This time, I would like to introduce “Ramen Fromage” located in Shiga Prefecture.
I have always thought that pasta is expensive and ramen is cheap. I always thought that pasta is expensive and ramen is cheap.
I thought that ramen is better than pasta when it comes to taste and time and effort, so why not make Italian-style ramen? If that is the case, I thought, why not make Italian ramen?
Outline of the restaurant
The restaurant is located in Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture.
The Ichigaya branch is a famous restaurant that has won the Michelin Bib Gourmand award (2015). We could not find any clear description or website regarding the store expansion, so for now, we report below on the Hikone store we visited this time.
This store is located in Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture. Hikone City is the home of Hikone Castle, where Hikonyan, the original yuru-kyara character, resides. The restaurant is located on Yume Kyobashi Castle Road, the busiest street in Hikone Castle Town, in a side street-like area off the main street.
The exterior looks like a café without the counter. The glass walls and red leather seats give it a truly “Italian” interior.
アクセスなど
- Access to the restaurant
- Business hours: 11:00 – 21:00
- Closed: Monday
- Parking: No parking lot
- Address: La Festa 1F, 1-11 Honmachi, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture
Since it is in the middle of a tourist area, you cannot expect to find a parking lot, but there are affiliated parking lots, so you must learn about them before you visit. It gets very crowded around here on weekends. It is difficult to talk about, but there are many places that offer reasonable prices for a sightseeing spot, so if you go to eat while sightseeing, you might not be so picky about parking.
Menu & Taste
Prosciutto + cheese + ramen is truly Italian ramen!
Although there is no clear description of the menu, the signature dish of this restaurant is without a doubt here, the prosciutto fromage (ramen).
Prosciutto ham & soup IN cheese. Neither of these items can be found in ramen shops. The way to enjoy them is to eat them separately at first, and then melt the cheese and enjoy the co-starring effect while mixing them with the noodles. In fact, even before combining the two, each has its own distinct flavor, which shows that the dish is not just an eccentric addition.
Although only available on weekdays, this menu comes with brown rice free of charge.
Dive it into the soup to complete the risotto.
The soup and rice, which is usually served with a backward glance, is officially approved here. It is an authorized dish, and the deliciousness goes without saying.
Incidentally, it was possible to add more fromage to the soup, but we decided against it due to the calorie calculation.
My personal favorite soy sauce ramen
Since Fromage was basically salt, I decided to have another bowl of soy sauce.
At first glance, it looks like a light, old-fashioned soy sauce ramen, and in fact, that’s how I felt when I first started eating it.
The basic taste is naturally soy sauce, with the addition of the delicious aroma of chicken stock, but it also has a depth of flavor that goes beyond that. I am not sure how it is related to Italian, but personally, I would rather rate it higher than the main dish, fromage ramen.
On weekdays, you can add a bowl of brown rice for free or a bowl of chashu pork for 200 yen.
Although there are no special characteristics to note, it is a bowl of rice that does not interfere with the sharp characteristics of the ramen and plays a minor role in the menu.
Conclusion
That’s all for this time.
Some people may not feel comfortable calling ramen + cheese ramen. However, there is no reason why Italian ramen cannot be called ramen while Japanese pasta can. The point is that as long as it tastes good, you don’t have to be so picky.
There are certainly many rival restaurants in the area, especially Omi beef restaurants, but except for this place, there is no other place where you can eat ramen with a combination of cheese, prosciutto ham, noodles, and soup. If you are interested in this dish, please give it a try.
Youtube version uploaded.
We have uploaded a video introducing “Ramen Fromage Hikone”. Please check it out if you like.
