新福菜館 shinpuku: breaking for traditions
Kyoto is widely considered the seat of traditional Japanese culture. From the Golden Pavilion to Gion, from kappo ryori to kaiseki, the old capital is known primarily for all such “quintessentially Japanese” things. Ramen shops, originally from China, are anything but, and it is perhaps fitting then that Kyoto’s ambassadors to the slurping world get relatively short shrift under the falling petals of springtime sakura.
Established in 1938, Shinpuku, or “New Prosperity,” is one of Kyoto’s oldest ramen shops, specializing in a shoyu, pork, and chicken bone soup with a deep hue and a musty flavor reminiscent, in its own ethereal way, of ancient wooden temples and mildew-green tatami flooring. Relative to the Kyushu tonkotsu ramen of their neighbors at the Canal City Raumen Stadium (yes, it’s a satellite branch), Shinpuku ramen is surprisingly light, a traditional offering full of mild shoyu infusion and an acceptable paucity of umami.
It’s a decent bowl, anchored by the aforementioned soup and, peculiarly, a raw egg as occasionally found in central Honshu ramen. But then again, whoever said tamago need come cooked? I’m surprised that so few ramen shops serve their eggs nama, it certainly wouldn’t require mroe preparation. Blended in the soup, and compounded with the thin-sliced chashu, Shinpuku ramen hearkens in a strange way to sukiyaki, as if that homestyle hot pot had been deconstructed and recalibrated with a portion of hefty, firm noodles and given room to breathe.
I’m not entirely sure if they’re still running their promotion, but visitors with non-Japanese passports can receive five free pieces of “yaki-gyoza” to accompany their ramen. On this day, they were competently grilled and plump, if not particularly spectacular. It’s hard to do gyoza wrong, and yet rare to find a shop that does it right. At Raumen Stadium 2, Shinpuku does Kyoto proud; and it’s a welcome alternative to the tonkotsu ramen shops that dominate the local scene.
| what it lacks in obvious umami it makes up for in sweet tonkotsu, torigara and a mellow but dominant shoyu infusion. mix in the raw egg and you have ramen eerily reminiscent of sukiyaki, musty and fragrant like old japan. | 8 |
| fit, firm, and only mildly "eggy," shinpuku's strands suit the shoyu soup. say that five times fast. | 6.5 |
| thin-sliced chashu, lightly marinated, well done in an old school way. chopped negi, fresh bamboo, and that egg all make for a nice package. | 7 |
| deftly-grilled yakigyoza makes for a welcome side. plump pork. standard, if no standout. | 6.5 |
| shinpuku is a low-key spot in canal city's raumen stadium two. if you're looking for a quiet change of pace from the lines next door at hakata daruma, you could do a lot worse. | 4 |
| shinpuku represents kyoto ramen well. most days, i'm lliable to get distracted by the wild and wonderful kyushu shops on offer, but if i were looking for a lighter alternative to tonkotsu, i'd definitely stop in for a bowl. | 5.5 |
シネマビル ラーメンスタジアム hours: 10a - 11p (daily, last order 10:30p) tel: 092-263-6171 | 21.5 |
