This summer, Japan is being hit by a wave of cold ramen options at the nation’s biggest convenience store chains, and the latest offering from Lawson is particularly special, as it’s a tie-up with ramen chain Tenkaippin.
This famous restaurant chain, once voted the nation’s favorite in a survey, is known for its chicken-flavored kotteri (“rich and thick”) broth. We’d never tried anything other than hot noodles from the chain, though, so we were keen to find out what this new cold ramen would taste like.
At 697 yen, this is on the pricier end of the noodle spectrum, but with the respected Tenkaippin name behind it, it’s worth the extra cost, especially when you open it up and find this lineup of ingredients in front of you.
▼ Kimchi, chicken chashu, menma (fermented bamboo shoots), half a seasoned boiled egg, and green onions
What’s most exciting, though, is the seasoning, as it has an unusual, jelly-like texture. According to Lawson, this “rich jelly” was developed in collaboration with Tenkaippin, and it’ll make lovers of the chain’s kotteri broth very happy.
▼ To prepare the meal, all you have to do is pour over the contents of the included broth packet…
▼ …and then place the other ingredients on top.
Mixing the seasoning into the broth helped to thicken the liquid even further, and when we tasted it, it made us grin with joy, because it had the same characteristic richness as the hot broth served up at the chain. The depth of flavor and complexity of the broth was remarkable for a cold dish, and we were amazed at how perfectly the taste complemented the chilled noodles.
▼ Cool and refreshing, yet rich enough to leave a lasting impression.
The broth, which contains a blend of chicken bones and vegetable stock, was an absolute masterpiece on its own, but the more we ate it, the more we realised the key ingredient was the rich jelly. It was as if it was a jelly-like extract of the chain’s signature broth, with so much concentrated flavor that you only needed a small amount to enhance the flavour. Plus, it contained a good hit of garlic, another signature component from the chain.
The coolness of the jelly added to the novelty, and we honestly wish they would sell this as a standalone product. While it was fantastic with the smooth ramen noodles, we reckon the jelly would be a great addition to any type of noodle, including soba, udon or somen.
Until they develop a jelly broth for commercial sale, we’ll be enjoying it with these noodles over and over again while product is in stores this summer. We highly recommend trying it if you can.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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8 Comments
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falseflagsteve
Hey Oona, how about making some effort rather than just popping into local convenience stores and supermarkets and finding some real gems.
jackandjill
Many ramen restaurants are closing down due to rising costs.
https://unseen-japan.com/japan-ramen-shops-closures/
Norm
I don’t buy this kind of thing normally, but for the parents who have a tubby, game-playing school dropout son at home, it seems that it would sate the little tyke’s insatiable appetite, so it fills a niche.
falseflagsteve
Jackandphil
Loads more opening around my manor (city centre) rather than closing. Mind you it’s a pricey place to live for most of the expats here so they probably wouldn’t notice this area you see.
jackandjill
falseflagsteve
What area do you live in?
Norm
Yes, from what I’ve seen it seems that the legacy (Showa-era) ones are closing with increasing frequency. On the other hand, in my area (the north part of Chuo ward in Osaka), there are quite a few upscale ramen shops opening all the time. For those that can’t afford the pricier places, the Lawson offerings might fit the bill.
kohakuebisu
Tenkaippin opened with much "it's the big thing in Kansai" fanfare in Nagano City a few years ago but has since been replaced by a (way better) Marugame Seimen udon. I'm talking about the store in next to Mega Donki in Shinanoi.
Their main ramen, with its gloopy soup, is pretty bad. I would rather eat a Cup Noodle. Some chains, like Marugame Seimen and Karayoshi karaage, are pretty good, but most ramen chains, Nagoya's is called Sugakiya, are pretty bad if not worse. Go small if you want good ramen.
falseflagsteve
Jackandjill
Near Namba, very touristy area, too many actually, so we move out a bit when we eat out these days, you see
Plenty about the whole area and we usually go about in our bikes so there’s lots of choice.
Mind you, we go to the ones in the Edion building sometimes and that’s still pretty quiet in the evenings.
My partner and son love ramen but I’m not so keen, I like Kyushu ones the best, extra pork and egg for me please, lol