Kumamoto Ramen KOKUTEI Honten (Main Store)

The main signature ramen of Kurotei is the authentic Kumamoto family style. The difference from the general tonkotsu ramen is that there are two more egg yolks instead of soft-boiled eggs. The soup of the black garlic tonkotsu ramen is characterized by the black garlic powder fried on the rich tonkotsu broth. The tonkotsu broth itself is more refreshing than the general Hakata family style, without sand, no mouth, and no strong pig smell. Bitter with fragrance, this is the essence of Kumamoto black garlic ramen. The noodles are standard, moderately hard, and have excellent soup-holding ability, but the wheat flavor is covered by the overbearing black garlic flavor and is not prominent. There are two large pieces of barbecued pork, and the meaty aroma is very outstanding. After being dipped in black garlic powder, it feels a bit like thick bacon. The unique burnt aroma and noodles are good.

When you go to Kumamoto, you must try the old shop Kurotei Ramen. It opened in 1957 and has been in business for more than 60 years. The shop owner liked the color black when he founded it, so he named it Kurotei. There are queues during meal times and holidays. The ramen shop is very famous in Kumamoto. Each bowl of ramen costs about 900 to 1500 yen. The menu has set meals to choose from, and the selling point is that the noodles, barbecued pork, soup base and sesame oil are all homemade. The signature garlic ramen is recommended, and freshly fried dumplings and minced meat rice are also recommended.

There are some very famous black garlic ramen in Kumamoto, and Kurotei is the most classic one. It is located on Commercial Street in the city center and has a great location. The smell and taste are really good, especially the black garlic oil. It is super delicious but it is too salty at the end.

Kumamoto JR Station is about a 10-minute walk away. There were only two or three tables of customers when we arrived at the restaurant after 4:30 pm. The average price of a bowl of ramen is about 1,000 yen, and the signature set meal is 1,290 yen, which includes a bowl of signature tamagoyaki ramen + a bowl of braised pork rice + 4 fried dumplings. The tamagoyaki ramen has 2 eggs, and you can choose raw eggs or half-cooked eggs. The fried dumplings are average, and the ramen portion is OK. The black foam floating on top is black garlic, which is the specialty of Heitei. The actual taste is not strong and does not affect it. The ramen is very chewy, and the soup is very strong. To be precise, it is salty with a strong taste, because the previous few meals have been very salty. Maybe this is the characteristic of this place. The braised pork rice is good. Although it is a small bowl, the meat is very fine and tasty and goes well with rice. In short, although Kumamoto ramen is a local specialty, the taste is too strong and I don’t like it.

Very delicious Japanese bone soup noodles, the soup is very delicious and has a strong milky flavor.