Agara Ramen is the go-to ramen joint for many locals on rainy Baguio days. We’re excited to report that while the hot ramen is as good as ever, they’re also offering some more summer-friendly dishes.
One fabulous alternative to soup is their chashu donburi. It’s a donburi (rice bowl) topped with shredded chashu. You’d typically sample their chashu in bigger cuts in their ramen. For this dish, it’s sliced small for easy mixing, but still packs a lot of flavor. You can also taste the egg yolk and special Agara sauce in every bite.
Their Chahan is another rice dish, this time a bit drier and lighter. Chahan is Japanese-style fried rice with chashu pork bits, pickled ginger, and finely sliced spring onion. For the uninitiated – the pickled ginger is the small red pieces on the rice. If you taste something with a little kick in your fried rice, that’s it!
Because we love our carbs, we also tried their stuffed buns. The classic Hirata bun has chashu slices, lettuce, and peanuts, smothered in Agara Ramen’s special sauce. Their Hirata cheese bun has pulled pork and coleslaw, with an artfully torched cheese slice on top.
One of the coolest things about the dining experience at Agara Ramen is when you sit at the bar, you can watch the magic happen. Witness the experts torching cheese and meat cuts, assembling rice and ramen bowls, and even making their own noodles from scratch.
Still craving ramen in steaming broth in the hot weather? No judgment at all if you want to sweat it out! Agara Ramen offers a wide variety of ramen styles.
Our favorites are the tsuyunashi tantanmen and the miso ramen. Tantanmen broth is spicy with a strong sesame flavor. The chili rounds it out well, without being too overpowering. If you have a low tolerance for spice, you may want to try it with a bit of rice to neutralize the intensity.
The miso ramen has almost a “toasted” flavor. It’s rich in ginger and their new recipe is more potent than before. It’s important to come in with the correct expectations – miso ramen is miso-based, however, it doesn’t taste exactly the same as the miso soup that’s typically served as a side dish with Japanese food. They’re both delicious, but it’s helpful to know they’re not identical.
Another extremely savory option is their abura soba (will be launched soon)! This ramen is much less soupy as the broth is concentrated at the bottom. Be sure to mix well before you dig in. The broth is more for coating the noodles than for sipping. Traditionally, you would splash some vinegar on top for flavor and acidity. You’ll have the option to do so or season it with Agara Ramen’s sauce, or even mix both in.
We washed everything down with their cold barley tea called mugicha. It’s so refreshing in the summer heat, and you can get it sweetened or unsweetened depending on your personal preference.
Agara Ramen is located at Palace Avenue on Legarda Road. Their original branch is at the ground floor of Rancho Guillermo Building along North Drive, Engineer’s Hill.
https://www.instagram.com/agararamen/
https://www.facebook.com/AgaraRamen