It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Ichiran, so when I heard there was an Ichiran Pop-Up Store coming to Thailand, you can bet that I wanted to be one of the first to try it out!

Ichiran is known as *the* ramen place to visit in Japan among Thai people, and with the Pop-Up Store serving only 750 bowls of ramen per day, I’m quite confident in saying that – unless something goes terribly wrong – there’s gonna be a ridiculously long line every single day.

Whether this eventually leads to Thailand’s first permanent Ichiran store, only time will tell. But for today, let’s focus on the Pop-Up Shop. How was it? What was the taste like? And is it worth the journey to get here? Let’s get to it! How Good is Ichiran’s Thailand Pop-Up Store Actually? 

Side Note: This turned out to be quite the long review, so here’s a Table of Contents for easy viewing!

–Ordering System–
–Ichiran’s “Flavor Concentration Booths”–
–Other Store Design Elements–
–Ichiran’s “Kamadare Tonkotsu” Ramen–
–Ramen Customization?–
–Ramen Bowl Design–
–Soup Spoon Design–
–“Kamadare” Broth–
–Original Spicy Red Seasoning–
–“Ichiran’s Noodles”–
–“Kamadare-Style” Chashu–
–Green Onions–
–Extra Red Seasoning–
–Boiled Egg–
–Secret Message–
–Gift Shop–
–Verdict–
–Response from Ichiran Pop-Up Shop–
–Case Study: Ichiran Pop-Up Shop in Singapore–
–Getting There–

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📋 Ordering System 📋

As a Pop-Up Store, the Ichiran here works a little bit differently from the ones in Japan. You first gotta line up – of course – but once it’s your turn, head over to the counter and place your order (Ramen + any add-ons.) After that, you’ll be given a plastic card to hand over to the staff when you’re seated.

Side Note: By the cashier, the display board reads (roughly translated) “Experience Ichiran at our Pop-Up Store, and check out Ichiran’s many popular souvenir items” alongside a
“Disclaimer – The experience may vary somewhat from the original Ichiran Stores”

I read that while I was waiting in line, and my immediate reaction was “OK? Interesting decision to put a disclaimer right in front of the store. Is the difference that big to warrant such a note?” We’ll soon find out – after another bit of waiting in line.

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🍜 Flavor Concentration Booths 🍜

Ichiran is famous for a lot of things – one of which is their tables. Ichiran’s ‘Flavor Concentration Booths’ are stall-like seats (referencing Ichiran’s origin as a Yatai food stall,) with walls on all three of your sides – allowing you to focus on the ramen-eating experience. And for the most part, the stalls do achieve that Ichiran-like feel, complete with Ichiran’s theme song playing in the background.

There are some minor differences, however, but most of these aren’t really necessary in a temporary shop. (Old side wall design, no water dispenser, no “Call Staff” button, and no preset message tags.) Again, just minor details.

One thing I will note, though, is the size of the stalls. They’re noticeably smaller than the shops in Japan. My seat was around the middle of the area, and for the most part, I was sitting almost shoulder-to-shoulder to the customers next to me. Good thing those side walls existed, as once I leaned in, the walls do a pretty good job in blocking out the customers.

Oh, and a quick mention. Don’t expect to dine in complete silence. It’s a Pop-Up store in the middle of a busy mall, so some ambient chatter is inevitable.

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🥢 Chopsticks 🥢

I was just expecting some chopsticks with the Ichiran logo printed on the wrapper like any other Ichiran store, but the custom design is a really nice touch!

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🍵 Water 🍵

At Ichiran’s permanent stores, you’ll find a water dispenser and a cup right at the table. At the Pop-Up Shop here, you’re served a bottle of water. Difference? Sure. But I wasn’t really expecting them to build a dispenser for a temporary event.

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🍜 Ichiran Ramen Kamare Tonkotsu – 290฿ 🍜

The dish being served at the Pop-Up store today is Ichiran’s Kamadare Ramen – a ‘Premium’ take on the Classic Ichiran ramen that, out of Ichiran’s 80+ locations, is only available in two stores in Fukuoka – Tenjin Nishidori and Canal City Hakata.

