Try authentic Japanese ramen, the price is only the same as two bowls of pho

From the outside, Tori Soba Mutahiro restaurant stands out with its red, blue, and yellow tones. The reason why soba is in the name is because of the word chukasoba, another name for ramen, not referring to soba noodles - Photo: TO CUONG

Ho Chi Minh City is one of the most unique culinary crossroads in Vietnam, where diners from near and far can come to enjoy everything from European to Asian dishes, from famous Indian curries to bowls of ramen noodles from the land of the rising sun.

However, finding the "standard" Japanese ramen flavor is quite an arduous journey, partly because ramen recipes are easily "copied" and partly because most chefs have made certain flavor adjustments to suit Vietnamese tastes.

Ramen noodles from the capital of Japan

Today, Tuoi Tre Online found an attractive place to enjoy ramen, located deep in Thai Van Lung alley, District 1, a place known as "Little Tokyo" in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.

There are countless shops here that specialize in selling Japanese food, lined up close together to form a maze that overwhelms visitors, but just ask for the name Mutahiro and most of the residents here will know.

The space inside the restaurant is very cozy, customers can sit at the counter to watch the chefs prepare their bowl of noodles - Photo: TO CUONG

The full name of the restaurant is Tori Soba Mutahiro (tentatively translated: Mutahiro chicken noodle restaurant), originating from Tokyo city (Japan), the owner is Japanese, opened the restaurant and trained Vietnamese chefs since 2018 so we can comfortably experience without fear of language barriers.

The price of a bowl of ramen ranges from 120,000 - 160,000 VND, the portion size is not much different, only the amount of side dishes is different.

True to its name, the difference between Mutahiro and most other ramen shops in Ho Chi Minh City is that the broth is made from chicken instead of pork.

Close-up of a bowl of ramen with Japanese soy sauce broth, a large bowl like this costs 160,000 VND - Photo: TO CUONG

The advantage of chicken broth is that it doesn't have much fat, making the noodle water clearer, and the sweetness from the chicken also creates a "playground" for the other ingredients to shine.

The ramen flavors at Mutahiro revolve around two main types of broth: soy sauce (shoyu ramen) and salt (shio ramen). While the salt-based broth is clearer and lighter in flavor, the soy-based broth is richer and has more umami flavor.

Master Ramen Flavor

As soon as the broth touches the tip of the tongue, the rich, fatty flavor immediately awakens the taste buds, while leaving a sweet aftertaste in the mouth that is extremely lingering.

It is known that traditional soy sauce and salt are imported from Japan regularly every week. Sometimes when the restaurant runs out of one of the two ingredients, it stops selling that dish until the goods arrive and does not use any other substitute.

Inside the bowl of noodles are: pork, chashu chicken, dried seaweed, bamboo shoots, spring onions, soft-boiled eggs soaked in soy sauce and mitsuba (Japanese celery) - Photo: TO CUONG

The other ingredients are equally brilliant, the noodles are chewy, absorbing the broth, the char siu pork melts in your mouth, the salty soft-boiled egg enriches the flavor picture of the bowl of noodles.

The most special is the chewy, fatty chashu chicken, the structure gives the feeling of biting into a piece of mushroom, the taste of the meat combines harmoniously with the broth to give us an indescribable rich feeling.

In addition, green onions, dried seaweed, bamboo shoots and mitsuba (Japanese celery) also appear to neutralize the salty and fatty taste of the ramen, making diners never get tired of eating it.

However, the broth is quite salty compared to Vietnamese taste. The restaurant has vinegar, pepper and chili powder available so that customers can adjust the flavor as they like. Customers can completely ask the chefs to reduce the flavor to suit their taste.

The broth with salt is clearer, the chicken fat on top is clearly visible, looking very attractive - Photo: TO CUONG

Previously, Mutahiro 's customers were only Japanese people working or renting houses around "Little Tokyo". Gradually, more and more Vietnamese people learned about the restaurant's reputation and came to experience it or become regular customers here.

When sitting at Mutahiro , there will occasionally be a Japanese customer who cannot hide his joy and exclaim: "Umai!" (meaning "delicious!" in Japanese).

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/an-thu-mi-ramen-chuan-nhat-gia-chi-bang-hai-to-pho-2024080517023017.htm