What many might not know is that Afuri quite possibly has the tastiest vegan ramen in town.
It’s no secret that acclaimed Tokyo ramen chain Afuri chose to open a noodle house in Portland for its “soft” water that can absorb more flavor. They get an A for effort, mainly because of the adorability level of the space and hospitable service, but this ramen was doing a bit too much. I’d like more delicious veggies, and less meat imitations. Made with Umi Organic wheat and barley noodles in a shiitake dashi broth, the noodles and soup were tasty enough (though I thought the pungent broth relied a little too heavily on mushrooms), but the pork-like seasoning treatment they gave their tofu was a little too on-the-nose. I wanted so badly to like this Pompoko ramen ($17) from Ichiza Kitchen and Tea House, a completely vegan restaurant in Goose Hollow serving pan-Asian cuisine, sake, and lots of tea. Since Portland has such a rich food scene, I set out to find the city’s best bowls of vegan ramen for these soggy days (and to practice my still-developing chopstick skills). Back in college, when friends would ask me to go to some noodle house for lunch, my reaction was always something akin to, “What am I, sick? I don’t need to hover over a bowl of noodle soup, thank you very much.” But after visiting Japan a couple of summers ago and discovering some seriously hearty, authentic plant-based ramen at T’s TanTan in Tokyo Station, my ignorance was lifted: Ramen is amazing, and the perfect lunch option as we close out the cold-and-rainy season.
Other than my childhood obsession with Top Ramen, I’ve only recently become a ramen person.
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