For the longest time, I was only eating three types of ramen in Manila: Shio (salt), Shoyu (soy sauce-based) and Miso. But that finally changed when I recently tasted Tonkotsu Ramen.
I love its rich, milky taste with the deep tones of pork bones. Now I understand why people rave about Tonkotsu Ramen and why some say it is the true taste of Japanese ramen.
- “I love tonkotsu ramen. It ranks…among my all-time favourite foods. The cloudy white soup, made with crushed pork bones, is sinfully rich and always satisfying.” – Chubby Hubby | Best tonkotsu ramen
- “In case you haven’t been indoctrinated into the wonderful world of ramen, Tonkotsu broth is the Holy Grail of noodle soup broths.” – No Recipes | Tonkotsu Ramen
- “Tonkotsu (豚骨, “pork bone”; not to be confused with tonkatsu) ramen usually has a cloudy white colored broth…. has a thick broth made from boiling pork bones, fat, and collagen over high heat for many hours, which suffuses the broth with a hearty pork flavor and a creamy consistency that rivals milk or melted butter or gravy.” – Wikipedia | Ramen
Genya Tonkotsu Ramen has a simple, Japanese-style ambiance. Although visible when you pass by Macapagal Blvd., it is a bit hidden because of the big billboards around Hobbies of Asia.
The Japanese owner has already delegated the cooking to trained Pinoy chefs so I wouldn’t say it is authentic, but it is still good versus more commercialized versions like Ramen Bar (which was good when it started).
Our friends, Jonathan and Ellen, just came from a bad ramen experience the other day in Mabini.
We asked them to try the Tonkotsu Ramen with us. I’m glad it erased that memory because the ramen here is tastier and good value for money.
Genya Tonkotsu Ramen Menu: Shoyu and Shio Tonkotsu Ramen | Pilikara and Yasai Ramen | Side Menu (Gyoza, Kara-age) | Rice | Drinks
I was quite intrigued by the 2,500g Bowl of Bikkuri Ramen 30-minute challenge. Has anyone tried this challenge and conquered it?
Complimentary Green Tea, Red Ginger, Chilli Oil, and Sesame.
The resto is proud to offer these condiments for free + a single serving of green tea. 🙂
★ Shio Tonkotsu Ramen Basic Taste (Regular – P180). With Chashu, Negi, Kikurage and Nori.
We went for the basic taste of Tonkotsu, which requires 18 hours of boiling. The soup looks very milky and has strong flavors of pork.
Genya’s Ramen bowls are priced well, and the regular portion is enough for one.
The ramen noodles are a bit thinner than normal and not as chewy as I was expecting them to be.
★ Pilikara Ramen Spicy Taste (Special – P320). Special + Chashu + Ajitsuke Tamago.
I love the spicy kick of their Pilikara Ramen. We ordered the special version with chashu (slices of pork) and Ajitsuke Tamago — a seasoned, soft-boiled egg that is limited to 50 servings only per day.
Kara-age (P160). 5pcs Fried Chicken.
The chicken was crunchy and thin…
Yakimeshi (P250). Japanese-style Fried Rice (good for 3-5 persons).
…which went perfectly with their version of fried rice.
Moyashi – Itame (P180). Stir-fried Bean Sprouts.
Order some vegetables to balance out your meal. 🙂
Now, my top 3 Ramen places in Manila are:
Ukkokei Ramen Ron (Pasay Road), Tamagoya Ramen, and Genya Tonkotsu Ramen!
Genya Tonkotsu Ramen
Hobbies Mall of Asia, Macapagal Blvd., Pasay City
(Beside Jay-J’s Inasal)
The BEST RAMEN in Manila Series 2013:
- RAMEN NAGI: BUTAO Gourmet Ramen now in Manila! @SMAuraPremier
- RAMEN DAISHO UKKOKEI: Hakata Tonkatsu Ramen and Yakibuta Chahan!
- TAMPOPO たんぽぽ: Deluxe Black Pig Shabu Ramen and Top Grade Black Pig Tonkatsu!
- IKKORYU FUKUOKA RAMEN Philippines’ Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen!
- RAMEN SANTOUKA PHILIPPINES: Legendary Hokkaido Ramen now in Manila!
- RAMEN YUSHOKEN: Guide to the Best Ramen House in the South!
- MITSUYADO SEI-MEN’s Double Cheese Sauce Tsukemen!
- NOMAMA (2x) But You
- UCC’s Tan Tan Mian Tonkotsu Ramen!
- GENYA Tonkotsu Ramen
- RAMEN BAR – One of the Best Authentic Japanese Ramen Places in Manila?
- TAMAGOYA! Ramen
- UKOKKEI RAMEN RON – One of the Best Shoyu Ramen in Manila!
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Full Disclosure: Nothing to disclose. We paid for our meals and we are not connected in any way with the owners of this establishment.
P.S. Thanks to Shermaine for the foodie tip on Genya Tonkotsu Ramen, which opened last May in Hobbies Mall of Asia.
★ Highly Recommended Dishes 🙂
would love to try this soon! tnx
Are they in MOA. Am not too familiar with Macapagal blvd. Near the Blue Wave area? A bit more details on their location would be appreciated. Thanks Anton for the tip.
its not in MOA, its in front of Seaside Market. Claire Dela Fuente Restaurant.
