Saejeol Station ramen with sous-vide karai paitan: Oreno Ramen

I really love ramen, so I'm always hunting down good ramen spots both in Korea and on trips to Japan 🤤 This time I visited Oreno Ramen in Eunpyeong-gu!

Where is Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong, and is there parking?

Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong is a 320m (5-minute) walk from Exit 1 of Saejeol Station! And the most important part — parking 🚙 — there's space for about 1-2 cars right in front of the restaurant.

It's hard to find a ramen place in Eunpyeong-gu with parking, so with parking available, how could you not come? ☺️

The menu at Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong and ordering karai paitan

Since ramen is one of my favorite foods, I thought hard about what to order and settled on the Karai Paitan! 🤤🍜 Cooking starts as soon as you order, so I liked that I got to eat warm, freshly made ramen right away.

Watching the open kitchen from the bar seats

After ordering, I looked around and noticed there were bar seats, which seemed great for solo dining too. The best part about sitting at the bar was getting to watch the ramen being made right in front of me! 👀

Since cooking starts right after you order, it was fun watching the whole process unfold. Getting to watch the cooking up close made the wait fly by :)

Iced green tea and pickles on the table

Looking at the table, I found iced green tea and pickles already set out, nice and cool. I tried a glass of green tea before the ramen arrived, and it was refreshing and clean. Sipping cold green tea between bites kept my palate feeling reset! The pickles also went well alongside the ramen. 😊

Apron and hair tie for ramen eaters

On the table there was also an apron and a hair tie ready, so no worries even if you wear white! Gotta do the noodle slurp, and with nothing in the way, I was all set to dig in! 😊

How was the assorted tsukune platter?

Watching the ramen being made, the food came out faster than I expected. First up was the assorted tsukune (grilled chicken meatballs)! My first thought after one bite: 'Can chicken really be this moist?'

These were chicken-based tsukune, and they were way juicier and softer than I expected. I thought they'd be dry, but they had real juiciness and a soft texture that paired well with the ramen! Eating them with the sauce on top especially added a savory, umami depth — really tasty haha. If you don't want to eat just ramen, I'd recommend ordering the tsukune as a side too :)👍🏻

Karai paitan broth and sous-vide chicken

The Karai Paitan I ordered is a chicken broth-based ramen! True to the 'karai' (spicy) in its name, it had just the right amount of heat, along with a savory yet refreshing, clean finish. ☺️

Usually rich broths can feel a bit greasy or heavy as you eat, but the Karai Paitan didn't have that at all. It had the signature savoriness of chicken broth while staying clean, and I personally thought it would even work well as a hangover cure. 🍜

The noodles weren't overcooked either — they had a nice springy bite that was satisfying to chew. And what impressed me more than expected was the chicken topping. It's apparently cooked sous-vide, and it really was incredibly tender. It cut easily with chopsticks, and the texture itself was so moist. Not much of an exaggeration to say you could eat it without teeth — it was that soft, and it really stuck with me even though it was 'just' the chicken in a bowl of ramen. 📝

The soft-boiled egg served on top had a springy white and a moist, runny yolk that made for an excellent savory bite. Eating the egg together with the spicy yet clean broth softened the heat a little, letting me enjoy it as a completely different flavor!

Free refills of noodles, broth, rice and kimchi

Another great thing about Oreno Ramen is that noodles, broth, rice, and even kimchi all come with free refills! If you run low on noodles, rice, or broth while eating, you can add more without hesitation, and being able to refill kimchi too meant I could really eat my fill.

Partway through, I got refills of rice and broth and mixed the rice right into the broth. Spooning rice into that spicy, clean broth soaked in all the flavor — it was a whole different treat haha. I loved that you're not limited to just eating the ramen as-is — you can mix in rice to suit your taste too :)

Is Oreno Ramen Eunpyeong worth a trip? Final verdict

Overall, what stood out to me was that this ramen kept the savoriness of a rich chicken broth without feeling greasy — it stayed clean and refreshing. If you like a spicy, cool broth, or if the greasiness of a typical tonkotsu ramen is too much for you, the Karai Paitan is worth trying.

Personally, I loved how clean the broth was, and with the springy noodles, tender chicken, and soft-boiled egg together, I finished a pretty satisfying bowl. If you're craving ramen in Eunpyeong-gu and want something clean, savory, and spicy, the Karai Paitan at Oreno Ramen is worth a try. 😊