While most of ramen using animal-based broth for its soup, Towzen Ramen is an exceptional case. Nestled in Ichijoji, the north east area of Kyoto, Towzen Ramen uses soy milk based broth to enrich the taste of the ramen soup. A perfect ramen for vegan and vegetarian – or for anyone who loves to try different taste of ramen!
A little bit history on the restaurant: Chef Yonegawa, the owner, wanted to develop a food that is based on the roots of Kyoto – using soy sauce, yudofu, and local vegetables. He came up with the idea of tonyu (soy milk) ramen. The recipe turns out beneficial for his wife who is pregnant at that time. The conventional Japanese ramen is very salty and very high in calories, which is said that not very healthy for a women to have during pregnancy. On the other hand, the soy milk ramen is rich of healthy nutrition, so anyone can have it without have to worry.
For us Indonesians, the restaurant was introduced by Andien – an Indonesian singer who visited Towzen Ramen in 2015 and shared her experience on her instagram. As a moslem and a pescatarian, Andien could not enjoy the conventional Japanese pork broth ramen, thus knowing there is a non-pork ramen that she (and us, moslems) can eat was a blessing.
Towzen Ramen restaurant is quite different with any other restaurant that we went to – instead of located in a busy shopping district or in the corner of a main road, it is located in the middle of a residential area. The entrance is a small wooden door with a red lamp with “ramen” in Japanese katakana written on it. Be careful – you might easily miss it if you don’t pay attention. Behind the wooden door, there is a small garden with walking path leading up to the restaurant building. When you enter the restaurant, they ask you to take off your shoes, as the restaurant is using tatami (Japanese mat) for its floor. You might choose your seat – in the counter or in a table. The restaurant is comfortable enough for about 16-20 people.
We were handed out a menu that has several steps to follow before ordering. You can see the menu and its steps on the picture below. Towzen Ramen offer two basic types of ramen: Musashi (Yuba and Mushroom) and Tantanmen (Spicy), both cost ¥950. Should you want to have rice with your noodles, they also have a set-menu of ramen with eggplant sushi or yuba rice bowl or rice, with additional ¥100-550 to the ramen price. Other than the main dish, Towzen Ramen serves desserts as well – varied from Gateau Chocolate to Ice Cream. And of course, it is all vegan-friendly!
The menu that we ordered was the Musashi and the Tantanmen. The broth was milky and rich of flavour, yet light and enjoyable enough to be eaten with the noodles and the toppings. The noodles are just perfect – not too hard or too soft for us. They use toppings of yuba, simmered three types of mushrooms (shiitake, enoki, himeji), and a little bit of umeboshi (marinated plum) for Musashi. Meanwhile, Tantanmen use soybean meat and tomatoes. As an Indonesian, we like the Tantanmen better than the Musashi, just because it has such spicy taste that balance the milky soup. Overall – a ramen like no other that you must try when you are looking for a local dish of Kyoto!
ToWZEN Ramen
Address: 1 3-4 Shimogamo Higashitakagichō, Sakyō-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu, 606-0865
Phone: 075-703-5731
Hours: Everyday except Thursday, 11:30-15:00 & 18:00-22:00
Average Spend: ¥1000-1500/person
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