Tried it today for dinner. The spicy, shio, and gomoku ramen were good but not tamagoya level good. I would give it two stars. The ramen were not served hot and the chashu pork did not taste fresh. The gyoza were good though. The stir fried beansprouts were too sweet for my taste. This deserves a couple more visits to be able to judge thoroughly if it deserves to be ranked among Ron, tamagoya… Thanks again for this review Anton.
looks yummy!! i haven’t tried Tonkotsu pa dn! will try soon!
I finally got to try Genya last night. I ordered the Seafood Ramen and my boyfriend ordered the Shio Tonkotsu Ramen. The soup was SO SALTY! At first it was fine (I guess we were too hungry to care) and later, I found myself drinking a lot of water because of the saltiness. And the thing is, our orders had different broths but both were salty. I don’t know if this was just a one night thing but that experience made me swear to not come back.
Always wanted to ask, Anton: what makes you describe something as authentic? Is it when Japanese food is cooked by a Japanese chef, or if American food is cooked by an American chef?
hmm.. wasn’t satisfied with genya ramen. the noodles they used were like the one from the sellers of mami on the streets. :/ for 300php I’d expect they’re noodles to be a bit more decent. oh well..
wasn’t satisfied with their ramen too. never coming back. :/
Yes, their noodles smells like the mami on the usual mamihan. But I still like it instead of instant noodles type used by other Japanese restaurants.
We were able to try this too… http://www.badudets.com/genya-tonkotsu-ramen-at-hobbies-of-asia-macapagal/
hi, i used to trust your blog before i read genya’s positive review. so far ive been seeing a lot of negative reviews for genya on the comment boxes. i guess food appreciation is subjective then. i hope you can respond to our comments.
btw, weve already eaten there before you and we have decided never to go back. id rather eat street side mami sold at 10 pesos per bowl than spend such a ridiculous amount of money for basically the same thing apart from some japanese lanterns on the ceiling. the concept of the ramen place was simple. filipina woman marries japanes man and encourages him to put up a business in the philippines. cutting corners in terms of ingredient quality and service can most likely be blamed on the filipinas greed. thus greed does not result in a good restaurant. passion does.
i completely agree.
Yes taste is very subjective and I welcome as many comments as possible so that we would have a complete picture of the resto. I’m just learning to appreciate ramen and the blog documents that journey.
Usually after the first few months of operation, the quality of the food of the restaurant deteriorates.
Authenticity has different definition based on different people you talk to.
I usually based it from a Japanese chef or cook cooking the Japanese food using Japanese ingredients.
My mom ran and co-owned a highly-rated Jap resto for more than 10 years with a 4 star Japanese chef so when she told me this place had bad ramen, we didn’t even bother to try.
I am a ramen lovin’ Japanese and I do agree with Anton that GENYA is one of the best in Metro Manila.
However, from the few times that I’ve visited the restaurant, I’ve noticed that they have changed the taste.
I believe that the main chef who is a Filipino is really good as he can provide what we, Japanese also get to be satisfied, however, that maybe one of the reason that the quality is not maintained.
But then again, that happens to many Japanese restaurants in Japan too.
I would go back to GENYA again very soon.
Hello Ramengod,
I’ve seen many Japanese men marrying an entertainer Filipina who has never done any biz to start “any” biz here in the PH. But restaurant biz is totally different.
In case of GENYA, just to keep the quality (with ofcourse some allowance) of what they offer is superb!
And by the way, a bowl of ramen is sometimes called as an universe of its own for the many ingredients that is used.
I don’t think you can compare that to some streetfood mami that uses just msg in most case.
However, I have to admit that I also believe”d” that the prices of ramen is ridiculously expensive here. But when I consulted an expert and calculated cost of what’s in it, I even thought some restaurants maybe cutting corners to cut cost. But those restaurants ofcourse, are CHEAP.
Is it the soup that you didn’t like? Then that’s just your preference. But if it’s something else that you didn’t like, then maybe give it another chance.
I myself did that and I’m getting to like GENYA more.
But again, this is just my personal opinion.
Would be interested to try this place on my next visit to Manila! Wonder how it will compare to Sydney’s Gumshara tonkotsu ramem broth? Which is thicker, potent and almost like gravy. Nice review Anton!
I went to Genya Tongkatsu Ramen last week, I was excited, but a bit disappointed. The broth, the meat and egg was excellent. But the Ramen is disappointed. The Ramen (noddle) taste like Chinese noodle. And my sense of taste was right! My friend whom recommended me to this place, plus forwarded me this food blog “OAP” mentioned to me that the supplier of the noodle is a Chinese. One time he was eating in Genya saw the Chinese supplier delivered the noodle. Overall, I finished the broth. It was good.
Ukkokei has good ramen, but the broth is too oily. Ramen is excellent though, but they put two pcs of meat only. Expensive.
I guess you can have everything. How I wish I can speak to the Japanese chef of Genya to use real Japanese noodle and not Chinese noodle. If I am correct, what the heck a Japanese Ramen using Chinese noodle. Genya can be perfect Ramen house for me… but they just missed the noodle.
Were there Japanese locals dining there sir? That’s one of my criteria’s in judging whether the food serves authentic cuisine or not. We tried this Japanese place at greenbelt, http://misstablenapkin.blogspot.com/2012/11/kenji-tei-ramen-house.html and most of the diners are Japanese. Might I suggest you try it and give your review sir.
Here in Dubai, there is this place called Shokuji Sushi Restaurant. Yes, there are japanese people dining in there and tourists as well. Everybody and myself love their authentic japanese cuisine and their takoyaki recipe.