Overview
Following the arrival of Daruma Ramen and world renowned noodle house Ippudo inside new multimillion-dollar shopping precinct, Westfield Newmarket, another big name ramen joint has joined the ranks in the city-fringe suburb.
At 5 Kingdon Street, Newmarket you'll find the first New Zealand store of Ajisen Ramen. The brand was founded in 1968 in Kumamoto, Japan by Takaharu Shigemitsu. There are now 800 outposts of the restaurant chain around the world, from Japan to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia and Canada.
Ajisen specialises in tonkotsu pork bone broth and wheat flour noodles. The addition of Shigemitsu's roast garlic and onion flavouring or "the secret recipe," in the tonkotsu soup is apparently responsible for the chain's booming international success. The Kumamoto-style broth comes complete with an egg, chashu pork and kikirage mushrooms. Also on the extensive noodle menu are soy, miso and spicy sesame-based broths and the soup-less dry ramen which comes topped with minced pork, chashu and onion oil.
Those not in the mood for a steaming bowl of noodle soup still have plenty to choose from; in addition to ramen, the kitchen also serves up a range of donburi, the Japanese fried rice dish of chahan and gyoza dumplings.
Ajisen's sprawling new Auckland venue is now open at 5 Kingdon Street, Newmarket.