I read about a ramen shop called Nanabe (菜々兵衛) which was awarded with the Bib Gourmand in the Hokkaido Michelin Guide during our trip to Sapporo. I really wanted to go there so we poured over the transportation maps before trekking out to this secluded neighborhood in Shiroishi-ku. This ramen restaurant is located in a residential area quite far from the usual places tourists go so it was challenging to find.
We trudged through the crunching snow and slippery ice for about 30 minutes after a 1 1/2 hour train ride involving 3 different lines to Heiwa. No one here spoke English and they only have a Japanese menu so ordering involved deciphering the menu with Google Translate app and a lot of gesturing. The crowd consisted almost entirely of salarymen and OL (office ladies) from small businesses nearby and there is usually a bit of a queue to get in.
You need to take off your shoes at the door. I have seen this arrangement in the ryokan we stayed in but it was really unusual to have to do this in the city. However, this isn’t the city center of Sapporo per se, it’s more like a friendly rural neighborhood joint. I took off my soaking wet shoes and lined them up with the row of other customer’s shoes beside the entrance. The tables are shared tables and we were seated beside two friendly lady office workers (who took a photo of us).
I ordered the flagship Salt Ramen with White Chicken Broth (鶏白湯 塩) for 750 yen (about RM 30). The broth is rich and almost creamy. I practically inhaled the ramen and slurped down the soup with satisfaction. The chashu was perfectly done – a beautiful pinkish brown slice of pork perfection. The generous scattering of menma and spring onions added a lot of flavor to the broth. It’s strange that I find tofu offensive but I’m happy to scarf down menma. The homemade ramen noodles are springy and texturally pleasing. This is ramen done right.
The signature ramen served here is not the usual miso soup base which Hokkaido is famous for but a white chicken based broth. They also have a “Nagoya Cochin” style. The noodles they use are not Sapporo egg noodles too, which my better half dislikes, but a more neutral and less rich wheat variant. They also give you a lot of menma (fermented bamboo shoots). Nanabe uses hosaki menma, which is thinner than regular bamboo shoots and more absorbent. There are even menu options for extra menma which my dear looked upon with horror. Haha.
She went for the Nagoya Cochin Shoyu Ramen (名古屋コーチン 醤油) for 750 yen (around RM 30) and it tasted completely different from mine. It has a lot of chopped leeks. I ended up eating all her menma. I enjoyed the shoyu broth her ramen was made of, both the original tori sayu shio (my order) and Nagoya Cochin shoyu are good options since they taste equally good but Nanabe is famous for the white chicken stock. You can also add condiments (red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, etc) to your broth to change its character – it’s provided free of charge, together with complimentary ice water.
The ramen here is really delicious! It was very rewarding to enter a warm, bustling neighborhood restaurant after walking in the snow to eat a piping hot bowl of ramen. The service here is friendly and personal despite the language barrier – it reflects the country vibe of the place. The bill came up to just 1,500 yen (RM 60), which was a lot cheaper than the Hokkaido style ramen we had earlier. I would highly recommend this place if you’re willing to hunt for your food.
Nanabe was awarded a Bib Michelin for good reason – the food is spectacular and they’re rated as the #1 ramen in Hokkaido!
That is sure to be good, of course. Michelin-starred, no less.
Just wondering – how much would a bowl of ramen cost over there at some ordinary shop or stall? I went in the 80’s, it was RM8 at a little shop with a bar – everyone sat at the bar and ate. At that time, that was a lot of money for a bowl of noodles in some broth, nothing else. It was very nice though. We enjoyed it.
Wow. So much snow in your first photo. I never seen that before. The snow up to the man waist. I am looking at the ramen. I will prefer the clear shoyu one.
taking out shoe in Japanese restaurant especially those with floor seating should be common, otherwise the shoe would dirty the seating area with people walking with shoes on. When i was in Korea, it was being practised too. I was surprised that the staff will arrange the shoes neatly on the shoe rack and that time i was wearing a lousy shoe…so paiseh.
Michelin Ramen! That’s incredible..want to try it also..like eating Ramen
I miss authentic Japanese ramen , after a nearby restaurant closed down. Love that charshu that you had … Yummy !
Was the menma had a distinctive smell that not everyone can accept?
Looks delicious. I am surprised Michelin star is not very expensive.
I’m not too surprised that they’d require the patrons to take off their shoes before entering the restaurant. I mean, Japanese folks are rather particular about tidiness and cleanliness.
The chicken broth looks super tasty, man! Makes me miss having authentic ramen… I haven’t had any here because I couldn’t find the authentic ones.
I like to eat the bamboo shoots and also the leeks. Looks and sounds tasty. Just curious, may I know why you find tofu offensive?