Tadaima Henshinchu is arguably one of Tokyo's, or even Japan's, most unique ramen shops, offering a fusion Japanese French style of ramen, or Ramen a la Francoise (フレンチ気分でラーメンを, Furenchi kibun de Rāmen wo) as they call it. The idea is really to take French culinary techniques and apply it to ramen with Japanese ingredients. The choice of focusing on kaki (牡蠣, Oyster) as the main ingredient of the ramen is also reflective of that, along with the use of soy milk in the ramen. The name Tadaima Henshinchu means "Evolving at the Moment", and is also reflective of how the shop is evolving the cuisine of ramen with its innovative methods.
Tadaima Henshinchu (Transforming Now)'s Unique Points (こだわり, Kodawari)
The kaki (牡蠣, Oyster) is bought directly from a fisherman in Hiroshima Prefecture (広島県, Hiroshima-ken) are used to make a concentrated extract, and the dashi (出汁) is made with tai (鯛, Sea Bream) and konbu (昆布, Kelp) from Uwajima (宇和島) in Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県, Ehime-ken). To complete the soup, those two components are mixed together with soy milk, and so its a heavily seafood-based stock rather than animal-based like many other ramens.
The chashu (チャシュウ, Chashū, Roasted Pork) is also served rare, after being slow-cooked for a long time at 63 degrees celsius. The noodles are also specially made in collaboration with Ōhashi Seimen, a 50 year-old noodle manufacturer in Kawasaki, to absorb and mix well with the oyster-based soup.
Tadaima Henshinchu (Transforming Now) Review and Thoughts
Recommended
"French Ramen" is probably a term that you thought you would never hear, but it really fits the dish to a tee. Generally, Japanese cuisine has been looked on as a rather "pure" cuisine, and so fusion foods like this are quite rare. And yet, the infusion of French techniques into ramen has really created one of the most unique bowls of ramen (ラーメン, Rāmen) that you can find in Tokyo, and at times you might even question if it really is ramen or a bowl of something else? Indeed the components of ramen are all there, the noodles, the soup, the chashu, and yet using ingredients like a baguette, soy milk, and tobikko (とびっこ) also make it extremely un-ramen like.
It's no wonder that this shop attracts no shortage of Japanese locals everyday. There's really nothing quite like it, and the first time you drink the oyster soy-milk soup broth, you'll definitely be sold on the shop. Not many places can extract out the essence of the oysters as well as Tadaima Henshinchu can, but the idea of giving it a creaminess through soy milk is really another level.
The soup is rich and delicious, and we also especially love the noodles with are curly and have a good texture and chewiness to them. Personally, we're also really torn as to which dish to get each time we go. The classic oyster soy milk ramen is really good, but so is the spicy version, and even the shiru-nashi (汁なし, no soup) version is really good, because the sauce mixture seems to concentrate the taste of the oysters even more.
If you're in Nakano, there are really few other shops that can even whole a candle to how unique and wonderful this ramen dish is, and we highly recommend you to try this innovative dish for yourself.
Bonus Tip: For spice lovers, they also offer a spicy version where you can turn up the heat to your liking.
Tadaima Henshinchu (Transforming Now)'s Story
"Through food, we aim to move people" is the motto of Tadaima Henshinchu. In French cuisine, is dish is carefully and delicately prepared from start to finish to the highest degree of quality. To the local Japanese, and to the world, ramen is an iconic dish of Japanese cuisine. At first, the idea of French cuisine and ramen seem to be at odds with one another, but the idea of "moving people through food" remains the same. By making ramen with French culinary techniques and Japanese ingredients, wouldn't one be able to make the best bowl of ramen that could move someone? With that in mind, the founder, Sakai Shōta (坂祥太), decided to create "French Ramen". Sakai-san is a chef who worked as the Assistant Head Chef in a Two-Starred Michelin French Restaurant, with over 14 years of French culinary experience. And so, the Japanese ingredient of kaki (牡蠣, Oyster) was decided on as the main ingredient in order to create the best "French Ramen"
Tadaima Henshinchu (Transforming Now) Menu Recommendations
牡蠣x豆乳ラーメン
Kaki x Soy Milk Ramen
¥890
The signature dish at Tadaima Henshinchu made with kaki (牡蠣, Oyster) and soy milk.
赤牡蠣ラーメン
Spicy Kaki Ramen
¥920
The spicy version of their signature ramen, you can choose been Level 1 (1辛, ichi-kara) to Level 3 (3辛, san-kara) spiciness.
汁なし牡蠣ラーメン
Shirunashi Kaki Ramen
¥890
Getting to Tadaima Henshinchu (Transforming Now)
From
中野駅
Nakano Station
JC
06
中央線快速
JR Chūo Line (Rapid)
JB
07
中央・総武線
JR Chūō-Sōbu Line
T
01
東西線
Tozai Line
Take North Exit
Walk
5 mins
400m
Nearby Tadaima Henshinchu (Transforming Now)
東京
Tokyo
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