A Thought for Food: Sai Ramen Bandung
The Kyoto-styled Ramen is ready to make you said 上手い
Japan is popular for its culture, both traditional cultures like Kimono or Sumo and pop-cultures like Anime. But Japan is also known for its foods like sushi, takoyaki, and last but not least, ramen. Ramen is a noodle soup cuisine that becomes one of the Japanese icons, although the origin story of ramen still complicated.
Ramen is also popular in Indonesia, especially in Bandung. Many variations of Ramen spread across the city. From cheap, localized ramen shops to expensive, authentic-like ramen restaurants.
Sai Ramen is a new halal ramen shop located in Trunojoyo Street, Bandung, that brings the concept of a ramen bar that looks like a ramen bar in Japan. Developed by a chef from Kyoto, at least according to sources, they served a bowl of ramen with 14-hours slow-cooked broth to the customers. Because of how long the broth is made, they served limited amounts of bowls each day. I once visited this place around 5 p.m., and the ramen was already sold out. If you want to have lunch here, makes sure you visit Sai Ramen early before it’s sold out.
The unique point of this ramen bar is how you order the ramen. It uses a semi self-service like in one of the famous fast-food restaurants, which use a clown as its mascot. It will have a much better experience if it uses a full self-service like Ichiran Ramen Bar that widely popular in Japan.
The places around the table also give you the vibes of the Japanese ramen bar, as you can see in the photo, it has many Japanese-styled ramen-related stickers in which you can read them while you wait for your ramen.
Finally, I had the opportunity to try this Kyoto-styled ramen, and I bought its Special Chicken Chasu Ramen Original that costs around Rp.43.000,- exclude 10% tax. I wanted to buy its Gyoza but unfortunately, it contains shrimp, and since I’m allergic to shrimp, I ended up not buying it. Anyway, it does not serve any additional drinks. However, you will get free cold ocha. It is more than enough for me.
My thoughts on Sai Ramen’s Special Chicken Chasu Ramen Original is that the first sip of its broth makes me say “ うまい！(umai!)” The broth was full of flavour, not too salty or too flat. It hits right into the spot of flavourness. The noodle was firm, either not too undercooked or too soggy. Firm and chewy at its best. The chicken chasu also taste good. It has a smoky flavour and also soft tenderness when you bite them. The soft-boiled egg also good since it has a bit of saltiness. Good teamwork by the broth, the noodles, and the complements. The portion overall was okay for me. It was either not too small or too big, so for people who do not eat much, you can actually finish this one. However, if you think this is too small, don’t worry, fellas, you can add an extra portion of noodles. Overall, this is one of many good ramen noodles I ever had in Bandung.
There are many ramen restaurants across the city of Bandung. However, not many ramen restaurants give such an experience as Sai Ramen gives. By spending around Rp.50.000,- for a bowl of Kyoto-styled ramen, Sai Ramen gives you a different experience of enjoying ramen. I really recommend this one and cannot wait for another visit.
For more information, you can visit its Instagram account by clicking this link https://www.instagram.com/sai.ramen/ or visit the ramen bar by yourself.
Sai Ramen Bandung
Jl. Trunojoyo №58, Citarum, Kec. Bandung Wetan, Kota Bandung, Jawa Barat 40115
To close this article, please enjoy some of the snapshots I took at Sai Ramen
