Chinese Noodle Roku

On the second floor of a commercial facility called GOOD NATURE STATION in Shijo-Kawaramachi, Kyoto, there is a ramen shop called “Chinese Noodle Roku”. It is affiliated with VELROSIER, the first Chinese restaurant in Kyoto to win two Michelin stars, and used to serve Chinese soba noodles with duck as the theme under the name of “Chinese soba noodles with duck broth ROKU”.

Chinese soba noodles with duck broth ROKU was also very successful, winning the Michelin Bib Gourmand award, but in May 2023, it was renamed Chinese Noodle ROKU and has been in business ever since. What kind of ramen can you enjoy at this restaurant that has made such a new start? How is it different from the previous store? I went to the restaurant for the first time in two and a half years, looking forward to many things…

With the name change, the menu has also been renewed…Chinese Noodle Roku is a restaurant like this…

I visited Chinese Noodle Roku at around 10:55 on a weekday. I arrived just in time, five minutes before opening time, but fortunately it was a weekday and there were only two customers ahead of me. I entered the restaurant without any wait time when it opened.

At a quick glance, the atmosphere inside the restaurant is almost unchanged from the previous store. The atmosphere is chic, unified by the deep-colored wood, with 12 counter seats surrounding a large table in the center. The kitchen is on the other side of the wall and you cannot see inside; the ramen comes out of a small window in the wall. Maybe it is connected to VELROSIER next door on the other side of it, so that the chef can go back and forth between both restaurants….

しかしその一方で、メニューは前店舗と大きく変わりました。券売機によると、新店舗・中華そば六のラOn the other hand, however, the menu has changed significantly from the previous restaurant. According to the ticket machine, the ramen menu at the new restaurant, Chinese Noodle Roku, is…

• Roku no Chuka-soba 1200yen
• Roku no Toripaitan Soba 1200yen
• Toripaitan Soba with Sansho (Japanese pepper) 1200 yen
• Truffle-scented special Chinese Soba 1500 yen

Four types of noodles. The sign of duck broth, which was a selling point at the previous restaurant, is not felt at all with this menu revision. I personally feel a little disappointed because the Kamo Chintan Men I had before was very good… However, the official information of the restaurant says, “The soup stock is extracted from five kinds of bones (duck, chicken, deer, beef, and pork) to give it a thick and deep flavor,” so it seems that they have not stopped using duck at all.

Aside from chicken, beef, and pork, the new soup also contains deer bones… Just listening to the story seems to convey the deliciousness of the new Chinese noodles.

Has the taste changed with the new restaurant? Try Chinese Noodle Roku’s top-shelf menu item, Truffle-Scented Special Chuka-Soba…

Let’s try the new Chinese noodles at Chinese Noodle Roku. This time, I ordered the top-shelf truffle-scented special Chuka-Soba. After about 5 minutes of waiting at the counter, the Chuka-Soba arrived in front of me…

Compared to the Kamo Chintan Men at the previous restaurant, there is almost no change except for the addition of more toppings. Looking at the increased toppings, there are two large pieces of chashu pork and two kinds of pesto (black and gray?) on the center of the bowl. I will explain about these two kinds of pesto later.

Let’s start with the soup… The first sip was oily, but when I broke through the layer of oil, I was greeted with the fragrant soy sauce, followed by a hint of sweetness. As with the previous Kamo Chintan Men, the sense of broth is quite subdued, and if you don’t focus on your tongue, you will end up thinking, “It’s so light…” So, be careful. Also, the overall volume of the soup is small, which is a bit disappointing…

On the other hand, the noodles for this are probably the same as at the previous restaurant. The noodles are straight and very thin to match the light, clear soup, and they seem to be very delicate to the palate. This time, the noodles were boiled a little softer, and I enjoyed the slippery and sticky texture. The ultra-thin noodles are easy on the throat and do not burden the stomach.

Now, let’s focus on these two kinds of pesto instead of chashu (pork) for this topping introduction. These two kinds of pesto, the black one on the left is black truffle, and the grayish one on the left is porcini mushroom paste. I have not talked about the aroma up to this point, but from the moment this bowl of ramen noodles was brought to me, the truffle aroma that filled the air around me was unmistakable. It is surprising because the flavor of the soup changes completely as the black truffle paste, the star of the aroma, dissolves into the soup. But the porcini mushroom paste, on the other hand, was perhaps overpowered by the black truffle, and the flavor was not as strong as I had expected. I was hoping for an aromatic impact similar to the porcini mushroom dipping noodles I once had in Nagoya at Menya Shishimaru, but I was a little disappointed. I mean, for me personally, I wish they served these two pestos on a separate plate….

I don’t feel that there is much difference in taste between the truffle-scented special chuka-soba and the previous restaurant’s Kamo Chintan Men, but I think it is still a Bib Gourmand winner…as always. The price of 1,500 yen per bowl is a bit high, but I think the standard ramen pricing of 1,200 yen per bowl is rather higher. I would be willing to pay 300 yen more for an extra large piece of chashu pork and two kinds of pesto. The ramen itself is not very large, and I think that this special Chinese noodles will be the best value for money if you are going to eat ramen at this restaurant, even though the price is a bit steep.

The hidden specialty, Extra Wonton, is also highly recommended! To get to Chinese Noodle Roku, it’s a two-minute walk from Kyoto Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line, the nearest station.

Since the time of the previous restaurant, Chinese Noodle Roku has had a side dish called “Extra Wantan” (price: 300 yen including tax), which is said to be a big seller behind the scenes…

Three wontons shaped more like dumplings than wontons. The skin is almost torn off, and the minced meat is stuffed inside. However, thanks to the celery-like greens inside, they are surprisingly refreshing. I highly recommend this hidden specialty, Extra Wonton. Sometimes they offer a 100 yen discount on “Extra Wonton Day,” so if you are lucky enough to be there on that day, don’t hesitate to order the this as part of your set.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

P.S. If you are looking for delicious ramen in Kyoto, please stop by this article below…