A rashi (花月嵐) is a Japanese ramen chain that made its Taipei debut last year and now has three locations across the city, including a new restaurant in the Eslite (誠品) building on Dunhua South Road (敦化南路). Its signature garlic pork broth ramen noodles — the name literally translates as “fist of garlic ramen” (大蒜拳骨拉麵, NT$160) — was once voted “strongest-flavored ramen in history” by Yahoo Japan readers. The strong flavor of the soup, which is made by boiling pig bones, garlic cloves and other ingredients together for several hours, is part of Arashi’s “we dare you to try it” marketing strategy. When the restaurant’s wait staff takes your order and brings you your noodles, they make sure to let you know that their chefs will be happy to add some clear broth if the soup is too much to handle.
Something must have gotten lost in translation, however, on Arashi’s way to Taipei. The broth is flavorful, but not particularly strong or very garlicky. Even the “white broth” variation (大蒜拳骨白濃拉麵, NT$160) flavored with Japanese salt and the miso broth version (大蒜拳骨味噌拉麵, NT$160) (both are tastier than the original garlic pork noodles) are relatively gentle on the palate.
In fact, the flavor of the broth pales in comparison to other ingredients, including the marinated and seasoned bamboo shoots and slices of fatty pork (to be fair, I noticed on separate visits that the soup’s garlic aroma is the strongest during peak lunch and dinner hours). The noodles, on the other hand, are the saving grace of the dish. Cooked appealingly al dente, they have a robust and chewy texture. Arashi’s garlic pork broth noodles also come in a chili-flavored version (大蒜拳骨激辣拉麵, NT$190).
To add some extra zip to your ramen, consider one or more of the add-ins that Arashi sells for NT$30 each. Dried seaweed, ground sesame seeds and corn are all available, while a poached egg is an agreeable alternative to the hard-boiled slice served with each bowl. Each table also sports a large tray of spices, oils and very hot seasoned green onions to mix into the dish. Arashi’s set meals are good value; for an extra NT$55 to NT$65, you can select a drink and a serving of salad, pork rice or fried chicken.
The restaurant’s pork rice (蒜香豬肉飯), which is sold separately for NT$45, is especially good and much punchier than any of the noodle dishes. The diced pork is
stir-fried in a garlic-flavored sauce and served on top of white rice with seaweed and chopped green onions. The only non-noodle main course at Arashi is its fried rice (鐵板炒飯), which comes in an iron skillet and is topped with a ridiculously large pat of butter. Flavors include soy sauce (醬油奶香), garlic (蒜香奶油油) and curry (咖哩奶油), all NT$160 each.
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