I actually visited the Tenjin Nishidori store a couple of months back, so if you wanna compare the Pop-Up store with the one in Fukuoka, check out my review on that here:
Full Review: Ichiran Kamadare (Tenjin Nishidori Store)

At a glance, the ramen here looks relatively authentic to the real deal. Look a little closer, though, and you’ll start to see some differences. 

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Side Note: Customization?

I’ll mention it upfront before we take a closer look at the dish. Unlike the other Ichiran stores, there’s no way for you to customize your ramen here. Interesting choice to not include Ichiran’s most famous feature, especially when Thai people often refer to Ichiran as “Exam Ramen.” – a phrase so ubiquitous that you can find popular restaurants here revolving around just that concept.

At least give us the option of which toppings to add/remove – even if it’s only just for the gimmick.

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🍜 Ramen Bowl 🍜

Starting with the bowl – which looks pretty accurate with all the detail work around the edges. Touching it will reveal that it’s made of plastic, however, but I can understand the reasoning behind the change, as I wasn’t expecting them to bring over their ceramic bowls from Japan just for the event.

But if you’ve ever seen or been to the Kamadare store – you would’ve made one more observation: the bowl isn’t even the correct one.

Traditionally, Ichiran’s Kamadare Ramen is served in their Jubako rectangular ceramic bowl – based on the Jubako tiered bento box. There’s no logo on those, which from a branding perspective, isn’t very ideal, so I see why they wanted to switch to the Classic bowl. But if you’re gonna switch over to the classic bowl for branding’s sake, shouldn’t the ramen also switch over to the Classic Tonkotsu? 

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Thinking a little bit into the future here, but let’s assume that the Kamadare Ramen was a smashing success, and Ichiran opens up the first permanent store in Thailand. Like the 9 international Ichiran stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and New York, I’m pretty sure the permanent store here will also feature the Classic Tonkotsu ramen. Wouldn’t people be confused to find that the permanent store tastes nothing like what they had at the Pop-Up shop? If the purpose of the shop was to ‘test out the waters’ before opening a store in Thailand, I don’t think serving up a variation of your famous dish is a good way to gauge that. 

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🥄 Spoon 🥄

A minor point, but it was literally the first thing I noticed. Unlike your standard Ichiran stores, the spoon here doesn’t have a notch around the handle, making it very hard to rest the spoon while I was eating the ramen.

Technically, the Kamadare store didn’t feature a notch on their spoons either, but if you’re gonna use the Classic bowl, the notch would’ve helped quite a lot.

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🍜 Kamadare Broth 🍜

Back in my Ichiran Kamadare review at Fukuoka, I mentioned that the Kamadare broth is a combination of Ichiran’s Classic Tonkotsu broth with their Kamadare Tare sauce – resulting in a broth that features the the rich and creamy flavors of the Tonkotsu, and the darker, savory (and slightly sweet) flavors from the Kamadare. The ramen here is also advertised as a Kamadare broth, but if you’ve tried the real thing before, it tastes nothing alike.

Upon my first sip of the broth here, the only real flavor I tasted was from the soy sauce (with no real sweetness) – and I had to try really hard to identify any Tonkotsu flavors. Now, to be fair, I did recognize *some* Tonkotsu in the broth. But considering that this is a bowl of Ichiran, having the soy sauce be your most identifiable flavor was quite disappointing. 

As for the oil on top, I’m pretty sure it’s also not the same as the stores in Japan. Ichiran’s flavored oil, when cooled down slightly, will typically form a little skin on top (which tastes godlike, by the way. Super intense savory flavors.) The oil here didn’t form a skin and had none of those flavors, and it wasn’t even as plentiful as the standard serving of oil in Japan.

