Yamadai New Touch Amazing Toyama Ramen Bowl Review

This was the second of the ramen bowls I had from the "Yamadai New Touch Amazing Noodles Summer Fukubako Western Japan" ramen box of six kinds of instant ramen bowls.  This Toyama Black style of ramen is a classic regional ramen from Toyama city that relies on the shoyu (soy sauce) tare in the soup.  The soup is very dark in colour with a dark soy sauce from the local Yamamoto Brewery and its salty savoury richness is enhanced by fish sauce/meal and back fat. The black ramen was first cooked by the Daiki restaurant in 1947 after WW2 and it is served by many restaurants now, each with its own variant.  There is often a bit of spiciness to these noodles from cracked pepper too.

3/4 view of Toyama Black Ramen Bowl.

I wasn't sure what to think about this ramen.  You can tell the emphasis on it was the word "BLACK" as the lid of the bowl is a pure black background.  It is actually kind of cool as the ramen bowl is a gold colour with this black top that almost simulates the black of the soup.  The picture on the lid shows a red ramen bowl with thick golden noodles appearing out of a black soup.  A piece of chasu roast pork and green onions provides an accent to the noodles.  The presentation looks both mysterious and enticing at the same time.  Also the red box with the words "AMAZING TOYAMA" indicates something special is within!

Very black lid of the noodle bowl.

Cooking directions up top, with ingredients and contact info below.

The Toyama Black logo on the golden side of the bowl.

Nutritional information, warnings, and manufacturing info.

The contents of the bowl.  There were dried pork, pepper, and a liquid soup base satchets.

A closeup of the noodles wit the dried pork slice, green onions, and menma (pickled bamboo shoots).  The noodles are air dried, not fried and are broader than some noodles.

Yamamoto Soy Sauce Company info.  Talks about their Jozo soy sauce that is popular with ramen restaurants in the area!  The soy sauce has a deep, rich, and mellow flavour.

The rehydrated noodles.  I added boiling water up the fill line and closed the lid.  The noodles take 5 minutes to rehydrate.

I then added in the dark say sauce soup base.  Look at the pool of inky blackness before it mixed in with the soup.

The final mixed soup with pepper added on top.

This Amazing Toyama Black Ramen is very visually distinct as there is a high contrast between the soup and the noodles.  Dark soy sauces are often used in marinades and they have a more mellow umami flavour to them.  There was the faint smell of soy and an intense smell of pepper from the pepper powder.  I almost thought is was a mix of Szechwan pepper and white pepper as there was a bit of residual burn when tasted. The soup had a peppery tinge to the savouriness of the deep soy notes.

Everything rehydrated nicely in the 5 minutes with boiling water.  The non-fried noodles were a bit al dente with a nice texture with a good chewiness and break to them. Unlike the first bowl I had where the pork had more of a jerky texture, this piece of pork was really nice with a meaty bite and chew to it. The menma were think and a little crunchy to provide some contrast to the noodles too.  This bowl was on the zippy end for Japanese heat, so a medium heat overall.  I quite enjoyed this bowl as it was pretty amazing and distinct!

Closeup of the pork and noodles.

Follow me on Twitter or Instagram at @Tostzilla or my feedburner. 
More snacks, ramen and Japanese pop culture.