Kaidashi men Kitada

In November 2021, a restaurant called Kaidashi men Kitada opened in Nishinotoin Shiokoji, not far from JR Kyoto Station. As the name implies, the mainstay of the restaurant is ramen with shellfish broth, and two years after its establishment, it has become a popular restaurant with long lines of customers whenever they pass by the restaurant.

Even in Kyoto, which has become a battleground for ramen nationwide, there are still only a few ramen shops that serve ramen with shellfish broth. No wonder ramen lovers in Kyoto are not leaving them alone. I was lucky enough to have some free time when I was at Kyoto Station the other day, so I went to Kaidashi men Kitadafor lunch. What kind of ramen can we expect? I am curious…

Small but conveniently designed for tourists…this is what Kaidashi men Kitada is all about!

I arrived at Kaidashi men Kitada on a weekday after 11:00 a.m. It was still a little early for lunch, but there was a line of nine customers waiting in front of the restaurant. The wait time from the time I started standing in line to the time I entered the restaurant was about 25 minutes. Well, I guess the turnover of customers is about average for a ramen shop.

Once inside the restaurant, the first thing to do is to purchase a meal ticket from the ticket machine on the right side of the entrance. This ticket machine is a touch-panel type, and is excellent in that it can be used not only in Japanese, but also in English and Chinese. The payment can be made by credit card, QR code, Alipay, and WeChat pay, which are rarely used by Japanese people. These facts suggest that the restaurant is operating with an awareness of foreign tourists.

In fact, when I visited the store, about half of the customers were foreign tourists. The restaurant itself is not very spacious, with only seven counter seats and two tables for two people, but even large suitcases were stored in the shop. The restaurant is within walking distance from JR Kyoto Station, and I think it is quite convenient for tourists….

Tokusei Kaidashi men (Special Shellfish Dashi Noodle): A full topping version of the signature menu item at Kaidashi Men Kitada… Now, I’m curious to know how it tastes.

Well, what I ordered this time at Kaidashi men Kitada was the “Tokusei Kaidashi men (Special Shellfish Dashi Noodle),” a fully topped version of the signature menu item. The price is 1,200 yen including tax, 200 yen more than the default shellfish soup noodle. We can also customize our order by ordering half the amount of noodles, a large portion (+100 yen), or rice flour noodles (+200 yen), but since this was my first visit to the restaurant, I decided to order a normal portion without any customization.

After about 10 minutes of waiting, the Tokusei Kaidashi men arrived in front of me…

As you can see in the image, the soup is cloudy and topped with 3 slices of roasted pork and 1 flavored egg. You may think that 3 pieces of roasted pork is not much for a special dish, but actually, this is not the end of it…

Two wontons come on a separate plate. This is the end of the set of noodles with special shellfish broth. At 1,200 yen per bowl, I think they are doing a great job with the price.

Let’s start with the soup… It tastes just as you would expect, with the shellfish flavor and gusto coming straight from the shellfish. The shellfish broth is more of a gusto than a wrinkle, so I think it is better suited for lunch time rather than for finishing the day. It may be a good comparison to the Hachiku Ramen at Menya Yuko in Karasuma Oike (although this ramen is soy sauce ramen).

In contrast, the noodles are straight, medium-fine noodles with a slightly higher water content and a smooth surface, giving them a sticky + plump texture. The soup is absorbed well, especially when it passes down the throat, and the aroma of the shellfish broth is spread softly toward the nose.

As for the toppings, let’s take ajitama (flavored egg) this time. Even the yolk is soaked in the dipping sauce, and the flavor is much richer than it looks. The yolk is slightly harder than other restaurants’ ajitama, but this allows the yolk to keep its shape without melting into the soup. And yet, the yolk is still thick enough. I love this level of boiling. Especially in salty soups, I am always worried about the yolk melting into the soup and contaminating it…

I was personally satisfied enough to enjoy this kind of special shellfish broth noodle soup, which is as rich as the sign says it is. If I may say so, I think it would be good to have shellfish as a topping…. They must have consumed a lot of shellfish to make such a rich shellfish soup stock, but where did they go? Regardless, there are still very few restaurants in Kyoto where you can eat ramen with shellfish broth, and I hope they continue to do well.

The “limited rice (price: 300 yen including tax)” suddenly caught my eye while I was going through the purchase procedure at the ticket machine. At the time of ordering, I had no idea what it was, but what actually came out was rice cooked with clams. It was served in a slightly thick soy sauce broth with a large amount of clams. The volume is more than a normal bowl of rice, and I think it is a very reasonable addition to the menu when the ramen does not satisfy your hunger.

Examples of other menu items at Kaidashi men Kitada (prices include tax)

• Chinese Soba Noodle (Shio or Soy Sauce) – From 950 yen (ordinary)
• Clam Ramen (Shio or Soy Sauce): Normal ¥1,000 and up
• Rice with Clam Stew (Small: 200 yen, Medium: 300 yen)

Note: Ajitama (seasoned egg) is available for 100 yen more than the cost of the ramen, and the special version is available for 200 yen more than the cost of the ramen.

A rare shop in Kyoto that also serves morning ramen…Access to Kaidashi men Kitada is a 7-minute walk from the nearest station, JR Kyoto Station.

Kaidashi men Kitada is one of the few places in Kyoto where we can enjoy “morning ramen”. Open from 7:00 a.m., we can enjoy a bowl of ramen before commuting to work or school. Shellfish soup ramen in the state of waking up from sleep…sounds pretty addictive, and maybe I’ll try it next time, too. If you are thinking about having a ramen activity in Kyoto, why don’t you consider morning ramen at Kaidashi men Kitada as one of your options?

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

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