Kyushu Ramen Kio Dotomburi | Osaka Must Eats

Kyushu Ramen Kio Dotomburi | Osaka Must Eats

• June 20, 2024

• Osaka, Japan

Japan is undoubtedly the place for incredible food and we ate some amazing meals on this trip. We only wished we had more time and more stomach space (I'm sure I say this every time we travel somewhere!). I'll be sharing all my favourite Osaka eats one at a time as there is so much I want to talk about for each restaurant and the dishes we ordered.

First up, this ramen bar was right next to our hotel, and boy did we hit the jackpot. It was so good we went back twice! Specialising in ramen from the Kyushu area, the ramen was bouncy and bitey, but it was the soup bases and fixins that really set it apart from other ramen bars. 

As we queued up, we were handed menus in either Japanese, English and maybe Chinese and Korean too. The English menu did a great job in explaining how best to enjoy your ramen.

I first tried the unusual tomato broth ramen in a Japanese ramen bar in Hong Kong and I've fallen in love with it ever since. Here, the tomato broth is rich, perfectly complimented by the torched cheese slice, and beautifully balanced with the pork and seaweed. It was almost like a spaghetti marinara but in soup form. It’s not for everyone but this was perfection to me.

Next up and not to be missed is the black garlic pork ramen named Old-Fashioned Version Black with ultra thin noodles, like your regular chasiu ramen but flavours deeply amped up thanks to the black garlic. The broth was so full of umami and richness. We loved being able to order extra seaweed on the side without breaking the bank. 

The Kyushu style oil sauce noodles were a bit too sweet for us, but the ramen was perfectly bitey. 

Soy ramen is light and easy, perfect for G who didn’t fancy the rich broths. We also order fried chicken and gyozas which were both fine but not outstanding.  

The queues outside this ramen bar day and night is clear evidence of how good their ramen is! When we first went and queued before opening, we were in shortly, around 15 minutes. The second time at 5-6pm took nearly 1 hour to queue, so if you want to beat the queues, opening time is best. When I walked past this place at 11pm to grab some bit from the local Family Mart, the queues were still very much apparent. But no matter how long you have to queue, this ramen restaurant is so worth the wait. 

Address:

Japan, 〒542-0071 Osaka, 

Chuo Ward, Dotonbori, 

2 Chome−2−17 忠兵衛ビル 1F

I'll be sharing more Osaka eats very soon. 

Don't miss out on the rest of our Japan travels!