27th September 2013

My new favourite Ramen place is Shoryu.  On a rainy night the other week I met H in Soho for a good catch up alongside comforting noodly goodness.

There are two Shoryu branches; Soho and Regent Street, although both are only a five minute walk from Picadilly Circus.  Good central locations for meeting friends.

The menu is a little hard to grasp unless you’re a Ramen connoisseur, and the waitress didn’t make any recommendations, so we picked at random and hoped for the best.  It’s worth mentioning that Shoryu is always packed, so you might have to wait for a table.  But the food is worth it, I promise.

I had Hokkaido Curry Ramen, which is rich curry-soy pork broth with chicken, naruto fish cakes and spring onions among other things.  It was meaty and flavoursome and I loved it.  The bowls are absolutely huge, so once again, perhaps we overordered a little…

H had Sapporo Miso – miso pork broth with BBQ pork and sweetcorn.

 There’s bowls of garlic on the long tables – delicious if you’re not planning on kissing anyone later on!

On the side we had Chicken Kara Age (crispy deep fried soy, garlic and ginger marinated chicken) and BBQ pork belly Hirata buns. 

The chicken was a sensation, especially with fresh lemon and mayonnaise.

The Hirata buns are filled with greens and mayo along with the meat you choose.  I wasn’t that crazy about them – maybe because by the time I tried mine I was already pretty full.  The texture of the steamed bun is a little soft for me, and I found combination of mayo with the pork a little sickly.  They would be good if you popped in for a quick lunch though – next time I’d try the prawn tempura version.

I think that a bowl of Ramen at Shoryu is a delicious meal that’s great value for money and ideal for the colder evenings.

London has gone Ramen crazy these days, so why not get in on the action?  Has anyone found any good recipes for making Ramen at home?