ケンチャンラーメン

Kenchan is a famous shop in Yamagata City that has ramen fans split. Some love it, others hate it. Thick-cut pork chashu, garlicky soup, and rough homemade noodles. It’s almost like a Jiro-lite, if such a thing exists. It may be blasphemy to say such a thing, but that was the feeling I got.

I had stuff to do (eat more ramen of course), so I arrived well before the shop opened. You’d expect a bit of a line, but that wasn’t the case. I will say, though, that the parking lot was overflowing by the time I left. Your mileage may vary but expect a line.

Use the digital ticket machine to order. Choose ramen (small, regular, large) or tsukemen. Choose the strength of the flavor and the amount of oil (lots, normal, little). Choose your toppings. I got a nice tamago-kun with a small size bowl of ramen.

Wait a minute, I only ordered one egg. Why are there two and a half?

Something extra for the first customer of the day. How cool is that. Thank you for the hookup Kenchan! To be honest, though, that was a lot of eggs.

The noodles at Kenchan are tops. Though the soup is on the intense side, the noodles are in line with the hand-pressed style of the region. Being Jiro-lite (blasphemy!) you’ll probably find the small size plenty for a good meal. Of course, if you are hungry and not planning another meal or three you should go big. These noodles were, I’ll say it again, tops.

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Ramen Adventures

Ramen Shop Reviews from Japan and Abroad

ケンチャンラーメン (Kenchan Ramen in Yamagata)

サスケ (Sasuke in Shizuoka Prefecture)

麺辰 (Mentatsu in Yamagata)

博多一風堂 (Hakata Ippudo in Shinjuku)

ケンチャンラーメン (Kenchan Ramen in Yamagata)

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サスケ (Sasuke in Shizuoka Prefecture)

麺辰 (Mentatsu in Yamagata)

博多一風堂 (Hakata Ippudo in Shinjuku)