Visit Japan > gourmet > "Girls' ramen" - the latest trend in Japanese noodle culture

2012.02.20

"Girls' ramen" - the latest trend
in Japanese noodle culture

Ramen has roots in Chinese noodle cuisine, but has been continually reimagined and has eventually become one of Japan’s favorite foods. “Girls’ ramen” is the latest trend in this area. While customers at ramen restaurants used to be mostly male, There is currently a rapid increase in the number of women visiting ramen restaurants! Here we will introduce recommended restaurants and the reasons for this sudden increase in popularity. (Top image: Gold salt ramen at DueItalian)

Meeting the instigators of the “girls’ ramen” explosion.
These are the types of ramen restaurant women want to visit!

Kiyori Matsumoto, who has covered more than 150 ramen restaurants recommended for women, enjoys some healthy ramen rich with tomato.

An important point for women is not only the ramen, but also the level of comfort. This café-style space is highly rated. (Photo: Kugatsudo Ramen and Sweets Café)

A man faces a bowl and sates his hunger in silence. While ramen restaurants used to be part of such a “man’s world”, there is currently a surge in the number of women eating at ramen shops! The term “girls’ ramen” has frequently appeared on television and in magazines, and it seems that the ramen restaurants popular with women have different characteristics to traditional ramen shops.

Kiyori Matsumoto, director of  “Girls’ Ramen Department”, says: “When ramen is mentioned, the first thing women are concerned about is calories. Vegetable-oriented healthy ramen is popular among women. Vegetarian ramen has become a hot topic recently. Pasta-style ramen in tomato soup with cheese is also popular among women, and the level of expectation dramatically increases when ramen is being made by a native Italian or French chef.”

Ms. Matsumoto, a freelance producer whose “Girls’ Ramen Department” publication has instigated this boom, writes and blogs about ramen restaurants that she and her female friends find appealing.

“Women don’t think shops are fine just because the ramen is good,” says Ms. Matsumoto. “Normal ramen shops have an atmosphere where you just go to eat and then leave as soon as you’ve finished, but women also enjoy after-meal tea and conversation. We’re happy if there’s a relaxing café-style atmosphere. If there are sweets on the menu, the post-meal time is richer.”

Kazuo Ishizuka, “Gold Salt Ramen Due Italian” owner and chef. Ramen shops opened by Italian and French chefs are popular with female gourmets.

Mayu Inoue is proprietress of “Kugatsudo Ramen and Sweets Café”. According to Kiyori Matsumoto, “it’s easy for women to go to ramen shops where the owner and staff are female”.

Ramen shops that are healthy, Italian, comfortable and server sweets - in other words, ramen shops that can be approached as cafes or pasta restaurants - are particularly appealing to female customers. Join us as we explore some of the charming “girls’ ramen shops” recommended by Kiyori Matsumoto!

“Kugatsudo Ramen and Sweets Café” - a hidden retreat of a café serving unique ramen with sweetness

“Light ramen” (750 yen) - light yet with deep sweetness - is the most popular menu item for female customers. From the first mouthful comes the aroma of the mellow seafood soup, which is followed by the gentle sweetness and depth of black soybeans. The cute red and white cookies are perhaps an idea from the proprietress.

Outside the window is green scenery that is quite hard to find in Shibuya. Check out the modern Japanese interior, which tickles the fancy of stylish women with its North European designer lighting, bonsai Kokedama moss-balls and Japanese sundries!

“Kugatsudo Ramen and Sweets Café” has earned rave reviews from Kiyori Matsumoto, who describes it as “Just like a hidden café - a space where women can really relax, whether on their own or in groups.” As customers recline in the comfortable seating and look out at the surrounding greenery, any stress simply disappears. The comfortable, calming ambience instilled by the young shopkeeper and proprietress almost lets you forget that you are in Shibuya, a crowded town full of young people.

Of course the shopkeeper’s pride - her natural ramen - is also superb. No chemical seasoning is used, and while the soy sauce soup has a gentle taste at first, the flavor gradually becomes deeper. This ramen also has many fans among male ramen connoisseurs.

Another of the attractions of this shop is its menu of sweets, which for a ramen restaurant is most unusual. Girls who have a sweet tooth should definitely try the proprietress’s carefully produced Japanese sweets!

Seasonal ramen is also popular with regular female customers. “Ramen with perilla wan-tan in a light soy sauce” (850 yen) is an excellent dish with an a lasting taste exquisitely accented with the flavor of perilla.

The “Set of three standard sweets” (580 yen) lets customers enjoy “Sakura ice cream with Matcha mousse”, “Yuzu sorbet and jelly”, and “Three types of sesame ice cream”. The flavor and texture of these sweets has been developed to be suitable for eating after ramen.

Kugatsudo Ramen and Sweets Café

2nd floor, Sato Building, 1-15-12 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Tel.: 03-6327-4056 Open: Weekdays 11:30-22:00 Weekends and holidays: 12:00-21:00 (service ends after soup runs out)  Closed on Mondays (if Monday is a national holiday, the shop closes on Tuesday instead)
http://www.kugatsudo.net/

Innovative Gourmet Ramen Noodles by Italian chef 
“Gold Salt Ramen Due Italian”

“White ramen (with Parma ham)” (980 yen) combines chicken soup and fresh cream with Italian noodles made from the semolina flour that is used in pasta. Somewhat like a chowder and similar to pasta yet ultimately ramen, this dish appeals to the female gourmet crowd!

“Cold Italian noodles - red” (1,200 yen). This chilled ramen uses an abundance of fruit tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes, producing a brilliant appearance. The acidity of the tomatoes perfectly matches the sweetness of the fruit vinegar.

Ms. Matsumoto introduces “Gold Salt Ramen Due Italian” in Ichigaya, a calm yet central location, as “a shop where one can encounter a new ramen wonder, with a customer base that is 80% female”. The owner of this establishment is chef Kazuo Ishizuka, whose career spans 25 years in Italian cuisine.

This inventive ramen uses Italian ingredients such as tomatoes, dry-cured ham and cheese, and has a delicious flavor that is unlike any traditional ramen or pasta. In line with the chef’s notion of wanting to “put a full course inside a single bowl”, the inherent flavors of the ingredients blossom one by one inside the mouth.

Starting from the simplest item on the menu - “Gold salt ramen” (780 yen), which is also mentioned in the name of the restaurant - none of the items taste strange or pretentious, but rather benefit from excellent consistency. Once you try this invention of ramen, you will no doubt recommend it to others - “Just try it!”

“Due Italian” also has a reputation for sweets that are made using Italian techniques. “Almond jelly-style panna cotta” (350 yen) is a popular for its insertion of almond flavor into rich, fresh cream.

Seats face the wall so that female customers visiting the restaurant alone can sit in comfort. The fresh white décor and long counter make for a relaxing atmosphere.

Gold Salt Ramen Due Italian

1st floor, Fuji Building, 4-5-11 Kudanminami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Tel.: 03-3221-6970 Open: Weekdays 11:00-15:00, 17:00-22:00 Saturdays: 11:00-22:00 Sundays and holidays: 11:00-21:00 (service ends after soup runs out)
http://dueitalian.media-sp.jp/

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