Ramen Keisuke Tori King, loved by its loyal fans for its deeply satisfying chicken ramen, is giving Filipino diners a treat this holiday season. From December 2022 to January 2023, the BGC ramen joint is offering a limited number of bowls per day of its Kani Ramen, a staple in the brand’s Japan and Singapore shops but is only being introduced in its singular outlet in the Philippines.

If you’re familiar with the tori or chicken ramen that’s the star of the local Ramen Keisuke menu, imagine adding a crab and prawn broth to that delicious soup. That’s the mind-blowing foundation of this dish. Pile on the handmade noodles, menma (bamboo shoots), leeks, and slices of pork belly and shoulder, and you’ve got a spectacular meal.

After being served a bowl of it last week, by visiting Japanese chef Daiki Nagai no less, we now understand why the Kani Ramen won at the 2011 Tokyo Ramen Challenge. You definitely get the savory seafood flavors but also that unmistakeable boiled-for-5-hours broth made from chicken bits and bones, herbs and vegetables. It’s creamy but not rich and cloying, just honest to goodness umami asserting itself.

Each bowl with the basic toppings costs P590. Local franchise owner Martin Go says they’re limiting the number of servings per day because the soup takes a while to make—essentially an hour and a half longer than the five-hour cooking process of the tori broth.

Ramen Keisuke has around 50 outlets in the world, with 25 in Japan and 18 in Singapore alone. The brand was founded by Keisuke Takeda in 2005, a creative Japanese who started experimenting with ramen flavors back when the soup and noodle dish wasn’t the globally ubiquitous meal it’s become in the previous decade.

Ramen Keisuke Tori King is located at the G/F Tower 1, Corporate Plaza,High Street South, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Behind the No k0917-1608879