Pork Bone House 豚骨家

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Pork Bone House offers authentic Kyushu Ramen, made by real Japanese people, to the vast number of hungry patrons around the Xihu MRT station. They are located in a very small traditional market food court, so the process of getting a table and your food is very hectic, and you may expect a 40 minute wait for your bowl of ramen because there are only 2 people working at the stall. The prices are extremely fair with 130 NT for a normal bowl of their ramen. You can add additional sides for a small cost. You are able to choose the way you want your ramen to be prepared, and this place serve very chewy al dente ramen. If you live in the area this is probably the best ramen around, but I would not travel a long distance and suffer the long wait again because the Ramen is just ok and substitutable by Rakumenya.

Address: 捷運文湖線西湖市場站二樓美食街101攤位

                 No. 283-5, Section 1, Nèihú Rd, Neihu District (Xihu Market Building 2F #101)

Phone #:  N/A

Business Hours: 12:00-14:00, 17:00-20:00

Website: N/A
Accepts Credit Cards: no

Price Range:   $$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: idk
Waiter Service: no
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: no

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  2 out of 5
Service: 2 out of 5

Overall: 2.5 out of 5

Final Thought: Alright Ramen at hectic food court

Review

Rakumenya 樂麵屋

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Rakumenya is a Ramen Shop located near the Zhong Xiao Fuxing MRT. They are unique in how they let the customers customize the strength of the soup base and the hardness of the Ramen noodles. These type of Ramen shops are hard to come by in Taiwan, and it is very reminiscient of Shin Sen Gumi or Orochan in Los Angeles. The two popular soup bases served here are the pork broth and their specialty chicken-vegetable broth. For under 250 NT, you can select a soup base variation that you desire. Each bowl comes with a few basic slices of cha siu, egg, and vegetables, but you can add other ingredients for a nominal fee. They have the best tasting noodles that I have had so far in Taiwan: al dente, very snappy, and Q-licious. If you find yourself hankering for a bowl of Ramen, try this popular restaurant in the East District.

Address:  台北市大安路1段83巷10號1樓
                 No. 10, Lane 83, Section 1, DàĀn Rd, Daan District
Phone #: 02-8772-8159
Business Hours: 11:00-22:00 (guesstimation)
Website: N/A
Price Range:   $$
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 3.5 out of 5
Overall: 3.83 out of 5
Recommendation: Best Ramen Noodles in Taipei

Review

Arashi Ramen 花月嵐

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Address:    台北市松壽路20號2樓(信義威秀店)

                  No. 20, SōngShòu Rd, Sinyi District
Phone #:    02-2729-2128

Website: N/A

Price Range:   $$

Accepts Credit Cards: idk

Attire: casual

Good for kids: no

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  3.5 out of 5
Service: 3.5 out of 5
Overall: 3.7 out of 5
Recommendation: Flavorful noodles at average market price.

Review

Arashi Ramen is another chain that originiated from Japan that claims to be a TV Champion. I guess there are multiple TV Champions out there. However, I liked their bowl of ramen a lot better than Akasaka Ramen. The most popular Ramen is a garlic knuckle bone Ramen. The soup base is very salty, garlicky, and fatty. The noodles were cooked just right, it was not too soft, nor was it too hard. The Q factor of the noodles made you feel that you weren't eating a bowl of glorified instant noodles. The popular Ramen bowl includes two slices of chasiu, a sheet of seaweed, beansprouts, and half an egg. The beansprouts still had its crunchiness too it, which gave it a pleasing texture. I think my next Ramen binges will take place at one of their chain stores on this island. The prices of each bowl does not exceed 200, and they have plenty of side dishes to enjoy as well: like gyoza, pork cutlet, and potato wedges.

Akasaka Ramen 赤坂拉麵

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Address:    台北市忠孝東路四段94號2樓 (New Address Starting 11/2/2010)
                   94 Chung Hsiao E. Road Section 4, 2nd Floor Taipei

Phone #:    02-2752-0786
Website: http://www.akasakaramen.com/
Price Range:   $$
Accepts Credit Cards: yes
Attire: casual
Good for kids: yes
Take out: idk
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: no

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  3 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5
Overall: 3.2 out of 5
Recommendation: Akasuka Ramen

Review

Akasaka was voted the best ramen in Taiwan on the HungryInTaipei 2009 Reader's Choice poll, so I thought I'd give the Chung Hsiao East Road store a try. I sincerely hope this is not the best ramen Taipei has to offer. I'm not sure if the ramen quality is better in Japan, but I was not impressed with the ramen presented to me at this store. This is due to my own preference of ramen soup bases that are slightly saltier, and ramen soup noodles that are slighty harder. And, the noodles make or break a bowl of ramen for me. When I have cravings for ramen in LA, I get it satisfied at Shin Sen Gumi or at Orochan. You can choose your own soup base, ingredients, and noodle hardness. I am not a big fan of what I consider overcooked noodles, like the ones you get at Daikokuya. So if you like Daikokuya, you will probably enjoy a big bowl of Akasaka Ramen.