@movernie
I always dream of having Chinese hotpot outside in the cold winter for dinner. Reason? I want to experience what’s it like dining outside in the cold, freeze my ass off but while having hot food right into my stomach, I get to feel the hot & cold temperature all at the same time. LOL I know, I know, I am crazy right?
Anyhow, when we were taking a stroll in Osaka, Japan, near the famous Dotonbori area, we came across this ramen shop called “Kinryu Ramen Midosuji”. This is actually an outdoor standup ramen shop (meaning no stools, no chairs, just straight up standing near the counter. When it’s busy, people standing around the street).
How it works?
- You choose the ramen and pay via a machine (at this location, it’s very simple, there are only 2 choices of ramen)
- Grab the ticket
- Stand around the counter and find an empty spot
- Hand the staff your ticket
- You can grab a plastic cup on either side of the counter, get cold water from the water fountain machine
- You can actually see your ramen being made since you are standing in front of the kitchen
- After about 3-5 minutes (depending on how busy the shop is), you will get your bowl of ramen
- The shop has 3 bowls of ingredients (free of charge) for you to put into your bowl of ramen to add in flavours. They are garlic; chopped chives and kimchi
I later googled about Kinryu Ramen, it turns out it has a few locations around Osaka, but only the Midosuji shop located near Dontabori is a standup shop (while other locations offer chairs and tables). The standup style works well for this location coz everyone is just finishing up drinking with their coworkers or friends around the Dontabori area and are on their way to catch the last train home, they grab a bowl of ramen, standing at the shop, fill the tummy in less than 15 minutes, so it’s convenient, ramen does the job and everyone goes home happy. The best part? All of these Kinryu Ramen shops open 24/7. That means you will always have food to eat no matter what time you want a bowl of ramen at Kinryu.
I have to say, this Kinryu Ramen is average ramen, it does the job, but it’s not the most amazing ramen so please kindly keep the expectations in check. However, the soup and ramen are hot (in temperature) when it presents to you and I really enjoy the chives; garlic and kimchi that are available for you to dip into your ramen. Those provides good flavour in the bowl of ramen. The price of the ramen is relatively cheap, it’s $600 yen ($7 CDN).
I really enjoy this experience as the weather at night in November was quite chilly. I got a chance to wear my jacket, stand around, watch people go by, watch the traffic go by and meanwhile indulging a bowl of hot ramen soup. It really warms up my body and it feels good during the evening.
If you are down for a bowl of ramen in the outdoors and on a chilly night, this is the spot.
Kinryu Ramen Midosuji
Address: 1 Chome-7-１2 Nanba, Chuo Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 542-0076, Japan
Phone: +81 6-6211-3999
