Butakin Jiro Style Ramen @ Umeda Osaka 东梅田店 ☎ +81668093238

There's a Butakin Ramen outlet steps from our hotel in Umeda, Osaka. For days, every time we walked past the little restaurant we felt and smelled the porcine aroma blown out into the street. But, I hesitated to try it - there's something about human nature - not valuing or taking for granted what is right in front of us 😬

But, after experiencing my first Jiro style ramen at Ramen Sou Rekishi, I became very curious about this cultish style of ramen.

Jiro style ramen is like a rough, unrefined, scruffy, burly chap who gets more likeable once you get better acquainted. It's like ramen that speaks to the soul or rebellious inner child in some of us.

We caught Butakin just before leaving Osaka.

I ordered just 125 grams of noodles, the smallest portion.

I opted for "much" garlic, "much" veggie (bean sprouts) and "regular" oil.

The noodles at the bottom, heaped with boiled bean sprouts, charsiu and raw chopped garlic. ~~Simple, unpretentious~~ Coarse and rough.

The shoyu and pork bone soup was full bodied savoury salty with underlying porcine sweetness.

The crinkled noodles were thick and heavy, doughy, tender and chewy. At a manageable amount, I like these noodles - didn't had to struggle to finish them.

I love bean sprouts, so yeah "much" was just the right of amount of these crunchy, juicy "veggies". But, these were slightly overdone.

"Much" raw garlic for some heat. I like the taste and spiciness of raw garlic.

Only two thick pieces of charsiu but they were tender and the right balance of savoury and porcine sweet for me.

Complemented the soup, noodles and bean sprouts well.

Ramen Sou Rekishi gave more pork for the ¥, but I prefer the tender texture and porcine taste at Butakin.

Finished my whole bowl. Hefty, satiating, satisfying, quite delicious, something very different from the traditional tonkatsu ramen or shoyu ramen.

It's made for students and young salarymen - inexpensive, chunks of pork, thick heavy noodles in intense tasting soup in outsized portions for ravenous appetites. It's like a dare you can win - I was stuffed, adrenaline pumping (maybe MSG) and felt younger eating this 🤣 It's addictive, and I understand now why it is cultish among the ranks of Jirorians.

Stole a shot as we were stepping out. I feel a little hesitant taking photos inside restaurants in Japan but turns out the crew was curious and very friendly 😄