Written by Amie-san
I just remembered the time when I was about to go to Japan for the first time, my Japanese teacher told me that it will be impossible for me to eat ramen (Japanese noodle with soup) in Japan since all ramen containing pork. And yes I did not eat ramen for almost 4 years of my life in Japan, which is a bit sad since ramen is one of Japanese famous foods. Yet as Japan started to change since they become more open to foreigners who have different culture, and especially people with certain religions with special dietary restrictions, I started to find ramen everyone can enjoy.
Take away the religious reasons, many people started to be vegetarians due to health reasons and the compassionate feelings for animals. Perhaps, that is the idea inspiring the ramen restaurant, SORANOIRO (literally means, ‘The Color of the Sky”) to create the vegan ramen. Yes, not only vegetarian, but also vegan, which is not using any animal products at all. And another good news is this restaurant is also recognized as a Michelin Restaurant 2015 in Tokyo. Wait, if it is recognized as a Michelin Restaurant, it must be really expensive, or so you might think. So this is another good news, you can get a bowl of ramen for around 1,000 Yen only!!
Having some branches in Tokyo, probably the easiest one to visit is the one in Tokyo Station. It is in the area of Yaesu restaurant and shopping district, in the ‘Ramen Street’ – ラーメンストリート, located in B1F, and they open from 11:00-23:00 everyday (Last Order 22:30). This restaurant is using the typical Japanese coupon machine, which you have to choose your menu in the machine and pass the coupon to the restaurant staff to prepare your order. But hey, you might say, ‘I don’t speak Japanese, how can I order using a Japanese machine?’ You don’t have to worry since they also have English menu, and pictures in the menu, so you will not be lost in translation.
The ramen itself is consisting of some green vegetable, kinds of wheat, soy-bean-meat, bean sprout, green onion, tomatoes, and the soup is basically from carrot juice. They have the spicy and non-spicy menu, and they also prepare some tofu (with additional price) that you should order using the machine, and crunchy-fried garlic (for free) on the table for additional toppings. This restaurant also has carrot juice (100% yes) as its signature drink which you cannot miss. It will be a great option for anyone with special dietary restrictions about meat but still do not want to miss one of Japanese signature dishes, RAMEN.
http://soranoiro.towapla.jp/ (Japanese only)
https://halalmedia.jp/archives/5335/ramen-restaurant-recognized-by-the-michelin-guide/
Note: This restaurant does not have the halal mark and also serves pork and alcohol.
