金龍 kinryu ramen: a ryu with a view (osaka doutombori)

by rameniac | 09 Jan 2007

Step off the train in downtown Osaka and you’ll notice right away a distinct vibe unique to the region. People are more relaxed than those in Tokyo - smiling and laughing, moving at an unhurried pace. Teenagers on bicycles are doing wheelies through crowded shopping arcades, and no one really seems to mind. Indeed, the third-largest city in Japan is known for both good eating and manzai stand-up comedy, so it’s not surprising to see good nature reflected in the eyes of its residents.

The hub of Osaka nightlife is the Namba district, and the heart of Namba is Doutombori, a pedestrian arcade with a dizzying assortment of restaurants and food stalls.  An intrepid foodie could spend months trying out all the different restaurants here, and not even come close to knowing all there is to know.

With only one night in town, what’s a rameniac to do?

Start by asking around, for one thing. And astonishingly enough, in a nation as easily divisible by regional ramen style as along prefectural lines, Osaka is not famous for any particular type of ramen.

“That’s because the best ramen shops from all over Japan come here,” a local assures me.

I don’t quite take his word for it.

Kinryu Ramen (金龍 ラーメン) is a Doutombori landmark. How can it not be? A gigantic green dragon has somehow managed to lodge itself above the shop, breathing down upon the thousands of pedestrians that roam this area daily. There might be no better place to enjoy a quick bowl of noodles while feeling one with the town, as the smartly-designed, 24-hour (?!) shop opens out on to the street like no other. Raised tatami platforms separate diners from passerbys, and if this were France, one could sit out here and people watch, all day long. 

And as for that young Japanese guy at the bookstore who said that Osaka has no specialized ramen of its own, he may have been right, but Kinryu does have a distinctive tonkotsu broth that is pretty different from what I’ve encountered in places like Tokyo and Hakata.

The white-broth soup is champon-like, with a whiff of seafood that smacks of its chinese origins. It’s fairly light as far as tonkotsu goes, and without the accoutrements, its a pretty austere bowl of ramen - fairly firm noodles characteristically located between Hakata and Honshu, marginally tender chashu, and a sprinkling of scallions. You can add damage as you please with kimchi, pickled greens, and garlic at the unlimited topping “bar” at the far end of the counter.

For my one-and-only ramen stop in Kansai (as on this particular trip), I could have done a lot worse than Kinryu. It’s an obvious choice, especially if you’re a tourist with but a single evening to explore. And when you’re surrounded by takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and crab restaurants - foods for which Osaka are really known, one has to make certain sacrifices. Then vow to return.