Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About
    • About Me
    • Tiny Urban Kitchen’s Favorite Equipment
    • Press
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Asian
      • Chinese
      • Taiwanese
      • Thai
      • Malaysian
      • Japanese
      • Korean
    • Appetizers
    • Soups
    • Salad
    • Pasta
    • Noodles
    • Rice
    • Vegetarian
    • Meat
    • Sweets
      • Baking
      • Ice cream
      • Cookies
    • Misc
    • Kawaii (Cute)
  • Travel / Restaurants
    • United States
      • Boston
        • Jen’s Picks
        • Boston
          • Allston
          • Back Bay
          • Brighton
          • North End
          • South End
        • Cambridge
          • Kendall Square
          • Inman Square
          • Central Square
          • Harvard Square
          • Porter Square
          • North Cambridge
        • Somerville
          • Davis Square
          • Union Square
        • Greater Boston
          • Brookline
          • Arlington
          • Belmont
          • Watertown
          • Newton
          • Lexington
          • Concord
          • Burlington
          • Natick
        • Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Berkshires
      • Vermont
      • Maine
      • New York
      • Washington DC
      • Philadelphia
      • Orlando
      • Chicago
      • Las Vegas
      • California
        • Los Angeles
        • San Francisco
        • Napa
        • Sonoma
      • Seattle
      • Hawaii
    • Canada
      • Montreal
      • Canadian Rockies
      • Toronto
    • Argentina
    • Europe
      • United Kingdom
        • London
        • Oxford
      • Italy
        • Rome
        • Piedmont
      • France
        • Paris
        • Bordeaux
      • Spain
        • Madrid
        • Barcelona
        • Catalonia / San Sebastian / Girona
      • Germany
      • Belgium
        • Brussels
      • Switzerland
      • Greece
      • Finland
      • Norway
      • Denmark
    • Japan
      • Japan Guide
      • Tokyo
      • Osaka
      • Kyoto
    • China (Mainland)
      • Beijing
      • Chengdu
      • Shanghai
      • Shaanxi
      • Shenzhen
      • Xiamen
      • Yunnan
    • Singapore
    • Hong Kong
    • Malaysia
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Australia/New Zealand
  • Michelin
    • Formerly had a star
    • Michelin Recommended
    • 1 Star
    • 2 Stars
    • 3 Stars
  • Jen’s Eating Guides!
    • Boston Restaurants
    • Boston Dishes
    • Tokyo
    • Hong Kong
    • Las Vegas
    • Napa / Sonoma
    • Taiwan (night markets)
    • Taiwanese (casual eats)
    • Street Foods of Bangkok (Part I)
    • Street Foods of Bangkok (Part II)
    • Kitchen Equipment
  • Trip Reports
    • All trip reports
    • New England
    • New York
    • Washington DC
    • Las Vegas
    • California
    • Canada
    • Europe
    • Florida
    • Japan
    • China

Sapporo Ramen

February 17, 2010 by Jennifer Che 14 Comments

_1000588
Sesame flavored “Tan Tan Men”

Imagine you’re walking down a busy street at night.  In Japan. The sidewalk is slippery and your hood is drenched.  You’re cold, hungry, and desperately wishing for something warm.

You turn the corner into a dark alley and stumble upon a tiny restaurant.  You push the door open a crack.

Inside, five cooks shout out in a chorus “Irrashaimase!” as you enter the tiny space, a warm oasis from the harsh elements outside.  The cooks are hard at work, hand-kneading ramen noodles.  Steam rises from  countless pots of water boiling the fresh noodles.  You tentatively request “the most famous dish” (your Japanese is lacking and that is all you can muster). The noodle soup that emerges is perfect: fat chewy noodles, piping hot broth, and deliciously tender slices of fragrant roast pork.

If only I could relive that moment again.  That was me, back in April, stumbling upon Suzuran in a dark alley in Shibuya, Japan.  Since then, I have not stopped in a ramen restaurant in the States, fearing it would be nothing like that experience.  Well, nine months later, I finally tried my first ramen place in Boston after leaving Japan.
Roast pork ramen
House Ramen

Being at Sapporo Ramen is almost reminiscent of being at a noodle bar in Japan, although the effect gets a bit lost once you realize you’re actually in a small university/mall.  It’s nothing like being at Suzuran, but if you stay in the little foodstall area and use your imagination, you can almost believe you are in Japan.  After all, you are surrounded by other tiny Japanese eateries, and the atmosphere of the place feels Japanese enough, I guess.
_1000585
The space at Sapporo Ramen is tiny, crowded, and minimalistic.  The cooks stand right in front, feverishly working to churn out hot, piping bowls of ramen.  Although there’s no “Irrashaimase!” when you first enter, the staff is friendly enough.  The ramen broth is deep, rich, and flavorful, a result of bones simmering for hours over a low flame.
_1000587
Despite the simplicity, there are cute reminder of Japan at each table.
_1000589-1
Spicy Miso Ramen

And the dishes are good.  Soy based broths, Miso-based broths.  You can even get a sesame version, which has a super deep sesame flavor, although it’s quite rich and I had trouble finishing it.

This place is simple, cheap, authentic, and extremely popular. During busy times, be prepared to wait in line for one of the handful of available tables.

Even if you don’t like ramen, the Porter Exchange Mall is worth visiting if you like Japanese stuff in general.  There are many great reasonably priced eateries such as Cafe Mami (Japanese curry, hamburgs, etc), Bluefin (sushi sit-down restaurant), Cho Cho’s (Korean food), a boba tea stand, a sushi bar, and a few other small eateries with which I am not as familiar.  There’s a Japanese bakery as well. Not to mention an awesome gift shop that sells some of my favorite Japanese characters.  All in all, a great place to visit!

