Ramen Nagi

Today I have an appointment in Makati Shangri-La from 9am to 12nn. I had to prepare for this meeting long and hard and once it was over, I immediately walked to the nearby Greenbelt 3 to grab my bowl of ramen from Ramen Nagi. Why? Because I deserved it! I’ve heard of this place before and saw some photos from friends. But I don’t want to get in on the hype of trying the other specialty ramen without trying the original first. Besides, this is their base right? If this is not good, then why would I expect the rest to be?

So I ordered the Original King (Butao) with the assortment of toppings of chashu pork, spring onion, bamboo shoots, raised spice level to half (because I have recently discovered people who eat chili for breakfast haha), nori, and of course, tamago. The broth was simple and you could say yummy but lacked richness.. The noodles were extra hard so that’s great. The chashu pork portion was on the small side. The aji tamago was perfectly executed. The other toppings were fresh and green just the way I like it.

Also, you don’t have ramen without Gyoza and theirs was served sitting on a bed of bean sprouts to stop too much heat coming from the iron plate. It’s my first time seeing that sort of presentation of the gyoza haha I prefer it simple, no fuss. Give me a perfectly steamed gyoza with crisp underside! Besides, there were burnt bean sprouts that passed on its taste to the gyoza. Were they going for that taste? It’s weird.

Verdict: 2/5
I finished the whole meal albeit the burnt taste (I apologize for always going back to that but I can’t help it). It was very filling but I like simple Japanese food. I felt like the held back too much on the ramen and overdid it on the gyoza. Pity.