Shoryu Ramen Manchester

Yesterday my husband and I were invited to the opening of Shoryu Ramen, a new and exciting Japanesse restaurant in Manchester. Shoryu Ramen. This is their first restaurant outside London and they have plans to open even more.

Shoryu Ramen was launched in November 2012 in London and was recommended in the Michelin Guide for the last 3 years. They specialize in Hakata tonkotsu ramen, from the southern Japan. Hakata tonkotsu ramen is a style of ramen made with a rich soup and thin noodles. The Executive Chef Kanji Furukawa is from Japan and he creates authentic tonkotsu, that is rarely seen outside Japan.

I had a look on the menu and I want to try the matcha cheesecake. Beside food, they have sake. The restaurant in Soho has on offer the largest selection of sake, shochu and umeshu in the UK, including royal warrant Gekkeikan.

These are the wooden cups we were served sake in.

At the opening party we had the chance to see the sake ceremony. After a lovely speech, we were told what to say when the barrel is opened after the countdown.

I was so delighted that I knew the numbers in Japanese, that I didn’t pay attention to the last word. I said a wow-ish sort of word, it was really funny.

The Mayor was kind to pour sake for us into those wonderful wooden cups that we got to keep.

Sorry for the blurry picture, it was very busy and I didn’t want to take more pictures while others were waiting for their cups.

This is sake. It’s the first time I had sake and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s not as strong as I expected it too be. It’s stronger than wine, but less than Vodka. The sake we had, had gold leaves in it. It was a real treat.

Now I can’t wait to go at Shoryu Ramen for a meal. Their vegetarian option sounds fab.

Have you been to a Japanese restaurant? Do you like Japanese food?