By Miko Rimer, Y12
Chapter 1: Ramen
Hey foodies! Welcome back to another edition of food reviewing. Unlike the Food of the Future articles, The Classics will identify one specific dish and analyse its quality around different locations in Geneva.
Ramen, a Japanese noodle soup consisting of a meat broth and wheat noodles is one of the most varied dishes. Every region in Japan has its own! Originating from the early 20th Century, ramen has slowly become one of the most eaten foods on Earth, with about 95 billion packs of instant ramen consumed annually. From the warm soothing broth to the lightly salted buttered noodles, ramen is a perfect winter dish.
Today’s article will look at three ramen locations in Geneva; namely, Umamido, Ukiyo and Yuki Guni. All locations can be delivered on either UberEats or Smood. I decided to analyse said location’s Shoyu ramen dishes. Shoyu ramen consists of a chicken and vegetable broth, topped with onsen tamago (slow cooked egg), green onion, spinach, bamboo shoots and chicken chashu (braised chicken). The factors I’m focusing on are the quality of the broth, noodles, toppings and spice. With the ideal ramen having a thick golden, oily, creamy broth. One with a combination of the powerful savory components (from the broth) contrasted by the sweet and sour toppings. Moderately spicy, and most importantly al-dente, buttery noodles.
The first dish on the hot-sheet is Umamido’s Shoyu ramen. The fundamentals of this dish were there, the soup was stocky, the noodles were firm, but the whole dish was distinct by the range in toppings, be it the kimchi that provided a sour touch, or the spring onions rendering a sweet after taste. While almost perfect, it was missing a soul. The lack of spice, the unappealing onsen, the soggy shoots.
In contrast to Umamido, Ukiyo ranked highly where Umamido ranked poorly. Ukiyo’s broth is weak, blame its watery texture. The toppings while less in variety, blended together smoothly with the dish. Definitely the best spinach and chashu. The zesty spice woke up my buds. One thing is for sure, you can’t get better noodles in Geneva. Although the broth is weak, the chewiness and bounce after each bite brought me on an eclectic journey.
Finally, Yuki Guni. It’s simple, Yuki Guni has the best broth in Geneva. It’s consistently good! In addition to that, if you like onsen, Yuki Guni’s is bright orange, the white has been cooked to the point of colour degradation, having the distinct grey… truly beautiful. While it ticked all my boxes for a delicious meal, the noodles were over-cooked.
Overall, if I had to settle with one location, it would be Umamido for its overall high rank in each category. Ukiyo for the beauty in the noodles, and Yuki Guni for the delight in toppings.
