Ramen at YO! Sushi

We’re ramen, we hope you like ramen too?

Not content with burgers and fried chicken, the latest (slightly healthier) craze to sweep across london is ramen. Jumping on the band wagon is YO! Sushi with a #ramenwins campaign, even backed by their first TV ad. Ramen is being touted as the new ‘belly busting’ comfort food, or ‘the new chicken soup for the soul’. Perfect for when you’re feeling ill or suffering with a hangover! We’ve not had the chance to visit all the latest ramen bars such as Bone Daddies and Ittenbari, although we have visited the lovely Tonkotsu, (read our review here).

It’s not the first time YO! have grabbed us with one of their campaigns, back in November last year showing off their social media skills, they discovered our hunt for the best Katsu curry via the power of Twitter, and invited us to try their version, which was better than we expected (read about it here).

YO! have bought out five different dishes, Five Spice Gyū Ramen (beef), Miso-­‐Dare Chicken Ramen, Chāshū Pork Ramen, Kaisen Ramen (fishcake) and Kitsune Ramen (vegetable) ranging from £7-8. The noodles are freshly prepared in the UK by a Japanese company.

The same Umami Broth (made with ingredients including katsuobushi) is used in all five ramen dishes, but it’s the individual marinades that makes each dish taste different. What we liked most about YO!’s ramen was the addition of oils to customise your noodles, chilli, sesame and garlic puree. I ended up throwing them all in to perk up my broth.

We spoke to executive chef Mike who, after his numerous trips to Japan, seems to have kept his ramen dishes as traditional as the UK market would allow. Some more ‘hardcore’ ramen broths are created by emulsifying fat and collagen into the stock by cooking pork bones and fat for up to 18 hours – maybe this a little too much for YO! customers?

I ordered The fishcake version as it’s one of the most popular, it sounds a bit odd but it worked really well. The noodles were teetering on the soft side, and the egg overcooked, the fishcakes themselves were definitely the highlight. Ade had the more traditional Chāshū Pork Ramen, (Chāshū means ‘roasted on a fork’). The meat is marinated in five spice, honey, soy and hoi sin for up to 24 hours and then roasted BBQ style.

With all these new specialist independent ramen bars popping up in London, we wonder if YO! can compete. But for those outside of the capital, YO! Sushi could be right up your street.

www.yosushi.com/ramenwins
twitter.com/YOSushi
https://www.facebook.com/YOSushi