Each time I'm in Paris, I invariably veer towards Japanese food. It's no secret that Japanese cuisine is my favourite and I can eat it all day, every day. On our recent getaway to the City of Lights for the French Open, I tracked down a small hole in the wall (ok maybe slightly bigger than a hole) Japanese eatery specialising in ramen. Ramen was introduced to Japan by the Chinese - exactly when, still remains a topic of hot debate. Nonetheless, the Japanese embraced the idea of ramen, perfected and adapted it to their culture and a ramen pandemic was born.
Kotteri Ramen Naritake opened in 2011 and is located in the 1st arrondissement in a small corner of Paris known as "Little Tokyo or Little Japan". It is in this small quarter that you will find a large congregation of Japanese restaurants on or near Rue des Petits Champs and Rue Sainte-Anne. It's a shoebox of a place, accommodating only around 25 people at any one time (all squished in - shoulder to shoulder) and no reservations are accepted.
Many reviews I have read claims this to be the best ramen in Paris. I needed to verify these claims for myself.
When we arrived during lunchtime on a Saturday, there was a small line of people trailing outside the restaurant. It comprised only of Japanese speakers (always a good sign) and a very small menu plastered on the shopfront window. Offers of either shoyu (soy sauce) or miso ramen with a small option of toppings abound. I selected charsiu shoyu ramen (soy sauce ramen with roast pork) with the addition of spicy scallions and ni-tamago (seasoned eggs). The base of the soup is still made with pork and chicken bones, so please do not be misled by the options of shoyu or miso and think that the stock is meat free (vegetarians beware!). Kotteri is the style of ramen stock - being super thick and utterly unctuous, unlike the style we might be more accustomed too which is usually more of a soupy consistency rather than a gravy-like consistency which this is. When the lady took our orders, she asked if we wanted less "graisse", normal "graisse" or extra "graisse". Mind you she pronounced it as grass instead of the correct french pronunciation. Luckily we saw the menu and thanks to modern technology and google translate, realised she was asking how much FAT we wanted, rather than how much GRASS we wanted (talk about almost lost in translation!). Not knowing what to expect, we erred on the side of caution and ordered two bowls of normal graisse ramen.
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| the very tiny kitchen where the chefs weave their magic ramen wand |
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| the massive stock pot wielding our superb soup base |
When our orders arrived, I can't say it was anything to look at. In fact one of my friends have liken it to something he could find on the sidewalks of Kings Cross (Sydney, not London). Thanks Mr S!
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| charsiu shoyu ramen with spicy scallions & ni-tamago. Note the white bits of "graisse' floating on top. |
I tried to do as the Japanese do - slurp the noodles loudly which is usually a sign of appreciation and a compliment to the chef, but in my culture, slurping is rude and as such, Mr GluttonousGoat and I devoured our ramen in silence - not out of respect for our culture but so we can savour each mouthful and ponder how a simple bowl of noodles have rendered us both speechless.
The noodles were perfectly al dente and bouncy (I would go as far as to say it was the best ramen noodles I have ever tasted), the stock thick and rich in flavour (though leaning on being a tad too salty for our palates) and there were an abundance of charsiu instead of the stingy 1-2 pieces you are normally granted at most other ramen joints.
I'll definitely be returning to Naritake on my next visit to Paris. Next time I will try the stock with extra grass. With the amount of graisse in the bowl we consumed this time around, I think the extra fat next time will probably render us with a heart attack or at the very least with a couple of blocked arteries - but it will be worth it. All in the name of food.
kotteri ramen naritake
31 rue des petits champs, paris, 75001
no reservations accepted
