(On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, it’s vegan shio tonyu in regular and “red.” On Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, it’s a shoyu ramen, also in regular and red.) I’ve had their shoyu (soy sauce-based broth) before, and it’s good. Marukin always has two vegan ramens for $12, and they rotate throughout the week. That lingering tingle on your lips serves as a reminder of the very fine bowl of ramen you just slurped, which was completely worth the $14. It’s soft and nutty, with the perfect amount of shiitake mushroom, leeks, bok choy, miso crumbles, and, of course, hazelnuts. Watch with amusement as tourists pick up their Voodoo boxes and get excited for the delicacy that is Afuri’s vegan hazelnut tantanmen. What many might not know is that Afuri quite possibly has the tastiest vegan ramen in town. It’s no secret that acclaimed Tokyo ramen chain Afuri chose to open a noodle house in Portland for its “soft” water that can absorb more flavor. They get an A for effort, mainly because of the adorability level of the space and hospitable service, but this ramen was doing a bit too much. I’d like more delicious veggies, and less meat imitations. Made with Umi Organic wheat and barley noodles in a shiitake dashi broth, the noodles and soup were tasty enough (though I thought the pungent broth relied a little too heavily on mushrooms), but the pork-like seasoning treatment they gave their tofu was a little too on-the-nose. I wanted so badly to like this Pompoko ramen ($17) from Ichiza Kitchen and Tea House, a completely vegan restaurant in Goose Hollow serving pan-Asian cuisine, sake, and lots of tea. Since Portland has such a rich food scene, I set out to find the city’s best bowls of vegan ramen for these soggy days (and to practice my still-developing chopstick skills). Back in college, when friends would ask me to go to some noodle house for lunch, my reaction was always something akin to, “What am I, sick? I don’t need to hover over a bowl of noodle soup, thank you very much.” But after visiting Japan a couple of summers ago and discovering some seriously hearty, authentic plant-based ramen at T’s TanTan in Tokyo Station, my ignorance was lifted: Ramen is amazing, and the perfect lunch option as we close out the cold-and-rainy season. Other than my childhood obsession with Top Ramen, I’ve only recently become a ramen person.
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