If you pride yourself on the ability to eat spicy food (which we assume many Thais do), there’s a new place in town where you can put your tongue to the test. Katsu-Tan Ramen, which opened on Mar 3, offers ramen where you can customise spicy levels. But while the chilli options are exciting, the atmosphere offers nothing to get excited about. It’s basically a shophouse with cute pictures of the owner rendered in cartoon form on the white wall. Out front, there’s a display of food replicas and a TV playing Japanese TV shows that have featured Katsu-Tan Ramen. From its location, you can probably guess that the majority of patrons consist of Mathayom students from nearby cram schools, Chula students and white-collar Thais.
Katsu-Tan Ramen
Japanese
11:30am-10pm 414/17 Henri Dunant Road, BTS Siam Exit 6 02-251-1399 fb.com/katsutanramen
THE MENU
Choose between shoyu-based (B99+ for small size, B139 for regular) or tonkotsu-based (B99 or B139) ramen and add different toppings (B30-B60) as your heart desires. Then choose the level of spiciness from 1 to 100. Given the practice you may have had with kua kling and som tam, Shoyu ramen with chashu and soft-boiled egg (B219) at the 50th spicy level shouldn’t scourge your palate in the slightest. The noodle that is somewhere between soft and hard and tasty soup make for a delightful combo. Chashu pork buffers some heat with its juiciness. If you really want to crank up the heat, try Tonkotsu ramen (B139) at the 100th level. I feel some perspiration coming out as I slurp the red-hot-but-flavourful lava but I didn’t end up with any moob sweat. Adding fresh crispness is the white scallion. Deep-fried chicken on hot plate (B99) offers some sizzling sensations. Ponzu sauce evaporates from the plate, offering savoury smells as a prelude before leaving behind extra flavour on the chicken. The chicken’s crusty surface bursts with juiciness and heat inside. Onion quenches the heat with some sweetness. Takoyaki (B79) offers mushy and hot filling inside the balls with crispy exterior. The downside is that I don’t taste much octopus in them. For an icy end to your meal, try Choco banana man (B49) which is basically banana coated with chocolate.
INSIDER TIP
Kunihiro Aida is the CEO of Katsu-Tan Ramen. He brings this spicy recipe from Katsuura city in Chiba. Japanese competitive eater Gal Sone (or Gyaru Sone) has eaten at the original Katsu-Tan Ramen twice. Katsu-Tan Ramen has been featured on various Japanese TV shows. To celebrate the opening of the Bangkok outlet, when you order one ramen of regular size, you’ll get another bowl for free until Apr 12. Go to the restaurant’s Facebook page for more details.
SOCIAL MEDIA MOMENTS
Brag about your high tolerance for spiciness with a snap of you slurping some red hot ramen. The dishes look much more appealing in a picture when you take a photo from above.
VALUE & VERDICT
The offerings here obviously aren’t gourmet but the ramens are sensibly spicy, priced, and worth the sweat. Katsu-Tan Ramen is a place where you get in and out for a quick meal. Ramen lovers may want to give it a try. G
