You cannot predict the rain. But when it does, I know for certain it’s ramen that I want. Is it instinct or is it the way I grew up that I yearn for hot bowl of soup when I rain starts to fall from the sky?

A couple of weeks ago, the rain has been pouring down in our city that caused terrible traffic. That’s Manila my friends. When it rains, we automatically know traffic jam gets in the way too. So on a Saturday evening, O and I didn’t want to go drive too far but we both craved for a bowl of ramen. We thought of Ramen Nagi Podium branch as our place of comfort.

As an award-winning international ramen brand, you can’t remove high expectations as a customer. But as much as I can, I remove expectations whenever I visit a restaurant, even if it’s already in its popular state.

In our own city, Ramen Nagi is well-loved for its signature flavors – Black King, Butao King, Green King Red King. As you order, you are given a sheet of paper on a clipboard to fill out. This is where you customize your ramen preferences.

The Food:

Gyoza (Php 220) / Rate: 4/5

Started with Gyoza, meat and vegetables seasoned with Japanese spices wrapped in Ramen Nagi’s special dough. To taste its best condition, with the perfect crisp, it is served on a sizzling plate.

Green King (Php 410) / Rate: 5/5

What changed the way I see ramen is this Green King (Midorio) ramen. A favorite of mine, is a fusion of fresh basil and olive oil with delectable milky tonkotsu broth in a unique combination. No doubt, it tasted better with its lavish grated parmesan cheese on top, I repeat cheese, and richly marbled chashu. Ramen with cheese, end of story, I simply loved it!

Nagoya King (Php 450) / Rate: 4.5/5

Red alert! This is the spiciest ramen I’ve tasted, with level 10 spiciness. In other words, your tongue can burn by the heat if you’re not that strong enough. Nagoya King, branded as the ultimate spicy ramen, is inspired in ancient city of Nagoya in Japan. Bright and scary red with burning special sauce covering the bowl. There are only two sides. It’s either you’ll love it or you’ll hate it. I thought I couldn’t tolerate the heat, but I braved it for the unforgettable delicious combination of all ingredients. It isn’t scary as it looks like! I promise you. Ramen Nagi got this flavor right. I personally love this Nagoya King creation!

The thing is, I don’t think my tongue can handle finishing a bowl. The best is to share it with someone. And, order a bowl of Green King, like what I did, to get that right balance of both flavors.

I like my noodles’ firmness to be hard.

I’m glad Ramen Nagi serves ice cream, Nagi Vanilla Ice Cream! Topped with white crackers and injected with rum and Bailey’s! Otherwise, I would have stepped out to grab Sebastian’s, located on a different floor.

Kirin (Php 150)

Drink like the Japanese and order your Kirin Ichiban beer.

The Ambiance:

I think the branch in Podium is more spacious than the one in SM Aura and Greenbelt. I haven’t visited the other branches though. But I find Podium’s branch more homey.

At the farther portion, there’s an open kitchen where I stood up to watch the chefs freshly prepare my food. With that transparency, I feel at ease my food is not prepared in a nasty old kitchen with hiding cockroaches. That happens you know!

Chairs are shaped well to catch your butt. It isn’t the most comfortable seat, small for most of us, but you’ll forget about it once you take a sip from Ramen Nagi’s world class ramen bowls.

Took home with me two bags of Nagi Chips in Curry and Nori flavor.

What do you think of Ramen  Nagi?
Share with me your thoughts!

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Pray, Eat and Love.
Cheers,
The Food Scout 

Location: G/F, The Podium, ADB Ave., Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Operating Hours: 11:00AM-10:00PM
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RamenNagiManila
Budget: PHP500++
Rate
Food            9/10
Ambiance  9/10
Service        8/10
Cost             8/10
Overall       8.5/10