Cup Noodles, Ramen, whatever you might know them as in the rest of the world, but Ramen, is one of the core staple meals of Japan. From the worn down farmer to the zombie like salaryman, Ramen is one thing that you can always appreciate more in Japan than anywhere. Oh, I forgot to mention, that with so many Ramen Shops, there is always a competition to come up with the most unique type like…… Cheese Ramen.

I have a friend who, for the longest, was on a mission to explore all of the various types of food you can experience in Japan. One form of food became his specialty, Ramen. I will ask him if he will allow me to post some of his writings, but to say the least, they were both informative and hilarious to read.

You see, ramen is more that just seasoning in hot water with noodles, it is about spirit, the environment it is served in and the soul that drives the unique taste. There are generally two basic types; Miso (soy bean based) or Shoyu (soy sauce based). The former being more thick and cloudy, while the Shoyu one is more salty, dark and clear. Ramen shops are gernally famous for either the sauce or the noodles, but not realy for the ingredients that are along for the ride.

The noodles, as mentioned are always a critical part of the process and there are numerous types of noodles that can be used. The quality of the noodles are determined by whether or not they are hand made or machine made. The former being the more prestigious by default.

Back to the sauce. Many shops have developed spin offs of the basic sauce that combined with effective marketing drive up customer visits. The most exotic type I have had previously was Kimchii Ramen. For those who don’t know, Kimchii is a form of fermented cabbage produced in Korea. There are various secrets for making it but in general, it is very spicy and very hot, but yet vinegar like. Definitely yummy. It is cabbage with a red sauce all around it and served cold usually. Anyhow, I have had Ramen with the sauce mixed into the soup that adds a certain kick to the taste of the soup. Surprisingly good.

I said that the most exotic type I had PREVIOUSLY had. That was topped yesterday. I had never in all of my ramen experiences in Japan imagined that I would ever consider cheese as a selling point to a nice bowl of Miso Ramen. But much to my surprise, yesterday I took a bold step and ordered a bowl of it. As seen below.

That rather large mound of white power is of course Cheese. I am not sure what type of cheese, but the menu indicated that it was a cheese made in northern Japan. What I do know is that this Ramen Shop is quite famous for this creative Ramen concept.

After enjoying my first bowl of Cheese Ramen, I have to say that all of my initial fears are for naught. This was a rather tasty bowl of noodles. I was even given a brief instruction on the process of eating this form of Ramen. First they produce what is basically normal Ramen, delicious in its own right, then slide the bowl under this massive power grinder on the counter in front of you. Of course they have a plexi-glass shield to protect the patrons from flying shards of dried cheese. The lift a door on the top of the machine, plop in 2 or 3 blocks of cheese, then fire up the machine with one hand and spin the bowl in a circle with the other. What you end up with is a mountain of cheese sitting in the middle of the Ramen. It is then served.

When they slide it in front of you with the bamboo ladle hanging out of it, you are told that you should spread the cheese across the top of the ramen to allow the heat of the soup to melt the cheese. When you are done, you dive your chop-sticks through the layer of cheese, grab some noodles and toppings and pull it up through the cheese. It sticks to everything and initially is a very interesting taste to those who are used to normal Ramen. The cheese is apparent, but not overwhelming. It adds a sort of, well, cheesy taste to everything, but not so much that it takes away from the miso flavor from the soup. (Cheese Spread with a slice of pork from the Mrs. Shoyu-based Ramen)

As you continue to plow through the meal, the corn that they had placed in the ramen, which was hidden under the mound of cheese initially has settled to the bottom of the bowl along with some of the bean sprouts that were also in there. Finally, you usually end up eating all of the noodles with nothing left but leftover toppings and soup. This is where the taste really gets good. The Cheese at this point has completely integrated with the miso soup to produce a very nice smooth tasting soup. With most ramen, I usually do not finish the soup because it is just too much liquid to consider consuming. In this case, it was the taste and the challenge of chasing down the corn and bean sprout stragglers that led me to completely finish everything in the bowl.

Will I have it again? You bet. However, having said that, I think given the amount of cheese that they put in this and the fact that your taste buds drive you to finish the entire bowl, I think I will be limiting myself to enjoying this as only one does with a special occasion. It is rich, thick and delicious. That of course equals a thought of a not-too-healthy experience. But it was soooooo good.

They do, of course have a normal selection and if you are interested to see what real Ramen is supposed to look at, check out their website On the left is a yellow menu that lists the different offerings. Clicking here brings up a separate window with pictures similar to the above. The first four links are the types of Ramen, the second set are the toppings you can get in addition to the standard port, bamboo or seaweed. The last two in the menu are basically side offerings of Gyoza (chinese fried dumpling), and Ikura (Salmon Eggs on Rice).

In closing, I would add that since this is done under the close supervision of the finest Ramen wizards straight off of their day jobs on construction sites, I do not recommend trying this at home with a cup of noodles and a block of parmesan cheese. Somehow, I don’t think the experience would be anywhere close.