What makes Ramen Seto special?
1.Quality & choice of ramen. Their soup is basically made from chicken stock and their noodles are very good with soft and smooth texture. The Tanmen (with shio soup) has good reputation with Japanese people.
2.Vegetarian broth alternative
An excellent original idea for ramen shops everywhere.(Although the English are big meat eaters, the Indian population have had a positive influence & the Vegetarian Society & Vegan Society were both founded in England.)
Tanmen and Shouyu-Ramen at Ramen Seto
My first experience there was quite memorable. That day I wanted only vegetables in my ramen, so the waitress suggested I order Tanmen, then brought me a glass of water. After I ordered, a Japanese client walked in & immediately asked for Tanmen. I thought this might be a good sign, or just a coincidence. About 5-10 minutes later I got a big bowl full of boiling soup topped with a good handful of cabbage, bean sprouts, string beans & chopped peppers. The noodles were carefully folded & hidden at the bottom.
During my meal, I couldn't help but notice how the Japanese guy next to me was eating. While he was reading a magazine borrowed from the shop, he'd pick up almost all the noodles in the bowl & slurp as much of them up as he could, then discard the rest with his chopsticks. I agreed with him, the noodles were very good. When he'd finished, he picked remaining pieces of noodles out of his spoon as well as remaining vegetables & ate them, leaving only a small puddle of soup at the bottom of his bowl. I finished mine & thought I should ask him what he thought of the ramen at this shop. He told me that him & his colleagues consider it to be the best ramen in central London (which is not so difficult as there are very few shops). In his opinion, Tanmen is the best ramen on the menu, with shio soup, but the noodles are even better.
I went back on the following day to try their shouyu ramen. As I'm not a big fan of chashu, I asked to have it with chicken instead. The bowl was big & topped with bean sprouts, string beans, spring onions & chicken (see pic). I added salt & found myself eating the noodles very fast. The soup was not as light as yesterday, but a bit tastier. The chicken was seasoned to go well with the soup. Like the Tanmen, it was good enough for me to finish it. Available seasonings are salt, pepper, chili, vinegar, & soya sauce.
How to find Ramen Seto
Ramen Seto is easy to find, located on the edge of Soho, between Carnaby St & Regent St.
If you're coming from Oxford St: at Oxford Circus you walk down the left-hand side of Regent St, then go left into Foubert Place, then immediately right into Kingly St walk down & find Ramen Seto on the left.
(Posted by Mark B, 2002.5.5)
(Photos provided by Mark B, 2002.5.5)