Agara Ramen brings authentic Japanese ramen to Baguio. They have a wide range of tasty choices too.
Agara Ramen - Bringing Japan to the Philippines
Agara finds itself at the top of the Baguio ramen restaurant list. They're located on Engineer's Hill, with a beautiful view to match beautiful ramen.
I love that Agara takes their ramen very seriously. This isn't always the case outside of Japan. In short, Agara wants Filipinos to appreciate Japanese ramen - the real thing!
Before any main dishes (i.e. ramen), there are a number of side dishes that are worth ordering. For instance, their steamed pork buns are delightful, as are their pork gyoza (fried dumplings).
Chuukasoba - Only at Agara
Agara's chuukasoba pays homage to classic Tokyo ramen. To create it, they found the most inspiration from Aoba, a Tokyo ramen shop powerhouse. Just like at Aoba, their chuukasoba soup is a well-balanced blend of chicken, pork and fish.
It's wonderful that they decided to include fish (bonito, mackerel, and sardines) in the soup.
The fish shines through at Agara but is still presented in a gentle way. Seabura (pork back fat) gives the soup extra meatiness and weight. The broiled chashu pork slices add to this meatiness, as does the unique pork chashu paste.
Medium-thick noodles bring it all home.
Tsukemen - Cranking up the Intensity
In their tsukemen, or dipping ramen, the soup is basically a richer and thicker version of the chuukasoba. This soup properly clings to similarly thick noodles. Its flavor profile is distinctly bolder, offering bursts of sweetness, saltiness, and acidity.
A sheet of seaweed is replaced by shredded seaweed on top of the noodles. Furthermore, there's a lemon wedge, which offers a refreshing touch of acidity to complement the hearty soup. The chefs told me that their inspiration for this bowl was Tomita - some believe Tomita is Japan's best ramen shop.
Spicy Miso Ramen - Smoky Hot
This ramen offers a completely different experience compared to the first two. First of all, it's miso based - there's no shoyu (soy sauce) to be found. There's also no fish in the soup.
The currents of chili that rush through the soup make the biggest impact, ensuring a spicy experience. They don't hold back when it comes to the spiciness!
There are some reminders of Sapporo style miso ramen - namely the butter, corn, and stir-fried bean sprouts. The butter enriches and thickens the soup. The corn adds some sweetness. The bean sprouts provide smokiness. A wonderful trifecta effect.
Tonkotsu Shoyu Ramen - Silky Smooth
This ramen is part pork bone, part shoyu. The shoyu is soft and in the background, which allows the pork bones to be front and center. In short, the soup is smooth like Hakata style ramen. But they borrow from Kumamoto style ramen too, with black garlic oil drizzled on top.
Kikurage (wood ear mushrooms) are there among toppings for texture. The sweet tasting pork chashu paste makes an appearance again (on the right hand side). This is their second most popular menu item after the chuukasoba.
Closing Remarks
Agara Ramen is a delicious ramen option in Baguio City, Philippines. The chefs painstakingly recreate authentic Japanese ramen and with some twists (like the pork chashu paste).
It's cozy on the inside too, with a giant ramen mural painted by a local artist.