A year ago,  a good friend of mine chanced upon a list of the best ramen houses in Manila. I blogged about each ramen experience but seeing that there wasn't much of a story to tell (We go there. we eat ramen. Ramen very good. The End) and how I suck at food blogging (Ramen is yum yum. Broth is salty. Pork is yes.), I decided to ditch that and just put everything on a master blog post. So here it is, a year worth of ramen experience, all condensed in one giant post. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not a food expert. I am simply a young earthling from the south who ventured to the city in hopes of a good bowl of ramen.

BTW, except for Wrong Ramen and Hanamaruken, Shio was the base I went for.

Wrong Ramen Forbestown Rd, Taguig, Metro Manila

What stuck on me about the time we ate at Wrong Ramen was the heavy traffic I had to go through to get there. My friends' workplace were just a couple of meters away and I was coming from Cavite, which was a loooot further away. But I survived that damnable traffic flow and was able to enjoy a bowl of FU Ramen.

I have never seen such a beauty before

You'd think that the FU Ramen is one salty disaster waiting to happen what with all that bacon, spam, fried egg, and pepper broth, but no. Everything that makes this ramen "wrong",  comes together in a harmony of savor that will make your taste buds sing. Just thinking about it now makes me want to go there right this instant.

Noodles ✮✮✮☆☆
Broth ✮✮✮✮☆
Ambiance ✮✮✮✮☆
Overall ✮✮✮✮☆

Shinjuku Ramen 7853 Corner Hercules & Makati Avenue, Makati

The interior of this ramen house is very beautiful. It is so very japanese-y what with all the banners and cherry blossoms.

Irrashai!

A plate of gyoza on the side

The ramen isn't bad but it isn't a favourite of mine. As my friend said after the meal, their ramen was oh-so-oh-so, which in his vocabulary, meant average.

Noodles ✮✮✮☆☆
Broth ✮✮✮☆☆
Ambiance ✮✮✮✮☆
Overall ✮✮✮☆☆

Hanamaruken Ramen 2/F Alabang Town Center, The Garden, Alabang Zapote Rd Alabang, Muntinlupa Metro Manila

Hanamaruken Ramen was a pleasant surprise. There we were, trying to figure out where should we have dinner, when Hanamarukan Ramen called out to us from across the Herschel boutique at Alabang Town Center. Why was there a ramen house right smack in the middle of boutiques?
It turns out there was a reason people were lining up for Hanamaruken's Ramen. The place was small but I loved the interior! And the ramen, it was very good. I kept sipping on the broth, I forgot to leave some space for the noodles and that scrumptious slab of pork . My friend on the other hand, gulped down everything! And I love how this was her first ramen ever and I, on the other hand, have been eating bowls of ramen for quite some time now and I've never licked clean a bowl before.

Their ebi tempura is yummy! And not to mention, consistently huge!

The interior is creative and lovely!

Hanamaruken should be on the top lists I see online! It's really good!

Noodles ✮✮✮✮☆
Broth ✮✮✮✮☆
Ambiance ✮✮✮✮☆
Overall ✮✮✮✮☆

Santouka Casual Ramen Dining 1F Ayala Mall Serin, Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay

It was the first time I've seen sizes to choose from. But I was more surprised at how even the large bowl was not really large compared to the other ramen houses I've been to. I guess the "casual" in Santouka Casual Ramen Dining really means casual.

A ball of sticky rice for the umay, I guess?

I fell in love with their salmon onigiri

Their ramen is good but not good enough to knock out some of my favourites off the list. Although, I think I could come back for more.  If you need a quick ramen fix, consider Santouka Casual Ramen Dining.

Noodles ✮✮✮☆☆
Broth ✮✮✮☆☆
Ambiance ✮✮✮✮☆
Overall ✮✮✮☆☆

Asahikawa Ramen Bangaichi The River Park, Festival Supermall, Muntinlupa, Metro Manila

The name of this establishment is a mouthful for some. And I'm afraid the name is the only thing notable to me.

My friend always orders the miso ramen

That teaset is so cute, I want to bring it home

I like the place but the ramen did not reach up to my standard. It's fine for filling the stomach but it's not my go-to place if I wanted some rich ramen experience.

Noodles ✮✮☆☆☆
Broth ✮✮✮☆☆
Ambiance ✮✮✮☆☆
Overall ✮✮☆☆☆

Ramen Yushoken Alabang - Zapote Rd, Muntinlupa, Metro Manila

One day, the gods were feeling very gracious and decided to bestow upon us mortals the ramen house that is Ramen Yushoken.

A plate of the best gyoza my stomach has ever digested

So these are what cold noodles look like

I can never imagine a world without Ramen Yushoken. Their's is a broth that is thick with flavour, accompanied with noodles that is equipped with the delightful amount of firmness, and the pork, oh dear goodness, the pork. Don't get me started on that piece of heavenly meat that melts in your unworthy mouth in each bite. How is it possible that a bowl of ramen such as that of Ramen Yushoken could exist?

Noodles ✮✮✮✮✮
Broth ✮✮✮✮✮
Ambiance ✮✮✮✮☆
Overall ✮✮✮✮✮

Ukkokei Ramen Ron G/F Paseo Tesoro Bldg., 822 A. Arnaiz Ave, Makati, Metro Manila

"What was the name again? Ukko...ryu?"
"Ukko...kei? Hahaha!"
"Hahaha!" *Looks at our left*
"Oh wait, it really is Ukkokei..."

Our conversation while walking along Pasay road. And that was after I complained about how my friends who have been working in Bonifacio Global City for years should have a car by now so that we wouldn't be walking like this when we have our Ramen excursions.

Ukkokei's Shio Ramen

Well, the gyoza is quite good. I'll give them that.

To be very blunt, nothing in this establishment left a mark on me. The noodles is nothing special. The broth, even more so. The place isn't impressive either. And to think we walked quite a distance for this one. I'm not quite sure why ratings for this place is very good. Perhaps, I should've ordered some other kind of ramen?

Noodles ✮✮✮☆☆
Broth ✮✮☆☆☆
Ambiance ✮✮☆☆☆
Overall ✮✮☆☆☆

Kenji Tei Ramen House Ground Floor, Alabang Town Centre, Service Road, Filinvest City, Muntinlupa, 1781 Metro Manila

Noodles ✮✮✮☆☆
Broth ✮✮☆☆☆
Ambiance ✮✮✮☆☆
Overall ✮✮☆☆☆