Welcome to a tale of two ramens
Today I'm going to show you 2 types of ramen
One vegetarian
Or vegan actually
And one not
I'll be going to T's Tantan
In Ueno Station
And Phil's going to Ichiran
Which is a really popular ramen chain
With branches all around Japan
We're at T's Tantan
It's a vegan restaurant
In Ueno Station
Now they have a pretty well-known branch inside Tokyo Station
This branch at Ueno
Is the newer branch
I believe it's slightly smaller
I think it's got a slightly different menu as well
The exciting thing about this place
Is they have a little deli counter
And they have vegetarian katsu sandwiches
Now every other time I've been to Japan with my friends
They've all had their pork katsu sandwiches
And I've never been able to try them
So this is my chance here
They've also got ramen which is mainly sesame based
Everything on the menu is completely vegan
That was really good!
I really enjoyed it!
It seemed like such a novelty
To be able to pick from anything on the menu
And I wanted to eat everything
I went for the gold sesame ramen
There's 3 types of sesame ramen
I don't know which one's the best
But the gold was pretty good
The soup was quite rich actually
It was creamy
It had a nutty taste
It had a lot of sesames in it
And I love sesames
So that was a good thing in my book
It had a lot of vegetables on the top
And then underneath
Some of the leaves
I didn't see it at first
It had some soy mince
Which was sort of - not curry flavour
But it was a bit spicy
Actually the soup was the tiniest bit spicy as well
I can take medium spice level
So for me it had a tiny bit of spice
But it wasn't hot at all
They had extra spice on the table
They had the tantan sauce if you wanted to make it hotter
I tried a tiny bit of that
And it tasted like it had some of that mixed in already
I actually didn't feel weird at all eating on my own in there
There were quite a few other people on their own
Just getting on with their meals
It was actually perfectly comfortable
It's really common here
So many people go out for lunch and eat on their own
I don't think you should ever feel uncomfortable
About doing that here
It's not got the same stigma
Especially because you often sit at counters
Rather than at tables
It's fine
So you don't feel like anyone's staring at you or anything
So today for lunch
We split up
And both went for lunch on our own
Happy holidays!
Because Phil's allergic to nuts
And basically everything on the menu has nuts in
So watch out for that
It's not like a crazy allergy
But if something specifically has a large amount of nuts
That's not a good thing
So if it's got trace amounts
Then I normally just don't worry about it
Which is why I'm fine at most restaurants
But here, everything was made of nuts
Which I guess gives it it's taste
And Amy really wanted to eat there
So I thought let's go separate ways
Yes - that's the way to go..!
And it's good you didn't go, because it had a spoonful of peanut butter on the top
And it did taste kind of nutty as well
They were actually really good at labelling
All the things you might be allergic to on the menu
They had little icons on there & it was really clear
So while I was having that
Phil went to Ichiran
Which is a ramen chain
That we've seen around quite a bit
It always seems to have a queue outside
So Phil went to see if it's really as good
As it's supposed to be
Yeah, so there is always a queue
I think I've seen it at about 9 in the morning
When there isn't one
But every other time of day
There's a big queue
I had to wait about 15 minutes
You get in the queue
The guy gives you a menu, basically
A little tick sheet
So you can see the items you want
And you can circle them
And it asks you things like how rich do you want the sauce
How much dashi do you want in it
How thick do you want your ramen noodles
How spicy do you want it
So like at Coco Curry, you can have zero spice up to 10
I went with a 2
Which was just spicy
And I'd say that was nice
For me I could taste the spice
But it wasn't spicy
Which for ramen I think's about right
I don't really want a really spicy soup all the time
So you can really customise it
And I kind of felt bad
Because a lot of the time I just went with the recommended
Which is the middle one
I would like to go back & try the really soft version of the noodles
And the really hard version of the noodles
To see if it made a difference
But this time
Just straight down the middle pretty much
Just circled all the normal things
Then on top of that
You can also choose additional things
Like you can choose if you want an egg
Which you do!
And you can choose if you want rice
Or extra noodles
There's a whole load of things
Then you go through the door
And a lot of people are surprised there's a vending machine in there as well
So it's pretty common to order from vending machines here
It just mimics the menu exactly
So you choose - basically you want ramen
And you wanted a beer
So you press beer
You want an egg you press egg
And that's pretty much it
It's pretty straightforward
Was that in English?
