Another delicious Ramen restaurant, created by a skilled Japanese chef, has opened in Amsterdam – 1 February 2024.
Ramen Fujitora -藤虎-
I’ve already eaten there several times over, and each time they delivered delicious and high-quality Japanese Ramens.
The location is at Albert Cuyp Market, where KAZE Ramen used to be. If you go there on a weekday evening, you can get in relatively quickly, but it can be crowded on week end lunchtimes.
Opening Hours:
Weekday 5:00PM-9:00PM (Last Order)
Weekend 12:00PM-9:00PM (Last Order) ※break time15:00-17:00
Closed：Tuesday, Wednesday (Sometimes on Monday)
Check this out.
Who is the chef ?
Chef Yamada is an unparalleled Ramen lover. He has worked for a Ramen shop in Japan for six years before he spent eight years in Germany, where he started a Ramen shop and worked there as a chef. I first knew about Chef Yamada a few years ago on Twitter, when I found out about his insanely delicious Tsukemen (that you could order up online). Since then, I had the chance to try his Ramens multiple times. Besides, I’ve introduced it on this blog and published about it a lot on Instagram. No surprise, I’m a huge fan of his work. Therefore, I wanted to be the first customer to his new restaurant, so I queued there at 5pm, when they first opened on February 1st !
What kind of Ramens do they serve?
They currently offer 3 different types of Ramens. Shoyu Ramen, Niboshi (dried sardines) Ramen and Shio (salt) Ramen. I’ve already tried them all and they’re all so delicious, I can’t decide which one is my favourite. Moreover, I always choose the one I am going to eat depending on my mood.
First, I would like to share my impressions of the Shoyu Ramen. To begin with, its broth is a combination of chicken and clams. A simple, but deep-tasting, broth with a nice seafood flavour and a lot of umami, which gives it a delicate and pleasant taste. With each sip of the broth, you get to taste both the chicken and the clams, as one ingredient is never overpowering the other.
Culturally, many Japanese people don’t drink all of the Ramen soup. This is because if you drink it all, the total calories you take in will be huge. Plus, the saltiness of the broth does not help if you got high blood pressure. But this Ramen is neither too salty nor oily, so there is no problem drinking it all up. In fact, the broth is so light you will not feel heavy afterward.
As for the noodles, they are handmade by Chef Yamada himself. His noodles are straight thin and it looks like he uses whole grain flour. If you don’t know, whole wheat flour is a kind of flour that is refined with the wheat germ and skin still attached. Regular white flour uses only the endosperm part of the wheat as the germ and epidermis are removed. However, the removed parts contain vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, etc., so whole wheat flour is more nutritious than regular flour.
Although the noodles are soft, they have a good flavour and go well with the broth, making them even more delicious.
You can also pick several additions to go with your Shoyu Ramen as toppings. Personally, my favourite is their handmade wonton.
Next is their Niboshi Ramen. It comes with a broth made with chicken and dried sardines. Therefore, the Ramen has a light fish flavour which makes this style unique. This type of Ramen is very common in Japan, but I haven’t seen much of it in Europe. You can find places that sell it, but there are only few of them (Kodawari Ramens in Paris sells it). In my opinion, that because people either love it or hate it.
Chef Yamada’s Niboshi has got this distinctive fish smell that comes with this particular style, but it’s not too strong and does not cover the rest of the ingredients, as you can still taste the chicken in the broth. Although the traditional Niboshi style is very heavy on the fish and the oil, chef Yamada came up with a modernised version of it. His Niboshi is lighter on the fish taste, which may appeal more to European people. Besides, this style of Ramen is famous in the Tsugaru region (Aomori prefecture) in Japan, and Chef Yamada has his roots there.
The Seabura (animal fat) floating in the broth compliments well the Niboshi flavour, adding a nice gamy taste to it. Despite using animal fat, the Ramen still doesn’t feel greasy at all. Also, the raw onions give it a refreshing touch.
The noodles are of course hand-made (just like Shoyu Ramen’s noodles), but they are also curled by hand.
As a conclusion, if you want to experience a quality fish taste Ramen, this is a must-try. This is the only place where you can eat an authentic Niboshi Ramen in Amsterdam.
Last is their Shio Ramen. When we hear Shio ramen, we usually think of something light and not necessarily very tasteful. But this Shio Ramen come with a very intense chicken and clam broth full of Umami. However, the broth is also very light on the oil which makes it nicely refreshing. Moreover, the Shio Ramen is topped with shrimp tsumire which is a nice addition texture wise.
Same as the Shoyu Ramen’s, this broth is so good and light, you can drink it all up without feeling heavy afterward.
The noodles are straight, hand-made. They are soft and perfect for soups.
Recommended side dishes
The Ramen is of course delicious, but I also recommend trying their side dishes, notably their handmade Shumai. A Shumai is a Chinese inspired Japanese dim sum made by wrapping some ground pork in a flour sheet before steaming it. This is the standard version, but there is actually no clear definition of what a Shumai must be. Indeed, meats other than pork may also be used (some don’t use meat at all), the wrapping may be made of something other than wheat flour, and some Shumai do not use wrapping at all.
The Shumai there is really delicious and is a dish that should be eaten with Ramen. When you think of a Ramen restaurant, you think of gyoza, but here you should try the Shumai. (Of course, their homemade gyoza are also good.)
They also serve Kushikatsu. All of them are really nice, but my favourites are the pork belly and scallops ones (see picture).
Which Ramens do I recommend for you?
A lot of people ask me which Ramen I recommend, and honestly, I recommend all of them. But if you are not planning on trying them all, I would recommend going for their Shoyu Ramen, as it will satisfy the beginners as well as the most seasoned Ramen lovers. I think this is the simplest and most signature Ramen of this restaurant. If you can afford it, please also go for a Tokusei (topping addition). Their eggs and wontons are true must-try.
For those who are used to eating Ramens, I recommend the Niboshi Ramen. I think you will enjoy the well-balanced fish flavour that can only be eaten here.
For those who want to eat something refreshing, I recommend the Shio Ramen. It’s light and contains lots of Umami flavours.
There’s so much more I want to write about this Ramen restaurant, but I’ll leave it at this. If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me on Instagram ! Let’s all enjoy delicious Ramens!
Thank you for always reading my blog !
