Best bowl of ramen noodles

Okay, so I haven’t actually tried the ramen from every single place possible in Belgium.  But this ain’t Japan, folks.  Ramen stands are not like the kebab shops.  So if you’ve found one bowl of delicious noodles around here that stands out above all the rest so far, then you can safely bet that you’ve found the best in Brussels, at least for now.

Such is the case for the miso katsu ramen (9 euros) at tiny Yamato off St. Boniface.  The homemade noodles are a little chewier and denser than at other places, and consequently they carry flavor really well.  The miso broth with bean sprouts and green onions is flavored richly without being too salty, and the small portion of fried battered pork on top finishes the whole creation.

Yes, you might think it strange to pay that much for post-work snack food.  And… you’d be right.  But sometimes when you’ve got a craving, you have to give in.  It’s all about the textured long noodles, about the meat, about the cold Asahi.  It’s about sitting at the bar jam-packed side-by-side with everyone else waiting for the same thing; about smelling the spring onions and the gyoza in the air.  The chefs toil in front of you to bring you what you order.  You sit on the waiting chairs in the back for half an hour just to get a seat.  You see the steam from the miso broth rise from the center of the bar to heat the whole place up, while the cold Brussels rain falls outside the plate windows behind you.  Then a seat opens up, and now you’re hungry and ready to order ramen in Europe.

No, this is not exactly like Japan.  Maybe that’s why we like it.

Yamato
Rue Francart 11 (St. Boniface), Brussels

Food: B+
Atmosphere: C
Charm: A
Price: B+
Languages: French, Japanese?