Tenkaippin Higashimuki 天下一品 東向商店街店 (Nara, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Founded in 1981, Tenkaippin (天下一品) originated in Kyoto and has since grown into a nationwide ramen chain with over 200 locations across Japan. It’s most famous for its signature “kotteri” (こってり)" ramen, featuring a thick, opaque broth made primarily from chicken and vegetables. 

To cater for guests' everchanging preferences, Tenkaippin offers variations of the kotteri broth, infused with soy sauce, salt, miso, and more each giving the ramen a slightly different depth and character.

This branch of Tenkaippin is located inside the Higashimuki Shopping Arcade (東向商店街) in Nara (interestingly sharing the space with a sushi bar!). To be brutally honest, I was never a big fan of ramen chains. But after striking out at two other ramen spots (either full or closed), I was no longer in a position to be picky.

Tenkaippin kotteri ramen (Shoyu) – This was one of their most popular ramen dish featuring the kotteri broth infused with soy sauce. As mentioned before, the broth was made from simmering chicken and vegetables for hours until it reaches a creamy, almost gravy-like texture.

My meal came as a set and to my surprise, the fried rice actually outshone the ramen. It was stir-fried with scrambled eggs, finely diced char siu and chopped chives. Simple, but well-seasoned and satisfying.

I shared the fried gyoza with mom who was really hungry after the flight.

While the noodles and broth didn’t exactly blow me away, I have to say the thin slice of pork was a nice surprise. Tender and flavorful, it definitely scored some points. 

Little nugget didn’t seem to care what type of broth he was slurping as long as it was rich and flavorful. Needless to say, he was absolutely over the moon. 😄

I thought we still had some daylight left to spare following dinner but unexpectedly, it was totally dark outside. Looks like we’ll be finding our way to the hotel under the night sky after all.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ￥￥

Address: 1/F, Palace Building 2, Higashimuki Minamimachi, Nara, 630-8216, Japan

Closest Metro/Train Station: Kintetsu-Nara

Tel: +81 (0)742 26-6646

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm (Mon - Thu), 11:00am - 11:00pm (Fri - Sat), 11:00am - 9:00pm (Sun)