I’m gonna be honest. As soon as I tried the broth – my mind immediately went to “This has to be from Ichiran’s instant take-home kits, right?” I’ve bought a couple of those sets from Japan over the years, and while I didn’t get the Kamadare version, I was always somewhat disappointed that it didn’t taste anything like the real deal. My reaction to the Pop-Up Store was exactly the same – completely different shoyu-heavy flavors – and a long shot from the real Ichiran experience.

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Looking into Ichiran’s Q&A for answers, I came across a statement saying that their ramen is “Freshly prepared daily by chefs from Japan.” Well, that doesn’t answer anything… But do note the interesting language they use here. If it turns out that they’re using Ichiran’s packaged ramen, they can still claim that it’s freshly opened and “prepared in-house.”

Technically not a lie, but it would be quite shady if this turns out to be the case. 

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🌶 Original Spicy Red Seasoning 🌶

The chili topping they use here is described as Ichiran’s “Original Spicy Red Seasoning,” as opposed to the standard “Original Spicy Red Sauce” found at Ichiran’s permanent locations. Interestingly enough, the Take-home Ichiran kits also describe their chili packets as the Spicy Red Seasoning – so process that info however you’d like.

Flavor-wise, I forgot to try it out by itself before mixing it with the ramen today – but if it’s like the seasoning powder, it’s surprisingly spicy, with lots of depth to it from all the different spices. There wasn’t a lot of it in the ramen, but you can find an extra packet of the stuff right by the table.

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🍜 Ichiran Noodles 🍜

The Ichiran stores in Japan serve Hakata-Style Ramen, a firmer, higher-protein noodle that has a really nice bite to it – depending on how you ordered your noodles from Extra Firm to Extra Soft. 

Visually, the noodles at this Pop-Up Store look somewhat accurate (Though the noodles did look quite squared.) But when you take a bite of it, you’ll immediately recognize that it isn’t Ichiran’s fresh Hakata-Style ramen, or any fresh ramen at all. The noodles had a uniform, slightly firm texture to it, with a slight brittleness similar to dried soba noodles.

And it was at this point that my mind was made
“This is just Ichiran’s take-home kits, isn’t it?” 

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I mentioned that Ichiran’s Q&A doesn’t directly answer if the ramen here was made fresh or not. And while there’s enough room to give them the benefit of the doubt that their Tonkotsu broth just happens to be a different in-house formula from the stores in Japan, I’ve tried enough of Ichiran’s take-home boxes to conclude that these ramen noodles are definitely from their instant kits. I’ll save my final thoughts for below, but let’s just say that I’m not very thrilled at the idea.

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🍖 Kamadare-Style Chashu 🍖

Ichiran’s Kamadare Ramen in Fukuoka features Chashu made from braised Pork Belly – adding an element of richness to the more powerful, meaty tasting Kamadare Broth. And since the Pop-Up Store is based on the Kamadare store, it too also features… thin slices of simmered Pork Belly?

Yeah, this was by far the most surprising thing to see. Their promotional photos even showed the original Kamadare Chashu – and while I didn’t come here expecting a 1-to-1 replication, the choice to go for a whole different cut was incredibly puzzling.

Flavor-wise, the original Kamadare Chashu had a nice frim, but tender texture to it combined with the sweet and savory flavors of the Kamadare Tare.

Here, it kinda just tastes like soy sauce-based simmered pork slices. Pretty decent in its own right, but nothing like what the original Ichiran (or their own advertisement) offers.

Honestly, this was a BIG mistake on Ichiran’s part. Even if people can’t taste the difference between this and the Kamadare store in Japan, anyone can just glance at the pork and notice that it looks nothing alike. I really wished they’d at least use a thicker cut of pork belly, or just replace it with Ichiran’s classic Chashu altogether if that’s not an option – charge an extra ฿50 if you have to. 

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🥬 Green Onions 🥬

For the Green Onions, I’m gonna guess that they’re the younger variety commonly used in Thailand, rather than the larger Negi in Japan. It does the job though, and I don’t have much to say here. 

