Yamadai New Touch Chiba Takeoka Ramen Review

This is the first of the noodle bowls I'm trying from the Yamadai New Touch Amazing Noodles Summer Fukubako Eastern Japan Ramen Box 2024.  I picked the Chiba Takeoka Ramen at random as I didn't have a favourite. This bowl is created in conjunction with Umenoya, an keystone Takeoka-style ramen shop with lineups to get in. Takeoka is a port in Futtsu City in Chiba prefecture and has one of three unique style of ramen to the prefecture. The broth in the soup is unusual because it uses boiled char sui pork, water (of course), and soy sauce. No boiled bones and a simpler broth still can make for a tasty ramen soup and onions are a topping!

3/4 view of the Takeoka Ramen bowl.

The lid of the bowl really emphasizes the ramen noodle soup with the bowl occupying 2/3 of the surface area.  The top thirds shows the port of  Takeoka with boats moored in the water. The ramen is covered with diced onions, menma (pickled bamboo shoot)  and a big piece of chashu pork. Nice medium thick noodles float in a medium brown soy sauce based soup.   Big red characters say Takeoka style ramen!

Side of the bowl with the New Touch branding and the noodle bowl name.  It has a white pebbled surface to simulate pottery.

Preparation directions up top and ingredients on the bottom.  Take out the sachets of toppings and soup stock, open the pouch with the meat and menma to place under the noodle block along with the dried onions. Then add in boiling water to the fill line and close the lid.  You should add the liquid soup stock after letting everything hydrate for 5 minutes.

Nutritional information and warnings.

Allergens, manufacturers info, and additional warning.

Contents of the bowl.  A dried noodle block, a sachet of dried onions on the left, a pack of preserved menma and pork slice, and then a liquid soy sauce soup base.

The dried onions on the left.  The pack on the right is preserved menma with pork underneath; the packaging keeps them fresh and it is like canning them.

I placed the pork, menm, and onions under the noodle block where they would warm up and hydrate best.

I added in the soy sauce soup after letting the noodles rehydrate for 5 minutes.

Information under the lid about the noodle soup. The first "Takeoka-style ramen" released used fried noodles, not the non-fried noodles of the Sugomen brand. It became a popular product, so we renewed it to the Sugomen brand to further improve it. Then, with the full cooperation of "Umenoya", a long-established Takeoka-style ramen shop, we have repeatedly renewed it and improved the product's appeal. This time, we have increased the size and amount of onions, achieving further evolution. Please enjoy the taste recommended by "Umenoya".

The dried onions had a nice fragrant smell of onion and the meat had a marinated meat smell. The non-fried noodles in water rehydrated with just the onion and meat had a savoury smell. Kind of like won ton soup broth.  After fully rehydrating I added the soy sauce soup base and mixed well.

The broth had a hint of sweetness under the flavourful soy sauce soup which had a deep soy smell and meat aroma. After checking out the broth I tried the noodle which were chewy with a hard break and just good noodles. I was surprised the onions were crunchy and oniony, and the bamboo was soft and still crunchy too. The pork was firm with a harder chew to it than expected, kind of like the meatiness of a pork chop or a mild chewy jerky, so the bite texture was interesting. This was a tasty bowl of ramen that did not disappoint. Having the onions as a topping was different too! 

Closeup of the noodles and pork.

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