Fuku Ramen

Sounds familiar? Fuku Ramen? If you follow an Amsterdam based food feed, you’ve probably seen this name around. Fairly new, but already building a reputation for their ramen bowls, Fuku Ramen only offers a chef’s menu from Thursday to Saturday, and an à la carte ramen lunch every Sunday. Simple. Is that the secret?

A couple of years ago, everyone was raving about Ramen Kingdom. To my shame, I still haven’t visited them, yet I promised myself I’ll stay in that line one day. Lately, however, I’ve started hearing about a possible competition for the best ramen in Amsterdam – and that’s when I’ve started looking for reservations at Fuku Ramen. Weeks later (after being home for a while, and saving some money – ’cause you need some money)…there we were!

This was Hayden and I’s first date night since being married, so we’ve decided to go all out. They offer a 5 course chef’s menu for €75, but you can opt for a 6th course – which we have.

As an amuse bouche, we got beans with sweet tofu skins, which were full of flavor, so we knew we were in for a ride.

Our first course (that’s the extra, 6th one) was tuna belly, marinated in soy sauce and wasabi, with caviar on top. To put it simply, I told Hayden “I could live off this (and ramen) forever”. Fresh, delicious, beautiful.

For our next 2 courses, I forgot to take pictures. Took notes, enjoyed the food, and forgot the whole point of having this blog. So sorry about that…

The next course was made of Japanese scallops (hotate) with Korean pear and lime. Scallops are also something that I’m ready to die for, when made well, and these were. Perfect texture, and the sweetness was beautifully balanced with citrus.

Now…the 3rd course was BY FAR my favorite. Not just out of this menu. Not just in the past months. I think this was my favorite plate of 2023 (which makes me even more pissed off that I forgot to photograph). I did, however, find a picture on Google Reviews, taken by a user called L. Madsen, that I’m sharing here with you.

It was Chawanmushi, a Japanese egg custard, with the tastiest mushrooms I have ever (ever) tasted, corn, and summer truffle. Is there a better list of ingredients, out there? I don’t know. To me, this was perfection in a bowl. If they ever create a permanent menu, I really hope it will be on there.

The fourth course was from the BBQ. An arctic char with mushrooms, in a reduction of bones and soy sauce. Loved this one too, although maybe not such an explosion of aromas as I found in the rest of the plates. For those of you that have no idea what an arctic char is, you could compare it to salmon. Same family, different fish.

The next course was theeee course. Fuku Ramen’s specialty is…as you may have guessed…ramen! I was surprised to receive a full bowl, even though part of a multiple course menu, so it was definitely pretty filling. But these are unimportant details when you’re devouring a bowl of deliciousness. On that night, we enjoyed a shoyu chintan ramen, with a chicken and duck broth. It was fatty, flavorful, and just amazing. Ramen is my favorite food in the world, but even Hayden was absolutely convinced, and said he’d be happy to return just for this. It was simple, classic, and done well. Could’ve had 3 more eggs. We all know they’re the best part.

After cleaning our palates with some shaved ice, we’ve enjoyed our last course: the dessert! The flavors around this dish were based around peach, sake (ice-cream), and syrup-crusted nori. A really beautiful combination, that I thoroughly enjoyed. Hayden said he’d like to taste more of the nori, but I kinda liked the subtle taste. A great ending to a great meal.

Well, it’s pretty obvious that we’ve had a great experience at Fuku Ramen. 3 hours later, we both said we wish the whole thing wasn’t over. The food was exceptional. The owners are incredibly sweet, and the whole staff was great. The sake pairings were well advised, and it was nice to try something new, rather than your familiar wine pairing. The atmosphere was lively, but not too much. I don’t have one bad thing to say about Fuku Ramen, which is rare.

The only point I’d maybe have to make is that beer is expensive. I understand sake being expensive, I understand Japanese wine being €9 per glass (kinda?), but a local basic(ish) beer being €6.5…just can’t do it.

Overall, I couldn’t recommend this place enough. To repeat, this ain’t cheap. You’ll probably need to spend at least €120 per person, drinks included. But if you can afford it, or looking for a place for a special occasion…go to Fuku Ramen. Just go. You can’t go wrong with it – if you have any taste, that is.

Kidding. But not really.

(Yeah, they’re getting a very rare 10)

Value for money: 10

Food Quality: 10

Location: 7 (Ingogostraat 14A)

Service: 10

Website: https://www.fukuramenamsterdam.com/

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