Fluffy on the outside and juicy on the inside, boiled dumplings are filling and delicious by themselves. But as ramen toppings, dumplings perhaps serve the ultimate purpose. Here are our top 5 Tokyo dumpling ramen (wantanmen) shops.
1. Kiraku 喜楽
Location: Shibuya
Located in the busy Dogenzaka neighborhood of Shibuya, Kiraku has impressively been around since 1953. Given their history, they stick closer to the Chinese roots of ramen - including boiled dumplings!
Order their "moyashi wantanmen" (dumpling ramen with a shoyu base and a mountain of bean sprouts). The crunch from the bean sprouts alongside the soft and meaty dumplings is absolute bliss.
Shop Hours: 11:30 am ~ 8:30 pm (closed on Wednesdays)
2. Kazuya かづ屋
Location: Meguro
While Kazuya hasn't been around as long as Kiraku, they're equally classic in their approach. Their wantanmen dumpling ramen also features a classic shoyu broth and of course, excellent pork dumplings.
You'll see their staff meticulously making each dumpling by hand. This dedication makes for remarkably tasty dumpling ramen. Full review here.
Shop Hours: 11 am ~ 11 pm (Every day)
3. Yakumo 八雲
Location: Ikejiri Ohashi
Yakumo is one of Tokyo's top rated ramen shops. Ask any ramen fan, search any website online...Yakumo is highly regarded. Their pork and shrimp dumplings might also be the fluffiest on this list.
Choose between 4 or 6 dumplings and a white or black shoyu broth. All in all, Yakumo has carefully crafted a wonderful, more modern interpretation of Tokyo dumpling ramen. More info on Yakumo here.
Shop Hours: 11:30 am ~ 3:30 pm / 5 pm ~ 9 pm (closed just on Tuesdays)
4. Men to Mirai 純手打ち 麺と未来
Location: Shimokitazawa
Men to Mirai confidently only serves one style of ramen. It features a light shio broth with ayu fish oil and chicken, thick, chewy noodles...and fantastic shrimp dumplings.
It's more of a taste of the sea experience. The shrimp dumplings eagerly soak up the ayu fish accent from the broth. But this works very well - with both flavors properly balanced.
Shop Hours: Tues - Sun: 11:30 am ~ 2:30 pm / 6 pm ~ 9 pm // Mon: 11:30 am ~ 2:30 pm
5. Kokuu らーめん 穀雨
Location: Shibuya
We're going back to Shibuya for this old-school, quaint ramen shop. Kokuu lets you choose shoyu or shio broth and also 3 or 5 dumplings.
The dumplings uniquely have a generous helping of ginger. There's a clean and refreshing ginger jolt with every bite. Kokuu is most definitely worth visiting if you're in the Shinsen area of Shibuya!
Shop Hours: Mon - Fri: 12 pm ~ 3 pm / 6 pm ~ 8 pm // Sat: 12 pm ~ 3 pm