Shoyu ramen ($12.80++)!
Tuesday Japanese lunch — shoyu ramen $12.80++. The Tokyo-style soy-based ramen, the entry tier of the chain's menu.
Tuesday Japanese lunch — shoyu ramen at $12.80++. The Tokyo-style soy-based ramen, the entry tier of the Japanese chain’s menu.
We ordered:
- Shoyu ramen — $12.80++
Shoyu (醤油) ramen is the Tokyo-style ramen built on a soy-based seasoning. The broth uses a chicken-and-fish dashi base, with soy sauce providing the salt and the colour. The result is a lighter, cleaner ramen compared to the heavier tonkotsu (pork bone) or miso variants.
The broth was the headline. Clear-amber colour from the soy and dashi, with the slight glossy sheen of rendered chicken fat on top. The flavour profile leaned the lighter side — savoury from the soy, umami from the dashi, with a clean finish that doesn’t overwhelm the noodles or toppings.
The noodles were the standard thin, slightly wavy alkaline kind that Tokyo shoyu ramen typically uses. Cooked to firmness, with the proper QQ chew that holds up against the broth. Lighter noodles than the medium-thick or curly noodles you’d find in miso or tonkotsu bowls.
Standard ramen architecture on top:
- Chashu (sliced pork belly) — one or two slices
- Ajitsuke tamago (soft-boiled marinated soy egg) — usually half an egg
- Menma (bamboo shoots)
- Chopped scallion
- A sheet of nori
- A piece of kamaboko (fish cake) — pink-and-white spiral
The chashu was probably the standard sliced pork belly variant — slow-braised, soft, with the proper dark glaze from the braising sauce.
The ajitsuke tamago was the marinated soft-boiled egg. The egg has been simmered briefly in a shoyu-mirin-dashi marinade, with the white absorbing the salty-sweet flavour and the yolk staying runny.
At $12.80++ for the shoyu ramen this is fair Japanese chain pricing. The ++ adds about 18%, bringing the final to roughly $15. Shoyu ramen sits at the entry tier of most Japanese ramen menus — usually the cheapest option on the menu, with the more elaborate variants (tonkotsu, miso, tsukemen, premium toppings) commanding higher prices.
The shoyu ramen is the right Japanese lunch choice when you want a hot bowl but don’t want to commit to the heaviness of the tonkotsu or miso variants. The lighter broth makes it easier to finish without feeling weighed down for the afternoon.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Solid shoyu ramen — would re-order on lighter ramen days.
