Ippudo finally arrived at MOA on the 30th of August. We missed the free ramen on their opening day...so we dined on their second day instead. My companion and I planned to share a single ramen bowl. We were provided sharing bowls. But to our surprise, we were treated to a free serving of pork bun each!
Shiromaru Motoaji Special (Php 490)
The basic shiromaru is priced at Php 385 which comes with pork loin, bean sprouts, kikurage, and spring onions. By choosing the special, you get additional salted soft-boiled egg, pork loin, and seaweed. All of that tops off the noodles and the original pork tonkotsu broth.
For our thin noodles, we chose the hard version thinking that the hot soup base would further cook it and we'd get a medium version when the broth cooled down.
To further enhance your ramen experience, you can add freshly ground black pepper, freshly ground sesame seed, or fresh garlic. I added a bit of each to my broth and it indeed change the taste, it was even better. Just don't overdo it so much since the pepper and garlic can overpower the broth if you put too much. Their broth as it is, isn't my favorite among the ramen joints in the MOA area. But the plus side is you can adjust it to your taste with the pepper, sesame, and garlic.
Pork Bun (Free treat for their recent opening! originally at Php 125 each)
We were already feeling a bit full but we decided to eat this bun with a glistening piece of pork meat. Although it was no longer hot, the sauces mixed well together and with very bite, you get a piece of flavor, meat, and bun. But the amount of fat and meat doesn't seem consistent, my friend's piece was about 40% fat, mine was maybe 15%. Well, even the fat is tasty so it's not really a bad thing.
You actually get a feel of busy Japanese markets with the crew shouting Japanese phrases for every order made, special ramen served, guest arrival, or guest departure. My companions didn't like that part, it kinda came across as noisy to them. To me I think it's part of the experience. As for the price, the basic Shiromaru is almost at the range as Uma Uma Ramen (which already has includes a soft-boiled egg), while the cost of the special is close to Ramen Nagi. I wasn't able to look through their whole menu since my goal was to check out their ramen. Maybe I'll be coming back to explore what they offer beyond what they are most known for.
P.S: Shiromaru can be translated as "white circle" and Akamaru as "red circle" - the red and white bowls where the ramen is served in.
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