For execs celebrating Father’s Day, ramen choices abound

FILIPINOS continue their steamy love affair with ramen. And what makes a good ramen? First, the broth.

Before anything else, Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. Husbands can be a pain but fathers are always a treasure!

Sending out a big hug to my own superman dad, Ephraim Cuadra Salcedo, who wittingly or unwittingly, in my youth, trained my taste buds to appreciate flavors from the humble balut and balun-balunan to the high-brow Bull & Bear porterhouse steak of the Waldorf Astoria in New York. Cheers, Dad!

Ramen

Let’s talk about ramen today because this bowl of umami is the favorite comfort food of a lot of dads.

What makes a good ramen?

First, the broth. This is what made Ukokkei, a small ramen house on Pasay Road (A. Arnaiz) stand out from the rest back in the mid-2000s, getting a nod from true gourmets like lifestyle guru Leica Carpo and even Senator JV Ejercito. Because of the extraordinary broth cooked for 48 straight hours, ramen soon enough became the trendiest dish in the Manila food scene.

It sometimes takes days to achieve the intense, deep flavor of excellent ramen. Pig’s bones are cooked from anywhere between 23 hours and 36 hours to draw out the flavorful marrow from the bones and release collagen and fat from the feet (if included) to achieve a milky and rich broth.

The noodles are also essential and the kind of noodles used varies with the type of ramen cooked. For example, thin noodles are used for a thick tonkotsu broth while a lighter broth might be paired with thicker noodles. So specialized are some ramen houses in Japan that there are “noodle masters”!

Whatever type, though, like pasta, ramen noodles are appreciated al dente or katame. The noodles are also deliberately undercooked to accommodate the further softening that would inevitably occur once the noodles are added to the broth.

Mendokoro Ramenba

Following the success of Ukokkei and the love affair of metro Pinoys with ramen, Elbert Cuenca opened Yushoken in Alabang several years ago. Of Yushoken, I wrote in 2013: “As ramen masters have explained, it’s in the broth: Creamy, without the globs of fat that you see in lesser ramen. … But while the Shoyu will be your first love, the Miso Ramen, creamier than the Shoyu, will be your true love. Created using seven kinds of miso, it presents an unassuming complexity that can only be felt and not explained…”

This affair is rekindled at Mendokoro Ramenba, in Salcedo Village, where things get serious, i.e. you are gently persuaded to pay attention to your ramen over your companions by sheer design of the bar. Then, completely focused on your noodle soup, you realize why it reaps so much praise: As with Yushoken, the ramen broth here is not oily but dense and made cohesive with its character of umami. The only evidence of oil is from the chashu, which is larger and thicker than the usual slice of chashu for ramen.

There is also a commitment to making all flavors come from the ingredients and not seasoning. “We think of ourselves as purists,” says Mendokoro’s Elbert Cuenca. “We also use just shoyu or miso or sesame paste for flavor. We don’t use salt.”

Over dinner here recently on a weekday, it also seemed like my group was the only one chattering and cackling while other customers got serious with their shoyus.

Hideaki Aoyama

This commitment to creating the perfect ramen and to treating ramen with respect comes from “The Ramen God’s Son,” Hideaki Aoyama, who designed both the kitchens of Yushoken and Mendokoro. He is here several times a year to ensure that the ramen meets the standards of the “Ramen God.”

Recently, Aoyama honored Mendokoro customers with a one-night-only omakase.

Omakase means “I trust the chef” so the customer or guest sits back and just awaits each “surprise” from the chef.

What a surprise Aoyama prepared for all. The ramen master started with an appetizer of mullet roe, camembert, tuna and sweet fish; then moved on to sea bass that was grilled in Hokkaido miso (better than Nobu’s cod in miso specialty). This also came with the most delectable chawanmushi (egg custard) that was accented with orange rind, the accented flavors exhibiting the chef’s expertise in delicacies other than ramen.

However, it was the variety of ramen served that truly made the chef shine (but of course!).

Most memorable for me was the starter of curry ramen that was cold. This dish exhibited how the chef has truly mastered the art of making ramen that he can play around not only with flavors and textures but also with temperatures. For this cold— not to mention delightfully refreshing—ramen, the chef highlighted the coconut flavors of curry and even used the meat part of the coconut shell as the soup bowl, allowing the coconut flavors to truly seep into the noodles. How brilliant!

The chef also displayed his ramen-making prowess with two uncommon kinds of ramen: A chicken ramen and beef ramen. The chicken broth ramen was extremely flavorful and it’s a wonder why chicken ramen hasn’t caught on as much as pork ramen. The chef also made a beef bone ramen marinated in honey and foie oil. For those who are addicted to beef, this is the ramen for you.

One night only

Unfortunately, the Mendokoro omakase was only for one night. For now, until owners Elbert Cuenca, Ryan Cruz and Raffy David are pressured to create an omakase restaurant (and to please start serving sake!), we will have to be happy with the purists’ ramen served just with still or sparkling water. In any case, there are many choices to make your day: The tonkotsu ramens of which shoyu is the universal favorite; or the cold and creamy tantanmen with spicy minced meat if it’s a hot day. Or for a something different, dare to have the dipping ramen called Karai Tokusei and have a kick with how its sauce resembles chorizo.

Whatever ramen you choose, I hope it’s something that will make your dad or you as a dad happy this Father’s Day! You dads deserve the best ramen in the world!

Mendokoro Ramenba

G/F V Corporate Center

125 Leviste St. Salcedo Village, Makati

No reservations; limited seating. Pay parking available in the building and on the street. Major credit cards accepted; payment at counter. Wheelchair accessible.

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