Ramen Adventures

Ramen Shop Reviews from Japan and Abroad

  • Food Tours
  • Ramen Schools
    • Tokyo School!
    • Osaka School!
  • More
    • The Best Ramen!
    • What’s New?
    • Print and Media
    • Merch!
  • Ramen Map
Primary
  • Food Tours
  • Ramen Schools
    • Tokyo School!
    • Osaka School!
  • More
    • The Best Ramen!
    • What’s New?
    • Print and Media
    • Merch!
  • Ramen Map

星龍軒 (Seiryuken in Hakodate, Hokkaido)

Rating5 Star
0 Reviews
Add Photos
Write a Review

星龍軒

DSCF1708.jpg

Hakodate is synonymous with a few foods. The bustling asaichi (morning fish market) means seafood, especially squid and uni, are great here. The Hakodate-only chain of Lucky Pierrot burger shops are quite popular. As for ramen, Hakodate is all shio. All salt.

DSCF1696-Edit.jpg

Actually, I don’t understand Hakodate’s claim to shio fame. Sure, there are a handful of shops, but how can a handful of clear, salt ramen bowls entice an entire nation to call Hakodate the salt ramen capitol of Japan. On a recent ramen quiz show, I was told that over 70% of Japanese people surveyed knew this about Hakodate.

Is this the same phenomenon that occurs in my hometown of San Francisco? A place where authentic clam chowder is served at all the finest tourist traps in the city? More research is needed!

DSCF1713.jpg

My research took me here, to the most popular mom-and-pop ramen shop in Hakodate. Seiryuken (lit. star dragon house) opens for a long lunch service, and runs out of soup on a regular basis. I’ve worked in the area about five or six times, and had been greeted with a urikire, sold out, five or six times.

This time, I showed up 30 minutes before they opened.

DSCF1711.jpg

The hype was strong. The hype is well deserved.

Good shio ramen takes a basic chicken broth and hits it with an umami overload. The first sip is mom’s chicken soup, with an aftertaste of refined Japanese flavors. It goes from intense to subtle in a heartbeat, a rhythm broken up only by the sparse toppings.

DSCF1707.jpg

I’m sold. Hakodate equals shio.

Seiryuken boasts a huge menu of noodle and rice dishes, from katsudon to kareraisu to zangi. Pork bowl to curry to fried chicken. The shio is a must, but if you go with a group you could probably split a few more dishes.

DSCF1709.jpg

Official site here.

DSCF1706.jpg

 

北海道函館市若松町7-3
Hokkaido, Hakodate-shi, Wakamatsucho 7-3
Closest station: Hakodate

Open 11:00-18:00
Closed Sunday and Monday

 

Rate & Write a Review

Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

ramendb.supleks.jp
Get Directions

Support Ramen Adventures on Patreon.

Login

Lost your password?

Next
らーめん 弥七 (Yashichi in Osaka)

らーめん 弥七 So it begins, the great Osaka ramen hunt of 2016. You see, there is this list, and this…
Previous
あじさい (Ajisai in Hakodate, Hokkaido)

函館麺厨房あじさい 本店 Ajisai is a bit of a mini-chain, and one of the reasons that Hakodate, in the southern part…
Random
四代目 ねかし (Yondaime Nukashi in Ikebukuro)

四代目 ねかし 魚介とんこつ肉そば Wasabi is an amazing ingredient. Most people don't know this, but the spicy notes of the root…