The title is misleading, of course, Chuka Ramen Bar is a Japanese place or, rather, a pan-Asian fusion restaurant serving a variety of East Asian inspired items, bao and ramen the two most prominent amongst them. Chuka Ramen Bar was one interesting place indeed.

Chuka Ramen Bar, calle de Echegaray, 9, 28014

Chuka Ramen Bar has the benefit of being located next door to La Venencia and that is how we ended up eating here. Upon walking in, I was not immediately transported to Japan which was not helped by the fact, the guy behind the ramen counter was white. Anglo-Saxon white to be more precise. Matas picked this place both due to the proximity to our watering hole and the fact that we both were craving ramen for quite some time until this.

We started by ordering a few drinks and to our great dismay there was no sake available, so we resorted to ordering cocktails. Matas ordered a Shiso Mojito (€10) and I got myself a Sochu Sour (€9). The drinks were not bad but neither was good enough to cost what they did. Another surprise was the crackers that came to the table. At a proper Japanese place you would expect some pickled/preserved vegetables or tsukemono to show up but crackers were good enough I guess.

We ordered one of their bao to try. Korean pulled pork bao (€9) was EXCELLENT. Bao was sweet, soft and chewy. The meat was tender and succulent. The fresh pickles added some crunch and acidity. I could have ordered more of these. Was this anywhere near Japanese? No but it was too delicious for me to care.

Gyoza was made with matured beef meat and yellow pepper. It came adorned with a beautifully done skirt and tasted delicious. The texture of the beef inside was quite interesting! It was succulent and stringy, like a long and slow cooked meat done the European way. This dish definitely felt closer to Japan but not quite there yet.

This ramen (€17) came in a clear assai-style broth with all of the requisite ramen accoutrements like chashu, soft boiled egg, bamboo shoots, daikon, spring onion and nori sheet. The broth was really light yet very tasty and every other component was actually quite yummy although not the best I have ever had (I am hard to please at this point). The biggest surprise was actually the bamboo shoots because they were ROASTED and oh my God how it improved their usually bland flavour. The shoots were soft and stringy with punch of both acidity and smokiness that was a true celebration.

To further confuse things, one of the toppings was a mystery micro green that had an indescribably zingy taste. It worked really well with the broth but again it took this ramen away from Japan to the streets of New York, LA and San Francisco where such modern versions of ramen are usually served.

I have only later read up on the two founders both of whom originally come from the United States. Ding ding ding ding ding! And, after reading that the executive chef (the white Anglo-Saxon looking guy) trained at Momofuku, the concept, the menu, the décor… everything fell into its right place. Suddenly, Chuka Ramen Bar made sense.

Chuka Ramen Bar was a little bit more expensive than I would have liked but it does not change the fact that the food was really good. Was it strictly Japanese? Obviously not, but these fusion creations were a next level thing and I would take them over a mediocre bowl of Japanese ramen any day.