Ginza Hachigou
Ramen restaurant · Chūō ·
6-seat ramen eatery with French-infused broth & truffle ravioli
6-seat ramen eatery with French-infused broth & truffle ravioli
"Aiming to provide a full-course meal in a bowl, the chef infuses Chinese soba with his experience in French cuisine for a unique touch. Most revolutionary is the absence of sauce. The soup is crafted by extracting flavours as if for a consommé and then perfectly balancing them with the saltiness of cured ham. The wontons are filled with a paste of foie gras and truffles. He combines all the Western ingredients he has mastered over the years into a single bowl." - Michelin Inspector
"A latticed wooden sliding door behind a simple white noren curtain. From the outside, there's little to suggest that this humble ramen joint is a Michelin-starred restaurant–apart from the line, which often snakes around the corner. Inside, the clean-lined, understated space looks more like a sushi bar than a noodle shop, with six white chairs in front of the wooden counter. Ramen is chef Yasushi Matsumura's second career. After 36 years working in French cuisine, his fascination with the noodle dish took him all over the country to learn the secrets of each region's broth. At Hachigo, Matsumura combines the breadth of his ramen knowledge with techniques gleaned from the French kitchen. His broth is a luxurious consomme crafted from Nagoya chochin chicken, duck, shellfish, shiitake mushrooms, and kelp, with an extra hit of umami from cured ham." - Melinda Joe
"Hachigo’s chef, Matsumura Yasushi, worked in fine dining at a fancy hotel for most of his life. At 55, when peers might start thinking about retirement, he opened up a small ramen shop in Ginza. The ramen gets its salty kick from Parma ham in the soup stock, with duck and shellfish adding some complementary flavors. While most ramen shops prefer you leave the minute you finish your food, Hachigo shows some extra hospitality, encouraging guests to relax a bit at the end of their meal with some iced tea (combined with the slow pace of the restaurant, this can also cause some long lines)." - Brian MacDuckston
"Promoted from a Bib Gourmand to a One MICHELIN Star restaurant for its revolutionary and borderless balance of Japanese and Western elements, thanks to the chef’s background in French cuisine." - MICHELIN Guide Japan