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🌶 Extra Original Spicy Red Seasoning 🌶

The standard bowl of Ichiran isn’t too spicy, so if you want some extra heat, each table comes with a packet of Ichiran’s Original Spicy Red Seasoning – the same chili/spice packet found in Ichiran’s take-home kits.

It’s quite the spicy stuff, so be conservative if you want just a touch of heat.

I added some for the photo, and even that made the ramen much spicier than how I typically prefer my Ichiran. 

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🥚 Boiled Egg 🥚

I’ve never eaten Ichiran’s egg before, so I don’t have much to compare it to. But it’s a boiled egg, so I guess it works?

I’ve seen Ichiran stores in Japan serve their egg whole, shell and all, so if that’s bothersome for you, the eggs here are pre-peeled for some convenience.

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🍜 Secret Message 🍜

While not the same ceramic bowls found at Ichiran’s permanent locations, the Pop-Up bowls still feature Ichiran’s little message found at the bottom o all of their non-Gokaku bowls: “この一滴が最高の喜びです” // roughly translated to “The final drop is the pinnacle of joy.”

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🛍 Discount Coupon & Gift Shop 🛍

You also get a ฿100 discount coupon to use at their gift shop with every order of Ichiran. The packaged stuff tastes wildly different from the real deal. But if you really liked the bowl of Ichiran you ordered today… maybe pick these up if you want.

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⭐VERDICT⭐

So how good is the Ichiran Pop-Up Store in Thailand actually? Thailand has been begging for years for an Ichiran store – myself included. And with the Pop-Up store being Ichiran’s first entrance into the Thai market, all I have to say is… Yeah, this aint it. 

Ever since the initial announcement, I already had some doubts with how successful the store would be, considering that they’re serving Ichiran’s Kamadare Ramen – a variation that’s only available in two stores – over Ichiran’s legendary Classic Tonkotsu. I’ve been thinking about it ever since, and I still can’t seem to figure out what their end goal is, or who this shop even targets.

Let’s say their goal is to introduce Ichiran to Thailand, with the hopes of opening up a permanent store sometime in the future. Even if you assume they brought in the authentic, 100% accurate version of Ichiran’s Kamadare Ramen (which it isn’t), I’d imagine that this is what each customer group would have to say about the store.

Massive Ichiran Fans
“Why bring the Kamadare Ramen to the Pop-Up Store? I want the Classic Ichiran Tonkotsu.”

Visited Ichiran in Japan before
“This tastes different to the one I had in Japan.”

Only have heard of Ichiran
“It’s good,” but then is confused (or disappointed) when the permanent store serves Classic Tonkotsu that tastes nothing like the Pop-Up Store.

Newcomers to Ichiran
“It’s good,” but doesn’t care enough to come back when Ichiran opens up a permanent store.

And that’s the best case scenario – where the ramen is 100% authentic. By serving up the instant version of a variation of Ichiran’s Tonkotsu Ramen, you’re not only disappointing your loyal fanbase even more, but now your other customers will start to wonder why people rate Ichiran so highly in the first place.

Appealing to a wide audience is always a good thing, but don’t do it at the expense of your existing loyal fanbase – who can immediately identify that it tastes nothing like the real deal. And speaking of the ‘real deal,’ let’s go over the biggest issue I have with this place – the marketing.

Ever since their original announcement, Ichiran has been marketing this store as the place to experience Ichiran’s Kamadare Ramen, without even mentioning it once that their ramen came straight from their take-home kits. (Which tastes nothing alike, mind you.) Ichiran also uses marketing phrases like “Freshly prepared daily by chefs from Japan.” and “Only available in 2 stores in Fukuoka” to further double-down on the idea that the ramen is 100% the real deal. It might help to attract people to your store, but with a flavor profile that’s wildly different from what’s advertised, the only thing it helps to do is just damage the brand once they come in and find out.

So with all that being said… If you enjoy Ichiran’s take-home Ramen kits (no judgement whatsoever,) and want the convenience of getting some without the prep-work, then this store serves up just that. But if you want to experience a bowl of authentic Ichiran without travelling all the way to Japan to get some? I’m disappointed to say, this isn’t the place to head to. 

