Situated along Pasay road, among rows and rows of Japanese Restaurants lies a little ramen shop. Tucked away beside a bait and tackle shop, it sits unobtrusive and naturally blending in with the city skyline and natural contours of the surrounding buildings. Ukkokei Ramen Shop offers the most authentic Ramen in Manila bar none.
Upon entering the restaurant, the modern yet still very Japanese themed decor did remind me of restaurants in Japan. It was pragmatically themed maiming each space so as hold as much customers it could without sacrificing comfort.
Ukokkei serves Ramen with 3 different soup bases. Shoyu (soy-sauce based), Shio (salt based) and Miso (Miso soup based) all of which promised an authentic taste.
Upon Richard’s recommendation, I ordered the Butter Corn Miso Ramen. He said the butter would make the soup creamy and I could always order extra meat. So I did as he said, and placed my order.
After placing my order, we were served tea with ice. No, not iced tea, but literally TEA with ICE. I enjoyed the drink although it tasted a bit bland. It was kind of refreshing actually.
The Butter Corn Miso Ramen was awesome. The soup was creamy, the ramen was springy and perfectly done, and the taste of miso was very subtle yet distinguishable.
Miso (ã¿ã or 味噌) is made from fermented soybeans, miso is a thick paste-like substance. Miso is brownish in color and tastes extremely salty and tangy on its own. The predecessor of miso originated in China during the 3rd century BC or earlier, and it is probable that this, together with related fermented soy-based foods, was introduced to Japan at the same time as Buddhism in the 6th century AD. This fermented food was called “Shi”.
The food and ambiance was as authentic as it could be. The kitchen actually was surrounded by glass enclosure so you could watch the cooks at work on your ramen. There was also a bar type so you could dine and go at your leisure.
Note though that Ukokkei does not offer take out service and for bloggers out there, taking photos is not allowed. (Good thing I was done shooting before the owner called my attention to it.)
Overall if you are looking for an authentic experience as well as REALLY GOOD ramen, Ukokkei is the place to visit!
Ukokkei Ramen is located along Pasay Road
Makati City, Philippines
Advertiser by day, renegade foodie by night!
Glad you enjoyed my recommendation. Really weird that the Jap owner did not allow you to take pics.
I’ve heard and read a lot of raves about Ukkokei’s Ramen, but, also, along with it, a lot of complaints about their staff being rude. I also read somewhere they don’t allow sharing. And, now, they don’t allow taking photos of their food. What’s up with them?!
I’m actually turned off about the negative things I’ve read about their place. But, I’m still interested in trying out their ramen. *sigh* I hope they get to read the reviews and comments about their staff and their service.
Beautiful blog! This ramen post has made me positively hungry. And the photography is top notch. I love it!
I went there earlier. True. Their ramen was really good, I ordered the regular miso ramen and their staffs are indeed rude. I asked one of the waitresses what is their best seller, she answered “miso” and I asked where in the menu and she pointed it out with her finger in a very rude manner, and then I asked what’s in the ramen, she said “Miso!”. So as not to further annoy our order taker, I just said okay. Haha. Buti na lang the ramen was really good.
This reminds me of the Soup Nazi in one episode of Seinfeld. Lousy attitude towards customers but the customers just keep coming back
Yummy day!!! I grabbed some photos ZP!
and sharing with you my entry
http://www.janedchua.com/2010/09/28/ukkokei-ramen-ron/
Love,
Achi Janey
Before visiting pls view the following film clip on how to appreciate your ramen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WrkdTrrwew
there was one very rude waitress and the miso didn’t taste like a good miso ramen at all. I blogged about it here: http://mylastblog.livejournal.com/28106.html
@ SARAH AREVALO
read your bad review on the resto…
sure, maybe you’ve been in and out of japan (but because this is the internet, we can only take your word for it). and even though you’ve been in and out of japan, the fact that everyone else says it’s good makes me believe that maybe they are good.
…and that maybe you just didn’t like the place because of how the staff treated you.
fine, the staff should have been a little more polite, but maybe you guys should have been a little more polite too.
there’s no excuse for a child running around a restaurant. discipline your kid. it can be done. one of mine, and civilised society’s biggest pet peeves is a rowdy kid bratting out in the middle of a restaurant. yeah, it’s not the kid’s fault, it’s the parent’s fault. control your kid, man.
secondly, even if you mom lightly placed her shoes on a “no shoe zone” then she was being impolite. doing that is considered very impolite in japanese culture. you should know this having been in and out of japan since you were 4. so in a way, your mom was rude to them. they just pointed it out.
if you want to be treated with respect by the restaurant, then respect the establishment as well. it’s a two way street.
Please remember that customers are ALWAYS right. The food was unsatisfactory for all of her family, not just herself. So they have the right to complain and be heard.
I love ramen. And I’ve been to Japan more than half a dozen times (my brother-in-law is Japanese). I’ve eaten in Ukkokei with my brother-in-law, and honestly, all of us thought the food isn’t that good… at best, average. People calling it the best ramen place is definitely exaggerating. Or they just haven’t tried other places. Probably it’s the only ramen house they’ve ever visited, so technically they can call it the best since they don’t have any basis for comparison.
And no one should blame a kid for being a kid. No one has the right to dictate how a parent should discipline their kid. A door is for going in and out, so what the kid is doing is normal. Jumping is normal. What’s wrong with jumping? The blogger’s kid was on their side of the table and not bothering anyone, so there is no need to control him. I don’t see what one of the above commentator’s problem is.
If a restaurant feels that it cannot tolerate kids acting as kids, then they should have a no-kid-policy in place.
Hi Carlos…I think the name of the place is Ukokkei (not Ukkokei) =)
Hey Nick! Thanks! Will change it!
Their service is just bad. The staff are arrogant and plain rude. A lot of people have been complaining about the service. And from my experience it is really true.
Don’t waste your time here and risk getting treated badly. Just try the other many ramen places around.