- Hello everyone.
It's Liz Miu today.
I'm gonna take you to five
must try vegan ramen spots in Tokyo.
Just to let you guys know,
all of this footage was filmed way back 2019,
pre-COVID times.
But we still really wanted to show you
these awesome vegan ramen spots.
While Japan is home to ramen,
I think it is important to understand
that modern veganism is a pretty new concept there.
And Japan's still getting used to what flavors people like,
which textures people like.
To me, I just want things to taste
as close to the real thing as possible.
For now I think it's pretty exciting
to show you guys what the vegan ramen scene
looks like in Japan while it's not yet totally mainstream.
So let's go check it out.
Our first stop is Soranoiro,
which translates to color of the sky.
This location is painted all blue and white.
It's very whimsical.
And you kind of feel like you're in the clouds
just as you're entering the store.
Like most other ramen joints in Japan,
here you order your ramen from a vending machine.
And the reason that you order your ramen
from a vending machine is because the servers
don't want to be handling money and food at the same time.
So it's a hygiene thing.
This one was digital
and it had an English button which was super duper handy.
And they have two types of vegan broth here.
Plus gluten free noodle options.
And we of course got both the vegan ramen options.
The first ramen is a shoyu vegan ramen,
which is a soy sauce based broth.
It is a lighter broth that went really well
with all the mixed veggies.
There was sweet potato, radish, broccoli, onion,
mushroom, tomatoes, and a whole lot of bean sprouts.
Because there are so many vegetables in the bowl,
each bite was packed with a different texture
and different flavors
and it just keeps you going until the end.
You don't experience that flavor fatigue
that you get with a very unloaded bowl sometimes.
The other ramen that we got was the vegan tantanmen,
which we had with brown rice gluten-free noodles.
And this was a total step up.
The broth was more umami and complex
than the shoyu broth.
It was creamy, flavorful, and layered
with a little bit of spicy chili oil
for an extra kick.
The brown rice noodles we got
went perfectly with the vegan mince
and all the other veggies packed into the bowl.
Chabuzen is a real vegan gem in Tokyo.
There are so many vegan options in such a tiny space.
One of the best things is the fried soy meat
with green onion.
It's crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.
We also got the gyoza, which was made fresh to order.
And they're known here for their dragon ramen.
The broth is absolutely amazing and flavored with koji,
which is a fermented rice mixture,
and it just gives the whole bowl
this new dimension of flavor.
It's awesome.
The bowl had some nori and tofu.
And my only issue with this vegan bowl was the noodles.
The only vegan option for noodles is actually spaghetti,
which doesn't quite hit the spot.
Our next stop is Kyushu Jangara Ramen.
We went to the Akihabara location
and waited in a really big, long line
for this delicious bowl.
Here, you can get a salt based,
or a soy sauce based ramen that is vegan.
And it might look simple, but don't let that fool you.
This bowl of ramen is so flavorful and delicious.
The toppings are nori, bamboo shoots, chili threads,
and there's some garlic and tofu as well.
The noodles and the broth compliment each other perfectly.
And this is just simplicity at its finest.
And this is a bowl that I could smash every single day.
Mm, mm, mm.
Now, we cannot be on a vegan ramen tour of Tokyo
without heading to T's Tan Tan Ramen.
This is arguably the most popular vegan ramen joint in town.
I tried the gyoza, fried soy meat, and as for ramen,
I went with the black sesame tan tan ramen.
From the amount of sesame in the bowl,
I definitely wish that the flavor of the black sesame
was stronger, but all in all, not bad, quite delicious.
The bowl had soy meat in it,
which is always exciting as a vegan.
And I love that there is a dedicated, 100% vegan ramen spot
in Tokyo.
I hear that the golden sesame ramen here is really delicious
and has peanut butter in it, what?
So next time I'm in town,
I will definitely be returning to try that bowl.
Our final stop is Noodle Stand Tokyo in Harajuku.
On Fridays, they do a vegan tan tan ramen special.
But it wasn't Friday when we visited,
so we tried the standard coconut miso ramen.
Here they have a mechanical vending machine.
Don't forget to bring cash.
This was a pretty good looking bowl of ramen,
topped with vegan chashu, pickled ginger, and some greens.
They also have gluten-free noodles
which is always so awesome
for people who can't usually have gluten
because it means you can eat noodles.
I found the coconut miso broth a little bit heavy.
So I tried to lighten things up with some lime
and some Togarashi spice.
I don't love coconut.
So I personally wasn't the biggest fan of this bowl.
But I just know that this is one of those ramens
that most vegans will absolutely love.
A hot, generous portion of hearty ramen,
perfect on a cold night out in Tokyo.
As you guys can see, vegan ramen in Tokyo, mwah.
Leveling up, evolving by the day.
I cannot wait to return
to see which awesome new vegan options they have.
It's gonna be so good.
Thank you guys so much for watching this video.
Let us know which country
you want us to check out the vegan options from next.
Hopefully we can take you there and we'll see you soon.
Bye.
(dreamy music)