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💬 Author’s Note: Response from Ichiran Pop-Up Shop 💬

So I visited the store on launch day, and from what I can gather, the response seemed to be mostly positive – with slight rumblings from the more experienced Ichiran diners I’ve spoken to. And as the days progressed, those rumblings turned into widespread dissatisfaction, and a growing number of people began to wonder if they were being served instant Ichiran at this store.

On Day 6 of the event, Ichiran Thailand Authorized (the company behind the Pop-Up Store) issued a statement on their Facebook Page, addressing the growing criticism of the store. In short, they mentioned that the company partnered up with Ichiran Japan to bring over Ichiran’s Kamadare Ramen “which is only available in Fukuoka,” (still insisting that it’s the same as their Kamadare Store) with the recipe and preparations in accordance to standards set out by Ichiran Japan, but with adjustments to fit the needs of the store. (Ichiran provides the noodles and broth, but the pork is adjusted.)

At the end, they also clarified that “Freshly Prepared” meant “Freshly prepared by in-store chefs from Japan in accordance with Ichiran Japan Standards.” (again, not answering whether or not the noodles were fresh or instant.)

On Day 7, Ichiran Thailand Authorized issued another statement – this time clarifying on a lot of the complaints the store has been getting. They repeated once again that the event was to introduce Thailand to Ichiran’s Kamadare Ramen – which is only available in two stores in Fukuoka, (why still insist this?) but due to logistical reasons, alterations had to be made, but still in accordance to Ichiran Japan’s standards.

They then go on to clarify that the noodles were indeed instant ramen (same quality as Ichiran’s kits,) the broth came packaged from Ichiran Japan, and that the Chashu is a modified recipe for the Thai market – with Ichiran Japan’s approval – alongside attaching an updated infographic with all these texts. (Still featuring the misleading Chashu, by the way.)

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Y’know… honestly? I really believe that a lot of these issues could have been avoided completely if they made the clarification as soon as the Pop-Up Shop was announced, instead of hyping it up as the authentic, “Freshly Prepared” flavors from Fukuoka (Have they actually it? They taste nothing alike.)

Would hardcore Ichiran fans be disappointed at that alternate announcement? Of course. But do you think having them travel all the way here just to be misled was the better option? If the ramen wasn’t gonna be 100% the real deal, you can even market this shop around the Ichiran experience, focusing on the ordering process and Flavor Concentration Booths. Can you imagine the amount of people who’d visit your store *just* for photos if you marketed it as such?

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🌏 Case Study – Ichiran Pop-Up Shop at Singapore 🌏

I vaguely remember Ichiran opening up a Pop-Up Store in Singapore back in 2019, so I decided to do some research and see what that was all about. Turns out, the store in Singapore also served instant Ichiran ramen at their store – but with two major differences from the Thai Store.

-1-
They served Ichiran’s Classic (instant) Tonkotsu.

-2-
They advertised that the dish was instant well in advance.

Really good call on both points by the Singapore team. Using Ichiran’s signature flavors to enter a new market is always a good idea. And despite being the instant variety, by communicating it upfront, the customers will have a better idea of what to expect.  Nice one, Singapore Pop-Up Shop!

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🚗GETTING THERE 🚗

You can find the Ichiran Pop-Up Store at Nippon Market, on the 3rd Floor of Central World mall. The mall itself is located right between Siam and Chit Lom BTS Stations, so if you’re coming via the BTS, you can head out from any of those stations and it’ll be a quick 5 minute walk along the connecting skywalk. For direct access to the mall, though, your best bet will be either a Taxi or Public Bus.

Ichiran Pop-Up Store (Thailand)

🌏 Location 🌏
999/9 Rama I Rd, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330 (3rd Floor, Nippon Market Area)
🗺 Map 🗺
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RsF6XNHre9cVf8Ay8
⏰ Opening Dates ⏰
11th-26th November, 2023

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