste industrial. Here, they were slightly chewy and absorbed some of the broth flavour into it. The texture was good while it didn’t taste pre-processed.

It was a very good meal, and I intend to go back. The prices are reasonable, and a decent bowl of ramen starts at 79 baht (2.39 USD). For that quality, it’s a good deal, although more quantity would have been helpful as well.

There are several branches of Ajisen in Thailand, and the one we went to was on the 6th floor of the MBK shopping complex.