I go to Fuku Ramen every month. As always, the taste was impressive, so I wanted to write about it in detail before I forget.
I’ve already written a blog once, so please read this one as well.
More than just a Ramen
I like Fuku Ramen, not only because their Ramens are delicious, but also because the side dishes they serve are outstanding. Moreover, the menu changes on a weekly basis, so I get to enjoy and experience various new things each time I go. Before I moved to Amsterdam, I lived in France. Over my time there, I selected a few places that I truly liked and would often go. Right now, I can say that Fuku Ramen is the first of them in the Netherlands.
They do 5 courses dinners which consist of various appetisers, 3 starters, one main dish (a Ramen or a Tsukemen) and a desert. I really look forward to the omakase course every time because it expands the range of things I like. It’s also fun to discover new flavours.
The course I ate this time was…
Those three appetisers are provided before the course starts. The first is fresh green peas and Ikura (salmon caviar) with yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit) and ponzu sauce. This is my favourite among those three. I don’t really like green peas when they are boiled, but their fresh green peas have such a nice crunchy texture… Besides, you can taste some light Japanese touch because of the addition of ponzu sauce. The second appetiser is a mix of cucumber and kombu. I actually forgot how it tasted exactly, but I think it was seasoned with soy sauce… Anyway, it was surprisingly refreshing and delicious. The third and last one is scallops sashimis wrapped in shiso leafs. Needless to say, this looks delicious and it was.
Actually, in addition to the 5 courses, there is one additional item that can be ordered (12,5 euros/p.p). I personally always go for it, and this time it was Ootoro (fatty tuna) with Karashi (Japanese mustard) and fresh wasabi. The fish was charcoal grilled on one side, making the Ootoro just a little bit smoky. Surprisingly, I realised that Karashi goes well with Tuna.
Finally onto to the 5 courses !
The first one was about sweet fresh cherry tomatoes with Furikake on the top. I had never thought of adding Furikake to anything other than rice, so it was kind of new. Furikake is a flavored seasoning powder that Japanese people usually sprinkle over rice. It tastes like shiso or sometimes like Japanese plum.
The next one is lobster gyozas with some homemade spicy mayonnaise. The gyozas were very nicely cooked, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It was the first time I ate lobster gyoza and it was absolutely delicious. Also, they were rather generous on the lobster as the gyozas contained big chunks of it.
The third dish was monkfish and grilled broccolis. I especially liked the sauce that came with the fish and I drank it all. I remember that the whole dish smelled like Amazake (fermented rice drink), but the sauce itself was actually sake kasu (Amazake without sugar). Also, I had the impression that some butter and dashi were added to the sake kasu to thicken it all up. Funny enough, the sauce almost tasted like parmesan cheese. Long story short, it was really too delicious.
Then, it was time for Ramen !
It was great as you can see from the pictures.
It was an Iekei style Ramen served with pork neck chashu. The bowl had a strong (but pleasant) pork meat smell, and a well-balanced broth as it was neither too light or rich. The noodles were thin and had a nice and firm texture. They were surprisingly suitable for the broth, as I usually prefer thinker noodled with Iekei style. The chashu was tender. It also had a nice smoky flavour and the right amount of fat. I mention that because pork meat can sometimes be a bit too rich and therefore make the bowl heavy.
Traditionally, the true Iekei style is terribly heavy on the MSG, which can be difficult to appreciate if you are not used to it. Therefore, the chef adapted the receipt to the European standards by reducing the saltiness of the broth. In the past, I used to be a little bit of a purist, but lately I got to truly love this kind of European altered Ramens. Needless to say anything else, it was just super good.
A little bit of culture : Iekei Ramen is characterised by a rich chicken and pork soup with spinach on top. This style of Ramen originated in Yokohama. As mentioned previously, it is rather salty so most Ramen restaurants will provide you with some rice for free. The idea is for you to dip the rice in the remaining broth to flavour it.
Of course, there were also desserts. First of all, a small shaved ice with some (probably) shiso syrup. To be fair, I am not 100% sure it was shiso syrup. Anyway, it felt refreshing after having the Ramen and the size was just perfect. The main dessert was a cream fresh ice cream and cherries with Okinawa brown sugar and syrup sauce. I
That was it for the course. You will be really satisfied at the end.
Recommended for all Ramen lovers (75 euros for a course).
Booking tips
Fuku Ramen is really popular, so reservations are filled up quickly.
I’m not good at making plans ahead, so every time I made a reservation I was like “I want to eat there today !” or “I want to eat there tomorrow !” The trick is to follow Fuku Ramen’s Instagram as they often post on their instagram stories about their availabilities. So I check it out and make reservation if I see a free slot ! Hopefully, you can make a reservation too !
