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Ramen Rumble: the Duck vs Chicken Showdown

Ramen 101

How did a Chinese noodle soup become Japan’s favourite ‘fast’ food?

Imported by Yokohama dockworkers in the late 19th century, shina soba evolved into ramen after World War II when cheap American wheat flooded the market and street vendors simmered pork bones and soy to feed a hungry nation. Each prefecture tweaked the template: tonkotsu in Fukuoka to miso in Sapporo. Thus proving the bowl can absorb endless riffs while still tasting unmistakably Japanese.

Today’s duel puts two avant-garde bowls under the microscope, each adventurous enough to thrill yet mindful of ramen’s roots.

Competitor 1: Duck and Blackcurrant Shoyu at Ramen Tomo Tokyo

Ramen Tomo sits on a back street near Kudanshita Station. A six-seat bar, two tiny tables, ticket vending machine and cash only (learned the hard way after a sprint to the ATM). Salarymen in rolled-up sleeves slurp and we were the lone tourists, instantly welcomed by a waitress who guided us through the kanji buttons.

The special duck and blackcurrant soy ramen lands like edible calligraphy: ripples of springy noodles surface through a rich broth, half a yuzu-cured egg glows sunset orange, and slices of duck breast rest pink and glossy. The first sip is revelation—clean yet luxurious, the duck fat lending velvet, while a kiss of blackcurrant delivers herbal sweetness that feels almost French.

Google reviewers rave about the “unexpected berry perfume” and “buttery duck fat shimmering on the surface.” The noodles fight back with just enough chew, and charred duck edges add smoke without tipping into game.

Char sui bowl

A side order of mini char-siu rice proves the kitchen’s flame-gun skills: pork belly caramelised to a crisp shell, fat melting straight into the rice below, crowned with another gooey yolk. But at ¥1,450 (£7.50) the ramen is the bargain you’ll dream about on the flight home.

Competitior 2: Truffle Tori Paitan at Ginza Kagari

Tori paitan is the chicken-based cousin of tonkotsu: bones pressure-cooked to a milky, collagen-rich broth. At Ginza Kagari, the broth gets haute treatment with farm chicken, kombu (kelp), shiitake, and a finishing swirl of house shio-kaeshi (a mineral salt sauce laced with dried seafood).

Unlike Tomo’s locals-only vibe, Kagari’s flagship off Ginza’s luxury strip is on every “Tokyo must-eat” list, so expect airport-style queues and a seating turnover worthy of a bullet train. Still, the slow-cooked chicken and truffle ramen silences grumbles.

The Ramen

The bowl arrives snow-white, topped with julienned seasonal vegetables: pumpkin crescent, red-pepper shard, baby asparagus and a pebble of fresh truffle paste. The broth is silky rich yet somehow light, the chicken flavour tightened by seafood undertones.

Mix in the truffle and a forest aroma blooms without overpowering. Reddit regulars say the truffle “kicks up fragrance for two spoonfuls then bows out, letting the chicken shine.”

I thought the chicken would be a dry addition and I’d miss the classic ramen staple of Char Sui, however I was proven wrong. Slices of sous-vide breast prove chicken can be as succulent as pork. The vibrant choice of vegetables, normally unwanted interlopers in a ramen bowl, cut through the richness and turned out to be the element that makes each mouthful new. At ¥2,000 (£11) it feels like Italy crashed a ramen bar and everyone won.

And if this doesn’t float your boat they have plenty of other exciting menu items like the oyster and clam ramen or their homemade soba dipping noodles.

The Verdict

Ginza Kagari edges the win for pure shock value—who knew vegetables and truffle could feel essential in ramen? It shattered every preconception I had about chicken ramen and made me grateful for pumpkin in my soup (never thought I’d be saying that !?). But Ramen Tomo’s duck bowl, discovered by chance and devoured among office workers, is a memory we’d teleport back for.

London Cravings? Still hunting the perfect slurp closer to home? Try Kanada-Ya for textbook tonkotsu, Heddon Yokocho’s back-street shoyu, Ramen Moto in Peckham for chef specials, Tonkotsu Soho for smoky mayu oil, and Shoryu’s chicken sesame number when winter bites back.

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Evita hits the balcony: West End crowds divided over Jamie Lloyd’s staging

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita returned to the West End this month (run: 10 June – 28 September, London Palladium), directed by boundary-pusher Jamie Lloyd and starring movie-musical darling Rachel Zegler.

But ticket-holders are discovering that “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” the show’s climactic belt, happens not onstage but from a balcony overlooking Argyll Street; inside the auditorium, the moment plays on a live video feed.

The stunt echoes Lloyd’s Sunset Boulevard on Broadway, where a key number unfolded on 45th Street traffic.

Here, it feels cheekily literal—Evita sings to “the people,” so why not the passers-by who didn’t pay £200? Critics are split: The Guardian calls it “Brechtian mischief that dilutes emotional punch,” while Time Out praises the “thrilling collision of theatre and city.” Balcony crowds swell nightly, phones aloft, while paying audiences mutter about value for money.

What are the reviews saying?

Yet beyond the gimmick, reviews say Zegler’s husky lilt nails the humanity beneath the icon, and crackles with punk energy. Sets are stripped to scaffolding, a live band prowls the stage, and Eva’s famous gowns appear only as ghostly projections—Lloyd’s way of asking what remains when glamour is peeled back.