Ramen Ippudo at Central Festival

[Evil Penevil]

 

Ramen Ippudo is a chain of Japanese ramen (noodle) restaurants with 207 outlets in 13 countries on four continents. It's regarded as Japan's foremost ramen chain, noted for keeping traditional flavors in some dishes while experimenting with new flavors in others. 

I tried the recently opened Ippudo branch in the basement level of Central Festival. It joins the 17 Ippudo restaurants in Bangkok where Ippudo's approach to ramen has proved very popular. Ippudo has also been a hit in New York City.

At 4.30 p.m., I was the only customer. I had walked past it at 4.00 p.m., and there weren't any customers then, either.  A few did come in while I was eating, though.

 

I ordered a small bowl of Zero Ramen soup for 130 baht, plus 50 baht extra for two soft boiled eggs as a topping.

This is the dish than made Ippudo famous when it first opened its first restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1985.  It originally served Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen, a specialty of the Fukuoka region. Tonkotsu means "pork bones" in Japanese, which are the basis of the soup's broth.  

The bones are boiled for hours, which gives the broth a mild yet subtle flavor and cloudy appearance. Cooked ramen noodles, traditionally firm in the middle, are then added with slices of pork belly, chopped spring onion, sesame seeds and whatever other toppings the diner chooses. 

On request, the staff at Ippudo will bring you containers of pickled ginger and cloves of fresh garlic to use as toppings.  There is a garlic press on the table.

The Zero Ramen was very good. The broth was excellent, about as far away from instant ramen as it's possible to get. Although I had ordered a small bowl, it was certainly enough to fill me up. The one thing that irritated me was the price was ++, meaning the it jumped to about 150 baht after VAT and the service tax.

The menu at Ippudo emphasizes ramen, but other dishes, such as rice bowls, chicken teriyaki buns, salmon, gyoza, appetizers, etc. are also on the menu.  Some pics from Ippudo's Facebook page:

Bottom line:  Prices at Ramen Ippudo are moderate, if not cheap.  The branch at Central Festival is a good place to enjoy Japanese comfort food in unpretentious surroundings. I will definitely be back to try more dishes.

Evil

[mmaaarrrkkk]

thanks another great review from you. Whats that bun thing in the 2nd last pic?

I think at 4-430pm , not many are looking to eat.

Edited December 17, 2019 by mmaaarrrkkk

[Evil Penevil]

Just now, mmaaarrrkkk said:

thanks another great review from you. Whats that bun thing in the 2nd last pic?

I think at 4-430pm , not many are looking to eat.

It's a chicken teriyaki bun, a piece of fried chicken with teriyaki sauce in an Asian style steamed bun.  I can't remember the exact price, but it wasn't expensive - maybe 80 baht?  There are several other buns on the menu, one of Ippudo's fusion "innovations."

Evil

[ChiFlyer]

I was doing some phone repair stops in Central Festival today. The ios 13 update caused my 4 month old iPhone XS to go belly up and it needed to be sent into some kind of Apple guru center. You can only do this in the Pattaya area from the iCare Center on the 4th floor of Central Festival.

I decided to try Ippudo with the GF. Neither she nor I are big Ramen fans, but I really liked it. She not so much.

I ordered pretty much the same thing as Evil did. The broth was just fantastic. I asked for garlic and ginger, but they never arrived at the table. The place was pretty busy at a little before 2 on a Sunday, so I'll give them a pass on that one. I added a little of the 7 spice chili pepper powder and it took it to an even better level.

All in all, well worth a try and it tastes nothing like the packaged stuff.

[Queef_Sniffer]

I've eaten at Ramen Ippudo in NYC.  First time, I went willingly and paid - the second was an invitation.

Here's my review:

• Overpriced as fuck.  Ordered a Ramen & Beer, and it came out to about 1000+ baht ($33 USD) with tax and tip.
• Broth was good, but not $33 worth.
• Portion was average.  They offered a second round of noodles for an additional $4 or $5, but NO refills on broth.  You would need to order a whole new ramen to get more broth.  I passed.
• Atmosphere if fine.

Overall, I won't return.  The ramen (to me) was mediocre at best, and way overpriced for what it is.  I know of other places in NYC that offer superior ramen, for $14, and comes with three pieces of chashu, and even that is considered overpriced.  Besides, I once lived in Japan for two years.  Ramen there is considered "comfort" food, and is meant to be eaten and then you leave.  I would usually get a bowl for about 700 yen.   1000 yen if it was considered a "premium" ramen order.  Think of McDonald's or a small coffee shop (usually seats 15-20 people at a time).  You get your ramen, you eat, and you leave.  In NYC they're trying to make it an "experience" dish.  That would be like me going to Japan and trying to make Joe's pizza a gourmet experience.  Not going to happen.

I'll give it some thought if I'll try this new ramen spot at Central Festival.  The only attractive point here is that it's about 150 baht ($5).  Anyway, thanks for the review OP, it's nice to know and maybe on one of my next trips, I'll give it a shot.

[princeofwales]

I had spicy Ramen today at ipuddo

It was really good

Went for special 310 

Bill for both of us was 780 with couple of drinks expensive for a soup but was good though 

It's an expensive soup to make if it's done properly 

Not hand pulled noodles but still firm and tasty broth

And 72 degree egg was done perfectly