Since its establishment in November 1999, Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Restaurant Keyaki has reigned as one of the most popular ramen restaurants in Susukino. Long before I started this blog, a friend of mine who lives in Hokkaido once took me there, and I believe it was the first miso ramen I had in Sapporo. It was so long ago that I don’t remember any details other than that it was delicious, but this restaurant had a special place in my heart among the many ramen shops in Sapporo.
So how long has it been since I visited the main branch of Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Restaurant Keyaki Susukino Head Shop? Maybe 15 years, right? Recalling what little memory I have left, I headed towards the restaurant with the help of Google Maps…
I am sure it was like this more than 15 years ago… on a weekday at around 7:00 p.m., this is how long the line was and how long the wait was at the Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Restaurant Keyaki Susukino Head Shop.
I arrived at Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Restaurant Keyaki Susukino Head Shop around 7pm on a weekday. At this point, there was a long line of nearly 20 customers waiting to get in, and I was immediately confronted with the harsh reality of the situation.
I said a word to the person at the end of the line and headed inside the restaurant to purchase a meal ticket from the ticket vending machine. I returned to the line and waited for a while, remembering that I had to wait in a very long line before. At that time, I was prepared to wait about an hour due to the length of the line, but fortunately, I was able to enter the restaurant with only a 30-minute wait. The restaurant is cozy with only 10 counter seats inside, so the customer turnover is quite fast even among ramen shops.
A longtime favorite as “a ramen to end the day”… How was the standard miso ramen at Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Restaurant Keyaki Head Shop?
This time I ordered Miso Ramen from the standard menu at the Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Restaurant Keyaki Susukino Head Shop. After less than 10 minutes of waiting, the ramen arrived in front of me…
The ramen came out in a three-dimensional arrangement with vegetables, just like Ramen Jiro‘s ramen. It is not a huge bowl, but the volume of the bowl is quite impressive. On the other hand, there is no chashu pork, which is a standard topping for ramen. Well, there is minced pork stir-fried with vegetables, so the meat element is not zero…
Aside from that, first a sip of the soup… The soup is rather light, and while the saltiness of the miso is subdued, the broth from the pork, chicken, and vegetables can be felt gradually as one. The taste is light, but by no means thin. The richness of the miso, the savory flavor of the minced pork, the sweetness of the vegetables, and sometimes the spiciness of the chili pepper…it is a good balance of all of these in perfect harmony. It does not have the impact of Sumire‘s miso ramen, but it is a permeating soup with a broth that gradually takes hold.
Yes, there is hot lard on the surface of the soup, so be careful not to burn yourself, especially during the first sip. The soup is kept hot until the end, so it will warm you up immensely, especially during the cold winter months.
On the other hand, the noodles for this dish are medium-thick and curly, and are said to have matured after one week of aging after being pounded. Unfortunately, my stupid tongue cannot tell the difference in taste due to the one-week maturation, but the frizziness of the noodles was well mixed with the soup, and the plump texture in my mouth was right up my personal alley.
Now, Keyaki‘s miso ramen does not contain chashu pork by default, but instead, stir-fried vegetables stir-fried in a wok are thrown into the bowl. There are cabbage, carrots, and kikurage mushrooms in such large quantities that it is hard to believe that this is a default ramen. The volume is so large that it could no longer be called tanmen. The nutritional value of the ramen cancels out any feelings of guilt that may arise from eating the entire ramen.
The miso ramen at the Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Restaurant Keyaki Susukino Head Shop is different from the thick miso of the “Junsumi type” that began with Sapporo Junren, and while it has a lighter taste, the soup has a strong sense of broth that I felt was unique to this restaurant. The feeling of the animal and vegetable broth that is blended into the soup makes it ideal for a final drink after a night of drinking. Thankfully, this restaurant is open until 3:00 a.m. after the date has changed, so you will never be in trouble for the last drink of the day in Sapporo again. This restaurant is one of the best choices especially when you want to try Sapporo Miso Ramen with a different taste from the Junsumi type.
Other Ramen Menu Items at the Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Restaurant Keyaki Susukino Head Shop (prices include tax)
- Boiled egg ramen: 1,300 yen
- Garlic ramen: 1,300 yen
- Spicy ramen: 1,300 yen
- Negi ramen: 1,300 yen
- Corn butter ramen: 1,400 yen
- Chashu ramen 1,600 yen
- Super spicy ramen 1400 yen
Note: Large portion orders are extra 200 yen.
Miso ramen for souvenirs is available at a price exclusive to the main store! Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Restaurant Keyaki Susukino Head Shop is a 3-minute walk from Susukino Station on the Sapporo Municipal Subway Namboku Line.
Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Shop Keyaki also sells miso ramen for souvenirs…
A box of fresh noodle type 2 servings is 756 yen including tax → 600 yen. The price is about 2 yen less than the original price, so you could say it is a very good deal. By the way, you can order this souvenir fresh ramen from Amazon or Rakuten. Please click the button below to visit the purchase page.
Now, here are the details of the restaurant…
Sapporo Miso Ramen Specialty Restaurant Keyaki Susukino Head Shop Out of 5
Address: Riku Bldg. 1F, Minami 6-jo Nishi 3-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 064-0806, Japan
Phone number: 011-552-4601
Business hours: 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (closes at 2:00 p.m. on Sundays and holidays)
Closed: No regular holidays
Parking: No parking lot
Credit card payment: Not accepted (meal ticket system)
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