COCONUTS CRITIC’S TABLE — Like something out of a long-lost Japanese B-movie, Ippudo Ramen’s fine wheat-flour tentacles are spreading across the globe. Since its birth in 1985 in Hakata, home of the creamy pig-bone tonkotsu broth, the chain has opened more than 80 branches in Japan and some 40 worldwide. The company’s success can’t have been hindered by the reputation of founder Shigemi Kawahara as the “Ramen King,” a title earned after winning a TV cooking competition for three consecutive years – and not, as I hoped, due to his fondness for prancing around the kitchen wearing a crown of his own noodles.
Kawahara’s empire recently lurched into a fresh flurry of expansion, with new branches opening in recent months in London, Manila and our very own Bangkok. But while the former two hardly heave with quality ramen, the Thai capital has a sizeable community of Japanese expats and general craze for all things from the Land of the Rising Sun, meaning Bangkokians already have it pretty good in the noodle soup stakes. Ippudo is likely to find the city’s ramen otaku a tough crowd, with the likes of Ramen Kio and my personal favourite, Bankara, to contend with. Still the latter is always going to face the accusation its appeal is partly due its sky-high fat content. For me, the bowl of lard is half-full, not half-empty, but I can understand those who prefer a leaner soup.
Enter Ippudo. Many of Bangkok’s better ramen shops are to be found on small Japanese alleys in the Thonglor area, curious little cul-de-sacs that make you feel as if you’ve magically stepped off Sukhumvit Road and into Tokyo. Unfortunately there’s little magic in the air on the third floor of Bangkok’s latest monster mall, Central Embassy, where Ippudo has set up shop. Open for a few months now, “Embassy” still feels like a space waiting to be filled and has all the soul of an aircraft hangar.
The restaurant is spacious and tasteful, but with an unusually high ceiling for a ramen joint. A triangular bank of lights hovers above the proceedings, looking like something out of the Twilight Zone, and dousing everything in a little more light than strictly necessary. Ramen is best enjoyed after a skinful – a last burst of pleasure to soak up the booze and send you off to sleep. The mall setting doesn’t really invite that kind of customer, and neither does the 10pm closing time.
The menu is much more extensive than that of your average ramen emporium with salads, teppan rice dishes, sushi and weirder-sounding appetizers like “curry cheese harumaki” – deep-fried spring rolls stuffed with curried ground pork and cheese. We headed straight for the Ippudo pork bun: a slab of pork belly in an open Chinese bun, the Fujianese dish popularised in the West at David Chang’s Momofuku and brought to Bangkok by – I could be wrong – Opposite Mess Hall’s Jess Barnes. It’s pretty hard to screw up a slab of pork belly in a Chinese bun, and there’s nothing wrong with what you get here. But it’s hardly inspirational: there’s not enough pork belly, for a start, the mayo-and-lettuce filling is uninspired, and the belly is missing the gorgeous triple-texture effect it should get from a good slow-cook. The gyoza are better: at once dainty, rich and addicting.
But on to the ramen, which comes in three varieties: Shiromaru Motoaji, the tonkotsu; Akamaru Shinaji, tonkotsu with miso paste; and Karaka-men, tonkotsu topped with a blend of spicy miso, cashew nuts and ground pork. The noodles themselves were firm, well-formed strands that can be cooked to order: soft, normal, hard, very hard. But, crucially, the garlicky broth lacked richness and depth. In it were two types of pork: chashu (pork belly) and loin. While both had the strong porky flavor you expect from Berkshire/kurobuta pork, the chashu, which should be the star of the show, was sliced too finely to make enough of an impact. The Karaka-men was a better bet, since it added a needed dash of spice to the lackluster broth. But tonkotsu really shouldn’t need spicing up. Ippudo will no doubt do a workmanlike job of filling the bellies of Central Embassy’s clientele, but I expect ramen addicts will see little reason for repeat visits. Is this worthy of a Ramen King? I think not. Soggy lies the crown.
Coconut’s Critics Table reviews are written based on unannounced visits by our writers and paid for by Coconuts Bangkok. No freebies here.
Photo: Pang Ketumarn
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Dan Waites is the author of Culture Shock! Bangkok, a guide to culture, customs and expat life in the Thai capital. Follow him on Twitter: @danwaites
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