Oh how I miss Japan!

Sapporo Ramen
Porter Exchange Mall
1815 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02140
Sapporo Ramen on Urbanspoon

©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved

Filed Under: Cambridge, Porter Square, Restaurant, Review Tagged With: Japanese, ramen

« Muqueca
Blog Away Hunger – Haiti Campaign »

Recent Posts

  • L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Hong Kong January 18, 2021
  • Nostalgic Reminders of Home: Five Guys Hong Kong January 6, 2021
  • Elementary Hong Kong January 5, 2021
  • Happy New Year 2021! A Look Back at 2020 January 1, 2021
  • Restaurant Le George Paris December 29, 2020
  • Nice Yakiniku and Fine Wine Hong Kong December 28, 2020
  • Merry Christmas 2020 December 25, 2020
  • Sushi Shikon Autumn 2020 December 24, 2020

Latest Chinese recipes!

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    February 17, 2010 at 11:11 am

    Do you think – that you could label the photographs with which menu items they are?

    Reply
  2. Hungry Dog says

    February 17, 2010 at 11:57 am

    I love ramen, to me, it is the ultimate comfort food, especially on a rainy, dreary day! I have a few favorites here in SF but it would be fun to check out this place in MA–as well as anywhere in Japan. Straight to the source!

    Reply
  3. Sean says

    February 17, 2010 at 1:36 pm

    Ramen does wonders for the soul and body on cold days. It’s not available in my college town so I either have to go through withdrawal or eat the red package sapporo ramens until I go back to Atlanta.

    I want ramen now. Ahh….

    Reply
  4. Tiny Urban Kitchen says

    February 17, 2010 at 1:45 pm

    Anonymous – yes! I can do that. Post will be updated momentarily.

    Reply
  5. Lindsey@pickyeatings says

    February 17, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    I visited the Japanese stalls a few weeks ago and fell in love. I also wish I could go back to Japan soon, but this can be the next best thing!

    Reply
  6. Jeff D says

    February 17, 2010 at 3:58 pm

    I agree, there are not many places in Boston that are comparable to the ramen-ya in Japan, but Sapporo does a pretty good job. I’ve heard that Ken’s (attached to the Super 88 in Brighton) is good as well but I have not visited.

    There is an Ippudo branch in NYC. Much more expensive than Tokyo but the noodles and broth are spot on.

    Reply
  7. lindsaymeyer says

    February 17, 2010 at 4:05 pm

    Mmm, I had a wonderful (and similar) experience in Asakusa with a big steamy bowl of spicy sesame ramen. It was also located in an alley, and it was a great deal (about $8 for the bowl). Japan is great… I would love to go back and spend more time outside Tokyo, but there are so many wonderful places in the world it’s hard to justidy going back to places you’ve already been!

    Reply
  8. Skip to Malou says

    February 17, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    i love ramen and we’re glad that we have found a new japanese restaurant here in San Diego that comes close to the real thing!

    Reply
  9. Fuji Mama says

    February 17, 2010 at 7:20 pm

    Tantanmen is my ABSOLUTE FAVE bowl of ramen. Sigh. You’re totally making me homesick!!

    Reply
  10. Carolyn Jung says

    February 18, 2010 at 12:05 am

    What timing. I just ate a bowl of ramen (shoyu broth) tonight. It was tasty, but it didn’t look half as good as the one in your photo. Yum!

    Reply
  11. Jessica@Foodmayhem says

    February 18, 2010 at 12:13 pm

    My childhood best friend is here visiting from Japan and telling me about the wonderful noodle bars in Japan, and how cheap they are. Can’t wait to go!

    Reply
  12. www.dhaleb.com says

    February 19, 2010 at 1:13 pm

    OMG I love ramen! My favorite spot in NY is Ippudo and they have the best pork broth ever. If I’m ever in your neck of the woods, I’ll have to check out this place.

    I’m coming down with a cold today too and this ramen sounds like the perfect get well soup! Mmmmmmm good.

    Reply
  13. S-Chef says

    February 23, 2010 at 6:40 am

    Love this little Japanese ‘mall’ — so many great little eateries to choose from! The Korean place is great, too.

    Reply
  14. samaste says

    June 11, 2011 at 1:57 am

    Excellent that I got the amazing Japanese recipe. A Japanese food are very delicious, healthy and not contain much calories which is good for health.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archives

Categories

Awards

Saveur
PFB

BostonGlobe

Most Recent Posts

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Hong Kong

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Hong Kong

Five Guys Hong  Kong

Nostalgic Reminders of Home: Five Guys Hong Kong

Elementary HK

Elementary Hong Kong

Happy New Year 2021! A Look Back at 2020

Restaurant Le George Paris

Restaurant Le George Paris

Great Yakiniku and Fine Wine

Nice Yakiniku and Fine Wine Hong Kong

Merry Christmas 2020

Sushi Shikon Autumn 2020

Foodhallen + Amsterdam Eats and Museums

4850 Restaurant Amsterdam

4850 Amsterdam – Nordic Inspired Creative Food

France!

Yam'Tcha Paris
David Toutain Paris
Divellec Paris
Breizh Cafe Paris
Clamato Paris

Kawaii! (Cute)

Norway!

Food Advertising by logo

Chinese Recipes

Okra with Chicken
Food Advertising by logo

Shop & Support us!

Spain!

Girona Spain
Amelia San Sebastian

Japan!

Bulgari Il Ristorante Luca Fantin
Sukiyaki Imafuku Tokyo
Sushi Ishimaya Tokyo
Disney Sea Tokyo
Tempura Fukamachi Tokyo
Shinjuku Gyoen

Cambridge restaurants

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress