Friday, October 10, 2008

Sisen Ramen



On the road that runs up the left hand side of the Namba City building, on the left hand side of the street, under the expressway, you may come across this lovely little Chinese style ramen joint. The sign says Sisen Ramen in English, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding it.

The atmosphere is relaxing, with wooden panels, soft lighting, and what appears to be Chinese film score music being softly piped through the place. The service is loud, but not particularly friendly - though it has varied from visit to visit, this being my third visit, or maybe fourth. We are handed an oshibori (moistened towelette) and a glass of water.



We order the number one recommendation on the menu, the Tenten-men. This is not technically a ramen, but I'm not here to split hairs. I'm here to eat noodles in broth. The sides include chili oil, pickled gourd strips, roast garlic chips, soy sauce, salad oil, shichimi (Japanese 7 spice mix), salt, pepper, crushed fresh chili, crushed garlic, and S+B brand season all.

The broth in today's noodles is slightly oily compared to other visits, but it is still richly flavoured. It is a little spicy, but the dominant flavour is sesame. The sesame nuttiness is extremely appetising. The toppings include bok-choy, bean shoots, green onion tops, sesame seeds, and the all important roast pork, which comes in moist, sweet chunks, rather than the usual slices. This is some of the best pork that has ever passed my lips. Beautiful, tender stuff. It begs description. The vegetables match well with the flavour of the broth, and the entire flavour sensation dances between sweet, hot, spicy, and richness in a very pleasing way.

The broth is very hot, even for a ramen, and almost scalds me when I am slurping my noodles. The noodles are pretty good, but nothing much to write home about. On the side sits a little frosty lychee, which refreshes me greatly afterwards, and I dab my fingers and mouth with a knapkin. It was just a little too oily today. Pity, I've had it on other days and it's been magnificent, but today is the day we do the write up, so unfortunately I won't be rating it as highly as I would have on other visits.



A very Chinese styled ramen place, but well worth visiting. I left full and satisfied.

Broth - 3.5/5
Toppings - 4/5
Noodles - 3/5
Atmosphere - 4/5
Service - 2.5/5

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