Hanamaruken Ramen: The Best Ramen Place This Side of Metro Manila
The
southern part of Metro Manila has the monopoly on good ramen
restaurants. Chances are, if you want to have a delicious bowl of honest
to goodness Japanese ramen, you will have to troop to Makati or Taguig.
Hanamaruken Ramen, located in Trinoma,
has given ramen lovers from the north cause to celebrate. Despite
having been open for just barely three months, Hanamaruken Ramen has
already gained a tremendous number of fans. So beloved is their
signature ramen dish that people from Cebu travel all the way to Manila
just to get a taste.
The first Hanamaruken Ramen branch outside Japan
If you look closely, you’ll realize that this is a ramen painting
Hanamaruken’s most popular dish is called the Signature Happiness Ramen (P480).
A deliriously delicious shoyu-based broth, a generous cut of flavorful
pork ribs (about ten inches, to be exact) that’s so tender that it
breaks apart at the slightest touch of chopsticks, and al dente noodles
that are made fresh everyday are the main components of the Happiness
Ramen. All in all, a bowl takes about ten hours to prepare. You can
taste the time and effort that went into the dish because only something
that was created with such meticulousness could taste that good. Add an
Aji Tamago (P50) with a creamy yolk to complete the whole experience.
Signature Happiness Ramen: literally, a bowl of happiness
The Happiness Ramen has developed such a fierce following that the
restaurant sometimes runs out. As of this writing, they only serve a
limited number of bowls per day. If you find yourself in the unfortunate
position of missing their Happiness Ramen cut-off, don’t worry. They
have other dishes on the menu that are worth giving a try. There’s the Pot Belly Ramen (P380) that comes with melt-in-your-mouth slices of roasted pork belly. There’s also the Drunk Man Rice Bowl (P240) which
is Kakuni (Japanese braised pork) served with two fried eggs. The pork
is soft and flavorful: a nice mix of spicy, sweet, and salty. They also
have an extremely yummy curry fried rice dish called Curry Chahan (P140).
The rice is studded with fried garlic and bits of meat, and manages to
taste like every grain has been infused with curry goodness.
Pot Belly Ramen
Drunk Man Rice Bowl
Curry Chahan
Hanamaruken Ramen also offers other Japanese classics such as Ebi Tempura (P380) and Gyoza (P150).
They serve their Ebi Tempura with fried shrimp heads which, as we all
know, is where all the good stuff is. If you’re not worried about your
cholesterol levels then, by all means, slurp away because it’s like food
gold. The gyoza is pan-fried and a typical companion to ramen.
Ebi Tempura served with shrimp heads
Gyoza
Iced Green Tea
I honestly think that Hanamaruken Ramen is the best ramen restaurant this side of Metro Manila. The same company that runs Wrong Ramen
is responsible for bringing this establishment to the country. From
the looks of it, the ramen invasion is far from over. A food trend that
started a few years back, some people thought that it would be a
fleeting craze. I, for one, think that it’s here to stay. Ramen has now
taken its place in the comfort food choices of Filipinos. Places like
Hanamaruken Ramen, literally serving bowls of happiness, are the reason
why.
A photo of one of Hanamaruken’s branches in Osaka, Japan
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Visit Hanamaruken Ramen at the second level of Trinoma Mall, Quezon City. For more information, Like the official Facebook page (hanamarukenph) and follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@hanamaruken_ph).
Photos by Albert Peradilla.
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