Minatoken Sannomiya Branch

There is a ramen restaurant, Minatoken Sannomiya Branch, under the elevated railway tracks of Kobe Sannomiya Station on the Hankyu Line that I have been curious about for some time. What was it about this restaurant that caught my attention?

This is the pork ramen named “Hanabira Chashu (petal-shaped pork cutlet)” on the signboard. As one who loves chashu pork, if I am shown a ramen with such a visual, I can’t help but feel compelled to try it…

No.1 in Hyogo Prefecture Ramen Ranking? Minatoken Sannomiya Branch is such a restaurant…

Before talking about its “Hanabira Chashu”, let us first briefly introduce Minatoken Sannomiya Branch, a ramen shop that was established on April 28, 2014 and has a history of a little over 10 years at this point. The emblems “No. 1 in Hyogo Prefecture Ramen Ranking” and “No. 1 in Sannomiya Ramen Ranking” are displayed on a billboard in front of the ramen store, along with the store’s logo. However, when I did a quick search on the Internet later, I did not find any information about this restaurant being ranked No. 1… Well, personally, I am more interested in “good taste” than rankings.

The interior of the restaurant is very cozy, with only 11 seats at the counter, as if it were a restaurant under an elevated railway tracks. There is a ticket vending machine on the right side of the entrance, where you purchase a meal ticket and take your seat. Although the restaurant serves tonkotsu ramen, I did not notice any pork bone odor, which may bother some people. Many of the waitresses were women, and I think it is an easy place to enter among pork bone ramen stores.

A visual appealing to those who love chashu ramen… How was the most popular menu item at Minatoken Sannomiya Branch, Tonkotsu King Hanabira Chashu, when I actually tried it?

Let me introduce the most popular menu item I ordered at Minatoken Sannomiya Branch that day: Tonkotsu King (King) Hanabira Chashu (priced at 1,200 yen including tax). Image here…

It is true that the chashu is laid along the edge of the bowl like petals, and it is not at all inferior to the image on the signboard, but it came in a much smaller bowl than I expected, so it had more of an impact on me. Well, since it is 1,200 yen including tax for such a large amount of chashu pork, I can’t complain about the quantity of noodles and soup…

Putting that aside, let’s start with the soup… When you put it in the mouth, the soup is lightly thickened, and the flavor of soy sauce is a little emphasized. The pork bone flavor is well expressed, but it does not seem so thick compared to the thick pork bone broths at other restaurants, and there is no pork bone smell that bothers me, so I have the impression that the flavor is more for the general public than for pork bone lovers.

The noodles are straight thin noodles made by Nishiuchi Noodles, which boasts a history of more than 100 years in Osaka. Although I was not asked about the degree of boiling, the noodles were boiled quite hard, and a firm texture and the feeling of a sharp cut can be enjoyed.

The highlight of this ramen, chashu pork, is that there are a total of 15 pieces (12+3). The meat is well-balanced between lean and fatty, and the structure itself is orthodox and not very original, but as one would expect with 15 pieces, it is very meaty and full of flavor.

If eaten as it is, the ramen itself is easy to eat, but the volume is not so great. But in fact, this restaurant offers a divine service…

Free refill of one bowl of noodles. This is a big help because I had a feeling that I was missing something… I guess I could eat this one up and then the volume would be even. So, when you eat ramen here, I recommend that you save the soup until the end.

Hanabira chashu pork is also available inside Hananoyu in Suma and at the branch in front of Tarumi Station… Access to Minatoken Sannomiya Branch is a one-minute walk from the nearest station, Kobe Sannomiya Station on the Hankyu Railway line.

In addition to the Sannomiya Branch introduced here, Minatoken also has branches in Suma’s Hananoyu and in front of Tarumi Station. You can enjoy Tonkotsu King Hanabira Chashu at these branches as well, so if you are in the mood for a full bowl of chashu pork with your ramen, give it a try at one of them.

Now, here are the details of the restaurants…

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