Last Friday we enjoyed by the Korean Street food at Platoon Kunsthalle, this Friday Doro led me to one of her favourite lunch places next to her work — Marubi Ramen.
I never had proper ramen before and mostly know it from these little instant soup packages. So I was very thankful to learn about the good kind of ramen.
The place is between Senefelder Platz and Kollwitzplatz in a rather rich corner of Prenzlauer Berg. You know, the kind of rich people that buys the flats for the life style in the area, then realizes there is noise involved and then sues the restaurant/bar/club/playground for existing. The famous Kollwitzmarkt had to change its location and time due to one very persistent asshat. But that’s another story.
Marubi is located in this rather unpleasant corner of designer clothes and fancy wine stores. Their prices though are fair, we paid 23 € for two people, including tea, starter and two main courses, and tip.
The menu is concise, apart from their lunch combos they offer a few variations of ramen soup and of donburi, that comes with pork or salmon. I really like places that focus on a few things that they know best instead of offering several dozen dishes that are all just variations of meat with pre-made sauces. Marubi knows how to make simple, delicious Japanese ramen and donburi. They remind me a bit of heno heno in Kantstr, who also focus on a few things that they absolutely nail. But more about them another time.
The soup tasted like a glorified miso soup, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. I love miso, and the additional ramen, egg, pork, soy bean and sprouts along with some seaweed made this dish delicious. This is exactly how I like soups. The sake don that Doro picked was equally good, slightly sweet, nicely balancing the sharpness of the ginger. I usually go for the gyudon with beef but this sake don was absolutely on par with a good gyudon, if not better.
If you’re looking for some humble, spot-on Japanese food in an area where you usually only find oysters with a white wine truffle risotto served on a golden plate by a child in tears, whose playground just got closed, then you should pay a visit to Marubi. I surely will come back.