Vegan Ramen UZU in KYOTO

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Vegan Ramen UZU KYOTO

Yes, vegan ramen is a thing in Japan. Yes, it is usually aimed at the tourism crowd. Wouldn’t it be great if a ramen shop was not only a foodie destination but also an Instagram-worthy art installation as well? Uzu has a bit of both.

The people at teamLab, the group behind the wildly popular teamLab Borderless in Tokyo, helped turn this ramen shop into something extra. The shop is dark except for one wall. Digital calligraphy strokes play out in real-time. Trippy, ambient music accompanies the fluid digital art. Like most of teamLab’s work, it isn’t easy to describe in words. There’s a reason most tourists in 2019 flocked to their exhibits. Check my previous post at Raikyuken in Saga Prefecture to see another teamLab digital art exhibition.

Seasonal fermented fruit juice. This was wonderful. It was also wonderful being the only person in the shop. Uzu opened in March 2020 and probably expected a rush of overseas visitors with dietary restrictions looking for a food “experience” like this. Unfortunately, Japan is one of the last countries to allow tourism after the global pandemic. Fortunately, that means I can enjoy art installations like this without a soul bothering me.

The art piece is called Reversible Rotation (反転無分別).

Four ramen styles are available. Everything is vegan, so I figured either the spicy tsukemen or the miso ramen would be the way to go. Miso blended with sesame paste and topped with a grilled onion slice. Noodles are made in-house with wheat from Aya in Miyazaka (宮崎県綾町), a town known for their work in organic farming.

I suppose the onion slice was meant to replace the chashu. Looking back, this bowl would have been quite nice with a big slab of pork. The soup was a bit lacking as well, relying on celery, onion, mushroom, and Rausu kombu for the meaty flavors.

There are some other vegan menu items like vegan pressed sushi and vegan mochi ice cream. I should also note they opened a Tokyo shop inside the teamLab Planets exhibition space if you want to try your luck there.

Still reading? Did you know that I released a ramen cookbook? It’s available wherever fine cookbooks are sold, aka Amazon. Can’t wait to see what recipes you come up with!

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