Thursday, February 27, 2014

桂花 (Keika in Kumamoto)

桂花 本店

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Everything in Kumamoto closes early! My list of shops to go to included 黒亭 and 火の国, both of which were closed when I finally checked into my hotel. Luckily, for hungry travelers, everything around the Shimotori shopping arcade is open late.

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Kumamon is here to welcome you.

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Very cool town. There were a ton of fancy dessert cafes. What's that all about? Anyways, back to the ramen.

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This is Keika. It is a bit of a mini-chain, so I never gave it much thought. But 本店 means head shop, so this is a once in a blue moon chance to eat at a famous-around-Japan shop's original branch. And with a kiddy-sized option for only 480 yen, the ramen adventure could continue afterwords.

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Nice, but nothing special. The soup; creamy and wonderful, topped with that signature burnt garlic oil that makes Kumamoto ramen famous. The pork; rich and decadent. The egg; a horrid mess. Two out of three ain't bad.

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There are a few of these in the Tokyo area, so I might try it someday for comparison. Or maybe not.

Official Site Here



熊本県熊本市中央区花畑町11-9 K-1ビル1F
Kumamoto-ken, Kumamoto-shi, Chuo-ku, Hanabatacho 11-9
Closest station: Hanabatacho

Open 11:00-23:45
Friday and Saturday until 1:45am
Sunday 11:00-20:00

1 comment:

Ramen Love said...

When I was your age, eggs were hard-boiled and flavorless, none of this half-boiled, infused nonsense. And we LIKED 'em!