New Bites: Ramen Bar's Longganisa Ramen

Watching Asian dramas never fail to make me crave for ramen. Is it just me or more often than not, there will be at least one scene where the lead character will joyfully slurp down a massive mouthful of piping hot noodles straight from the copper pot in a squat position? The low EQ foodie in me always make me want to grab a pack of noodles myself. But there are times when I want something better than instant noodles and that's when I brave Manila traffic for some good ol' made with love ramen. And this time, I went with Ramen Bar. 

Hello, Ramen Bar. 

This wasn't my first time in Ramen Bar. I remember I visited its first branch in Eastwood about a eight years ago with some friends. Ramen Bar is one of the first players in the ramen category 10 years ago. Sadly, it didn't stay relevant and was left in the shadows of ramen giants such as Ramen Nagi and Ippudo. But that does not mean that Ramen Bar offers mediocre food. In fact, its ramen are just as good as each and everyone's favorite! And there's one Ramen Bar variant that caught my eye-- Longganisa Ramen (PHP320). 

I started off with Ramen Bar's Hirata Buns Sampler (PHP250) which is a lovely tray of gua bao buns stuffed with chicken and pork topped with Japanese mayo. This alone is very filling so make sure to share it with someone if you want to try something else.

My huge bowl of ramen arrived in less than 5 minutes from the time the buns were placed on the table. And as much as I would love to finish my share of buns, I was enticed to skip the last two buns and have a slurp of the fragrant broth. 

Though it may not be as thick as its counterparts, I love that each spoonful remains flavorful without being cloying. The bowl also had the perfect amount of noodles to go with the broth. And the longganisa on top was so good! Charred and sweet, it sure went well with the noodles and soup. The sunny-side up egg was an excellent touch too to give that longsilog taste without being traditional. 

I can't wait to get hold of more of that longganisa ramen! 

Ramen Bar is located at Ground Floor, The Hub, Greenfield District, Mandaluyong City.