Chukamenten Kiraku

Shibuya's Oldest Ramen Restaurant

Operating Hours

11:30 to 20:30, L.O. 20:00 (Thu-Tue)

Closed on Wed

Budget

￥

Chukamenten Kiraku is Shibuya's oldest ramen (ラーメン, Rāmen) restaurant, founded in 1952, the restaurant still serves up the same old-school noodles that were the original form of ramen in Japan. It bears a lot of resemblance to the modern shoyu ramen (醤油ラーメン, Shōyu Rāmen, Soy Sauce Ramen), but there are still a lot of key differences. For starters, the noodles at Kiraku are often served with wantons, moyashi (もやし, Beansprouts), and hard-boiled eggs instead of ajitama (味玉). At first glance, you might think that the dish looks rather unrefined as compared to the more modern elegant interpretations of ramen. What it lacks in presentation, it makes up in its simplicity and taste. The flavour profile might be less refined and complex than modern ramen with its many components, but in the simplicity from the saltiness and the sweetness of the meat used in the broth, there is something unique about it. The shop is especially popular amongst the older generation, who come to have the same bowl of noodles that has remained unchanging since the 1950s.

Chukamenten Kiraku Review and Thoughts

Recommended

Chukamenten Kiraku is a great option if you want to check out what the original era of ramen tastes like. The shop space also exudes a very retro, 1980s era of design, with very old-style counters and menus. It's definitely a blast from the past, and we can see why the owner was very adamant about keeping everything just as it was when the original founder set it up.

That being said, judging the bowl of ramen by modern standards, it does feel like the ramen has lagged behind in time. While modern shoyu ramen experiments with a multitude of flavours, layering the deep complexity of richness, umami (旨味, Savoriness), and flavour, Kiraku's ramen is simply, salty (for the lack of a better word). There's a lack of refinement in taste that we've come to expect from modern shoyu ramen shops.

Of course, it might be unfair to judge this dish based on modern standards, but the fact of the matter is, that coming to try out this dish with no prejudices, was a rather disappointing experience. The soup was clear and decently tasty, but nothing to shout home about, and slightly on the bland side. The chashu is also the traditional style, which means rather than being nice, soft, and juicy, you get a rather lean, tasteless, and tough cut of meat. The wantons were also rather disappointing, although this might be a judgement difference based on someone with familiarity with Chinese cuisine. In modern Chinese cuisine, generally, wantons have quite a decent amount of filling-to-wrapping ratio, maybe an 80:20 type of ratio, while Japanese wantons tend to have more skin than filling, like a 10:90 ratio. This makes it feel more like you're eating slices of wanton skin, than an actual dumpling with filling.

What we can say is that it's really a pretty authentic traditional style of ramen. However, eating it in this era where ramen has innovated and expanded the taste palate so far, one can't help but feel like this ramen is a fish out of water. Of course, some people might greatly enjoy this old-school taste. But for us, it wasn't a particularly enjoyable bowl if we judged it purely on its merits as a dish. That being said, if you want a retro ramen experience, this is a pretty good place to go and check out.