Ramen Takeru specialises in Vietcong ramen, a local ramen. The name is a fun story: it was apparently coined back in the Vietnam War era, the idea being a ramen that fires you up like a Viet Cong fighter, and since it was too awkward to change later, these days they market it as “Best Condition ramen” instead. As someone who goes hunting for local ramen shops, this was a place I simply had to visit.
Here’s the place.
They aren’t the birthplace of Vietcong ramen, but a disciple shop, it seems. Even so, it’s impressive that a ramen like this is being kept alive.
Inside
They serve quite a range.
The kitchen
Put in an order and the wok starts swinging. You can trust a ramen shop like this.
Takeru ramen
This is their signature bowl. The flavour has nothing to do with Vietnam – it’s Chinese-style, with a huge pile of vegetables stir-fried the moment you order, and on top go garlic and chilli plus, instead of chashu, properly grilled yakiniku pork, which felt like a textbook stamina ramen. It’s a tough style, close to jiro-kei in taste, and when you combine Chinese cooking with ramen there’s no way it won’t be good.
The noodles
Nice and springy.
Shoyu tonkotsu ramen
This one is the usual, milder sort of flavour. Just pick whichever suits you.
Fried rice
Loaded with chashu and delicious. It’s been a while since I’ve had proper fried rice like this.
A tea shop I spotted on the way past
It was cute, so I took a shot.
Inside
They sell soy sauce too – a fun little shop.
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