Itaewon ramen shop noodle firmness test, well-done vs firm: Okagura

I met up with a friend today after a while and we headed to Itaewon together. I've been working hard on my blog lately, and she's been busy growing her Instagram — since we had that in common, we had so, so much to talk about.

We were trying to figure out what to eat for our reunion meal when suddenly ramen sounded perfect. I'm a hardcore tonkotsu ramen person, though — only that deep, savory broth can satisfy me. But surprisingly few places actually serve tonkotsu ramen, especially in Gangnam, where it's all miso ramen and shoyu ramen. So disappointing. But Okagura Ramen serves spicy tonkotsu ramen?! That settled it — a rare trip out to Yongsan, off to Itaewon we went haha.

How to walk to Okagura Ramen from Itaewon Station (entrance on the right)

Okagura Ramen, this Itaewon favorite, is about a 6-7 minute walk from Itaewon Station. The door facing you is actually a window — the real entrance is on the right side.

Why am I telling you this? Because I walked in through the window. So embarrassing... I could feel customers staring in shock. The owner gently stopped me, and I sheepishly closed the window and walked in through the actual front door. My friend was mortified too — sorry about that, haha.

Inside Okagura Ramen: bar counter or table seats?

Okagura Ramen has both a bar table and regular table seating. Personally I kind of wanted to sit at the bar to watch the cooking — there's something about eating ramen at the bar that feels like the proper way to do it — but somehow we ended up at a table haha. Honestly, tables are comfortable too, especially when you've ordered a lot of food and need the extra space haha.

That entrance area I accidentally wandered into — with the floor-to-ceiling window, it has this open, airy feel. That little terrace-like space is really nice too.

Ordering umakara tonkotsu ramen with well-done and firm noodles

We sat at a table and ordered via the QR code right there. We got two umakara (spicy) tonkotsu ramen and one gyoza as a side, haha. By the way, usually you'd call it karai ramen, so what's umakara about? Maybe it's a combo of umai (delicious in Japanese) and karai (spicy)...?

Okagura Ramen lets you choose your noodle firmness — firm, al dente, or well-done. Loved that! I like soft noodles, so I went with well-done, while my friend ordered al dente. I'd actually been torn between the two before landing on well-done, so since we ended up with the exact same ramen at the same spice level with just different noodle firmness, I asked my friend for a bite to compare. Hehe, curious about that al dente texture too.

How spicy is umakara tonkotsu ramen level 2?

Our umakara tonkotsu ramen level 2 arrived. The spice comes in levels 1, 2, and 3, so you can dial it up or down. Level 2, which we ordered, is roughly as spicy as Shin Ramyun!

I was a little worried about how the well-done noodles would turn out, but it was exactly the texture I love — no chewy firmness, not overcooked either, just perfectly done haha. I really like Okagura Ramen... even writing this post makes me want to eat it again.

I love the bracken fern in the ramen so much. It goes so well with the rich meat broth.

Okagura Ramen chashu: two thick slices with real smokiness

The chashu in the umakara tonkotsu was really delicious too. It was soft with a proper smoky char, melting in the mouth. There's still some chew to it, but zero dryness or toughness.

I kind of regretted not adding extra chashu... but honestly, the slices were thick and large, and with two coming standard, it never felt lacking.

Gyoza on the side, with soy sauce and grated garlic

We also ordered gyoza (dumplings) as a side. I gently pulled one apart with my chopsticks — crisp and fried to a nice golden brown.

The sauce was soy sauce topped with grated garlic. I dipped the gyoza in lightly and tried it.

So so so so good ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ — the juice trapped inside the gyoza just bursts out, and it's genuinely delicious. This is a flavor anyone would love.

You can see the glossy sheen on the gyoza, right? Everyone should get seconds.

I completely, completely recommend Okagura Ramen near Itaewon Station. Honestly, I liked it way more than Ichiran ramen I've had in Japan~~!!