Ippudo Ramen Bar Brings a Little Noise and Chaos to the Revered Ramen Chain
This first-of-its-kind variation of Ippudo adds sushi, highballs, and a livelier vibe.
Ippudo Ramen Bar
G/F Uptown Mall, 9th Avenue, Taguig City
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ippudoPH
Open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Sunday to Thursday), 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. (Friday to Saturday)
(SPOT.ph) A ramen joint isn’t typically the kind of place you think of as somewhere to hang out. It’s kind of a goal-oriented affair—you go to enjoy a bowl and maybe some sides, and then you leave much fuller than when you came in. The Standard Hospitality Group is trying to change that with their concept: Ippudo Ramen Bar. This first-of-its-kind variation of the revered ramen restaurant is brighter, livelier, and intends to keep people hanging around with a variety of smaller plates and a selection of highballs.
The outside of the restaurant features the same cool slate gray that is a standard feature of Ippudo branches. The inside, though, is a completely different story. It is striking just how bright it is, the interiors featuring very little of the black and red of the brand. There are just touches of red in the decor, with the odd floor tile or wall accent, and the name of the restaurant in calligraphic Kanji written on the ceiling. The place is instead dominated by lighter wood tones, all of it bathed in warm lighting that gives the impression of a place bursting with energy.
Also read: The SPOT.ph Guide to Japanese Food
What to try at Ippudo Ramen Bar in Taguig
The ramen is still there, of course—there are actually two exclusives for the Ramen Bar. There’s a White Chicken Yuzu Ramen (P595) that has the Japanese citrus brightening up tonkotsu broth, and the Grilled Chicken Kuro Ramen (P595) that pairs a lighter chicken broth with a spicy black garlic oil. But the expansive ramen menu has pared down to make room for a bunch of new things.
A smaller, red menu showcases a sushi menu created by KOYO Handroll Bar. There are two sashimi options, both pairing the raw fish with a heavily flavored dressing (similar to Peruvian tiradito); try the Tuna Ponzu (P600) with akami tuna dressed in ponzu and salmon with soy and ginger. There, too, are five rolls on the menu that very much reflect a modern approach to sushi. The Honey Jalapeño Snapper Roll (P360/four pieces, P685/eight pieces), for one, brings a sort of sweet and spicy kick that one would be hard pressed to find in your typical sushi restaurant.
The place is also billing itself as a highball bar, and they’ve collaborated with Shinichi Itoh, head bartender at Raion, to design these drinks. And if you’re wondering just how much you can really do with the basic whiskey-soda highball, it turns out the answer is, “a lot.” Aside from the Classic highball, Ippudo Ramen Bar serves five other variations: Yuzu, Gari, Genmaicha, Umeshu, and Katsuoboshi (all go for P390 a pop). The Genmaicha, with its toasty end notes, is kind of a revelation, delivering a kind of depth that stands as counterpoint to the typical refreshing flavors of a highball. The Umeshu is a delight, with its tart, somewhat salty qualities coming off as sophisticated. The Yuzu is perfectly balanced, and should probably go into most drinkers’ list of go-to drinks in Metro Manila.
Accompanying these drinks is a complement of small plates that serve the purpose of being bar chow. They’ve got new variations of the signature bao—Miso Karaage (P220) and Pork Chashu (P220). There are grilled skewers on this menu, all of it done over genuine binchotan, the super high-quality smokeless Japanese charcoal that all the best kushiyaki places use. The standout here is the Tsukune (P255)—a perfectly assembled chicken meatball served with a cured egg yolk that makes for rich, decadent bites. A trio of cold dishes round things out, the highlight of which is the Charred Edamame (P220), which plusses-up the bar snack by cooking them over charcoal, and adding nori and a lemon dressing that might have you savoring the pods.
It is still very much Ippudo, but it does feel like a lot of thought has been put into what else Ippudo can be. It doesn’t quite feel like a place where one pops in for a quick bowl of ramen in solitude, though that is certainly still a possibility. It just feels much more like a place where groups will stay for a while, getting round after round of highballs or beer, ordering food as needed to fortify themselves as they start to feel the effects of said rounds. It feels like a place where a little noise and chaos is welcome, even if everything in it is super refined.