Osaka: Midnight Ramen: Kinryu Ramen 金龍 ラーメン

Once upon a time, I lived in Osaka, Japan.  Living there were some of the best times of my life, great friends, exciting new ventures, chillaxed work environment, most importantly, scrumptious food on every corner, any time of the day (yes.. they have AMAZING food at corner stores). Speaking of which, at a minimum of once a week, I'd visit a restaurant at around 4am (...ahh.. the days when I was still young), my all-time favorite place  to go to after parties in Osaka was Kinryu Ramen 金龍 ラーメン.
Note: TONS of restaurants in Osaka are opened until 5am; when the train starts off for the day.

We found this place only because it the most eye-catching restaurant that was still lit with bright lights at 5am.With a green dragon running through the entire red restaurant in the biggest shopping district Namba, you will probably find a picture of this place in every tourist in Osaka's trusty digi cams, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO MISS IT!!

The ramen at Kinryu, as most ramen shops, have to be purchased via a ticket dispenser in Japan, giving you the choice of size and soup base. Patrons are self-served and seated on raised tatami mats with short wooden tables; it's an "open-kitchen" allowing you to see everything going on; water/kimchi/shichimi/pickles/garlic are all unlimited at the counter in the corner.  Simply put, it's no different from a Mc D serving ramen. The best part of the whole ambience is the ability to people-watch. It's always so interesting to do that in Japan, with the eccentric fashion, street performers and basically expecting nothing but random encounters.

Now what you've all been waiting for.. the RAMEN. The ramen is firm, a little chewy, this was perfect for me.  I prefer my noodles with a bit of a texture, this might be my favorite part of the whole bowl as I'm not a huge fan of the Chashu (Japanese BBQ pork), I usually just have one piece and the rest of it goes to whoever I'm dining with. The noodles were the thin, round strands that are rarely found anywhere in Hong Kong. The combination is just delicious with the soup! For a small ramen, the noodles just like they're neverending (and NO, I'm no where near complaining, keep 'em coming!).
With a strong whiff of seafood, Chinese influenced broth, the tonkotsu soup base was light yet flavorful enough to soak the ramen with little fireworks . Believe it or not, I pretty much devoured this whole bowl all by myself. (snort*)

Kinryu Ramen 金龍 ラーメン
1-7-13 Namba, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi
(06) 213-6825
***open 24 hours***