★★ 満龍 (Manryu) - Sapporo

Manryu is one of the old school miso ramen stores in Sapporo, this place is famous for representing Sapporo ramen in a nation wide contest in the 90's and winning the grand prize. Today I tried one of Hokkaido's famous ramen the バターコーン味噌らーめん (butter corn miso ramen).

The Soup - is a blend of tonkotsu pork bone and vegetable stock, it is actually quite light compared to many of the newer, richer miso ramen. The miso flavor has quite a sweet aroma to it. The ramen is topped with a thick slice of butter (Hokkaido is famous for its milk and butter), the melted butter gradually changes the flavor of the soup to a rich creamier soup. Many people say that the butter and miso is a good match, for me it still took some getting used to.

The Noodles - are regular thickness, slightly curly noodles cooked slight on the soft side. Noodles now a days mostly are on the firm side, the softer noodles are probably part of the old school formula too.

The Toppings - wakame seaweed, cha-shu pork, green onions, menma bamboo and CORN! The corn is very sweet and kinda matches the sweetness of the miso soup. The rest of the toppings are average, the cha-shu pork is served cold so soak it in the hot soup before eating.

Overall - I loved this miso ramen because it has quite a bit of nostalgia for me. Having read for many years about the "Butter Corn ramen" of Hokkaido, I couldn't wait to try this ramen out. The hot soup and the thick layer of melted butter is suppose to help keep people warm in the cold winter months, unfortunately it was the beginning of Summer when I visited Sapporo. I will definitely have to come here again during the winter and try this ramen in the right weather.

http://www.manryu.co.jp/