Hokkaido miso ramen

Just over the weekend, I had the chance to try out Hokkaido ramen at Gantetsu in Isetan, hailing all the way from Sapporo, Hokkaido. Their menu featured a variety of mouth-watering ramen in miso and tonkotsu broth with different toppings. After browsing and deciding which to order, I finally settled for miso ramen with butter and corn.

Miso broth has a distinct quality compared to tonkotsu broth. It is much lighter in taste while the dollop of butter adds to it a slight creamy texture. Something about the broth reminded me of beansprouts in fried kuey teow. A peculiar thing I noticed is that I could not really enjoy the full flavour of the broth when it was served piping hot. It was only after I had finished my ramen and when the broth had cooled down was I able to savour each spoonful of miso goodness.

The ramen was served with 2 slices of chasu, black fungus, cabbage, chopped spring onions, corn kernels, a spoonful of ginger paste, a dollop of butter and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. The ramen served at Gantetsu is of the curly variety with a stronger hint of kansui (alkaline mineral water); hence the stronger yellow hue to the noodles.