Thursday, April 1, 2010

らあめん花月嵐 (Vegetarian Ramen at Kagetsu)



Kagetsu Arashi is literally EVERYWHERE in Tokyo. I'm not sure, but it might be the most extensive ramen chain in Japan. Their "thing" is the constant influx of almost monthly special bowls. The variety of these bowls is vast, ranging from "junk" style to tomato to this month's special, vegetarian ramen. We're adventuring into new territories here.


The vegetarian ramen is actually their 69th special bowl. You can see photos of all of them, all the way back to 2001, on their site.


I love this idea, and would try every one, if it wasn't for the fact that this chain isn't all that great. They serve up a palatable bowl of noodles, but never anything worth writing about. This was actually my 3rd or 4th time eating here, but I never had a camera with me.


There it is. It was... palatable. I was with some real vegetarians, and they were not impressed either. The attempt was there, with some unique ingredients like a shiso leaf, yuzu rind, and slivers of radish. The only thing they left out... was the meat.


I get a lot of emails from people who are coming to Japan and want to eat ramen. And a few of these are inevitably from vegetarians. "Where can I get some awesome ramen with no meat in it?"


You really can't. You could possibly find good noodles in broth, but its not going to be amazing ramen.


But don't worry, if it's out there, I'll find it!

Bonus! Apparently, if your name is Nana or Nanako, you can eat this for free on April 4th. Because Nanako is another way of pronouncing the kanji for vegetable ramen or something. I don't know the details.

Official Site Here


Bashico said...

You should also chec. Kisai Mame de Cafe in Kyodo. They serve 100% vegitalian ramen.

Ramen Adventures said...

Thanks, I marked it on the map!