Osaka, Japan｜Kyushu Ramen Kio Hankyu-higashidori

I'm here to review this place as it deserves much more than it's 3.6 rating. I tried this at my friend's recommendation despite the mid rating, and I was so glad I did. I first got the Old-fashioned Riki which packs a great garlic punch, and I was blown away by how rich and flavourful the tonkotsu broth was. The texture of the noodles was also perfect - it had a nice bite without being overly chewy. The gyoza was great too - crispy edges and the meat filling was seasoned well with no porky aftertaste that some gyoza have . On my second visit I tried the tomato cheese ramen with the garlic kaemeshi rice, and wow. The tomato broth was super savoury and full of umami. Not a traditional ramen at all, but I liked it. And it was even better when you add the rice to the soup at the end, which makes it risotto-like. Absolutely amazing. On my third visit, I had the old-fashioned black, and the half portion of the fried rice since I saw many other people order it. The tonkotsu broth shone once again and this time, the chashu was better. The fried rice was also fragrant and very tasty. I tried added a bit of it to my ramen broth but the combination was just too rich. Still, both items were very good. It's worth nothing that there are some consistency issues - the evening cooks seem to be better? E.g. my first time there for lunch, I dismissed the chashu as it was far too salty. But it was perfect on my subsequent visits (both in the evening). The ajitama or flavoured egg was inconsistent as well - during lunch it was slightly overcooked, but it was perfect during dinner. And ah if you're there, order via the Japanese menu and use google translate! While there is an English menu on the tablet, the options are more limited there, eg you can't choose the hardness of your noodles, or add on toppings like egg, extra chashu or seaweed. And you can't select the kaemeshi for the tomato ramen on the English menu either (I had to add it using the Japanese menu) Overall, I would say this is still a ramen place worth trying, though maybe go in the evening since the quality of food seems better then.

Once you enter, sit where you like~ Order easily from a tablet screen at your table! I love garlic so I was excited to try the spicy roasted garlic tonkatsu ramen -- such a great broth, and the charsiu was really delicious!! You get a lot of minced roasted garlic in the soup, it's sooo good for garlic fans haha!! My husband got the old fashioned rich pork bone broth with 3 pieces of charsiu - the broth is so savory and full of pork flavour, it's amazing! The fried chicken was juicy inside with crispy outside,comes with mayonnaise for dipping And the giant gyozas had a pork filling with nice chewy gyoza skin, crispy on one side♡ I dipped half and ate the other half in my broth cause it was so tasty ahahah The staff are friendly and greet every guest with enthusiasm At the end if the meal, you pay at the machine by scanning your receipt ! Nice and easy!

The best tonkotsu ramen I've had outside of Kyushu. The variety of soups was great, and their basic pork-bone soup had one of the best flavors I've found. It even had the small amount of grit at the bottom of the bowl that any tonkotsu soup has to have to be any good. Also, the place lets you pick the hardness of your noodles, which is an indicator of a great ramen place.