It was in English, yes
It was simpler than a lot of vending machines I've seen
And there were staff right there to help you
So I guess I should have started by saying
One of the main features
Of this chain
Is that you don't have to talk to anyone
So you don't need to talk to staff
They serve it in a little hatch
So you can't see their faces
Just ramen appears in front of you
However, it's so busy there
That I interacted with a lot of members of staff
So you've got the person in the queue
Then the person who shows you how the vending machine works
If you're struggling
Then the person who shows you to your seat
So there's a lot of staff there
So don't assume
It's going to be this completely solitary experience
Nor is it difficult
So it's - interesting
They will let you sit with your friends if you want
Somehow I got sat in the middle of a couple of friends
Which was a little bit weird
Because they were talking over me
So not the best experience
But that's not anyone's fault really
That's just how it happens
So you go in
Sit down
Push your tickets through
And they deliver you ramen
It came within 5 minutes
Probably 2 or 3 minutes really
And it tastes really good
It was good ramen
It was well made
And tasted nice
Lots of good things going for it
It's quite cheap too, really
About 850 yen
For the ramen
Then whatever you pay for the extras
I would say
If you're going there to try Japanese ramen
You'll find better, just from random places on the street
Or by doing a little bit of research first
However
It is an experience
And it does taste good
It's really easy
As a tourist, they're geared up to help you
It's a real tourist ramen restaurant
So it's worth going there
Just for that
It's nice, easy
Good food - not the best
Not the worst by a long way either
It's a nice safe bet
And they are everywhere
So you can always find one
I did order a beer
And they had a beer problem
A beer problem?!
They couldn't give me the beer
So I had to talk to the members of staff a little bit
They explained that there's just a problem with the beer
So I said don't worry about it
They said no no no, we'll remake your meal
If you're ok waiting 5 minutes
We'll re-make your meal
Which I thought was really nice
Because i'd half had my meal
I'd got through a lot of it
They were quite happy to try & sort that out for me
I said no no
Because we're in a bit of a hurry
I needed to meet with Amy again
So they gave me my money back
And they also gave me this
Which I guess is tea?
Shi-kai...
Bi -ch-ya...
...I don't know what that is!
It looks like tea
But they gave me that as an apology
And they were really friendly about it
And it was easy to talk to them
But yeah, I did speak to quite a lot of people
In a restaurant where you're not supposed to speak to anyone!
But it was fine
Actually that probably is tea
Because that's cha at the end
Cha is usually a tea sort of thing
So in summary: good ramen
Worth going to
But definitely try and find
Some more authentic places as well
Like little areas
Or just places that have been reviewed really well
Ichiban
I don't know how many locals really go there
Partially because of the queues
And partially because I think they can get better
Ichiran
Sorry
What did I say?
Ichiban!
That means number one!
Ichiban: Lipstick for men!
Ichiran, yes
That's interesting
It's not the best ramen when it's so popular
It's not bad
But I think it is geared up for tourists
I think it's like: This is a really cool experience, you must go
And it is a cool experience
And it is good ramen
But it's not the best ramen
Don't come here, have that and think you've had it
Because there is better
Now I did want to try everything on the menu at T's Tantan
But I also got this veggie katsu sandwich!
Which is great
This is also part of the reason why I went there
I think they only have them at the Ueno branch
Sorry - Ueno
I think that's how you say it!
The Ueno branch of T's Tantan
Not the Tokyo Station one
But I'm not 100% sure on that
Usually all my friends get katsu sandwiches
From the convenience store
And I'm really jealous
Because I can never try one
So now I can!
They've got one here
This was 550 yen
They have them on a deli counter
So you can take them out
My ramen was 900 yen
So neither was expensive
Which is pretty good for a vegetarian place
That sandwich actually...
That's double the size you'd normally get
For a katsu sando
Is it?
That fancy one I had the other day
Was thicker
But normally in a convenience store you just get two
So it's just two slices of bread
I think these are probably quarters
It's not very tall
So it is just a two slice sandwich?
Yeah
But even so - 550 yen
For that
In the UK, £3 for a sandwich, that's fine
Yeah, it's pretty good
After all that, the katsu sandwich actually wasn't my favourite
I still prefer the fruit sandwiches you get in convenience stores
But maybe that's just me
Because I've seen lots of other people really enjoyed it
But the ramen at T's Tan Tan
Is my favourite ramen anywhere
And I can't wait to go back
On reflection, Phil's also looking forward to going back to Ichiran
This time he's going to try some different choices
Rather than just going down the middle for everything
If you've tried either of these
Let me know what you thought of them
In the comments!
If you're like us
And you're a vegetarian travelling together with a meat eater
You might find my restaurant list helpful
It's a list of places in Tokyo
That serve meat & vegetarian options
Which most places don't
I'll put the link in the description for you
Finally, here's how to find T's Tantan
At Ueno Station
This is inside the ticket barriers
So if you're getting the train to Ueno
You'll find it before you go through the ticket barriers
Or if you're coming from outside the station
You'll need to get a ticket
Or scan your Suica card
To come in
It's inside ecute shopping centre
Probably pronounced that wrong
Is it e-cu-te?
I'm not really sure!
It looks like ecute on the sign
Which is a little row of
Restaurants inside the station
I'm just opposite track 8
Of the Joban and Ueno Tokyo line
So it's really close to the platforms
There's also a more well-known branch
Of T's Tantan
In Tokyo Station
That's also inside the ticket gates
On Keiyo Street
There's branches of Ichiran all around Japan
Just search for Ichiran on Google Maps
I'll be back next week
With more things to do in Japan
There's new videos every Thursday
If you want to subscribe
Se you next time!