Kyushu Yamagoya Ramen Marches into Taichung – Tough Guys Must Try Its “Very Hard” Noodles!

Text & Photos by /Orange Dog Loves Candy

Taipei’s ramen wars have calmed down, and the various players have more or less established their positions. Now the battlefield has moved to Taichung and Kaohsiung. In the past six months, Taichung has seen the openings of Osaka Menya Teru and Sapporo Ichiki Ramen, and this month, Kyushu Yamagoya Ramen has made its debut. It’s said that in May, the much-anticipated Tonkotsu Nagi will also arrive – though the exact location and timing remain under wraps. Personally, I’m quite happy about it. In the past, there was only Da Hai Ramen, which was delicious, but I always hoped for more diverse options.

As for Yamagoya Ramen from Kyushu, although the shop name sounds a bit like an insult due to its accent, it’s actually a long-established ramen chain in Japan. It’s been around for over 40 years since Showa 45 – older than me. It previously had a technical collaboration in Taipei under the same name, Yamagoya, but the noodles and char siu back then were different from what they are now. After the Dongcheng branch closed, the direct-operated store reopened in Tainan, and now there’s this first Taichung branch.


This [Kyushu Yamagoya Ramen] is located at the intersection of Taiwan Boulevard, Gongyi Road, and Minquan Road in Taichung. Although it’s in a very visible spot at a busy intersection, parking is extremely difficult, so driving here is not recommended.

The shop itself is fairly spacious. It’s still in its trial sales period, but it’s normal for newly opened ramen shops to be packed initially – after all, ramen is one of Taiwanese people’s favorite Japanese dishes, so a little wait is to be expected.


We did end up waiting a bit. It felt like during the trial period, the shop didn’t have enough staff, so handling the sudden influx of customers led to some small issues with the service being a bit chaotic.


As for the interior, it doesn’t really have the typical Japanese or retro vibe you see in many ramen shops. However, the central island area houses the kitchen where the ramen is prepared, and the transparent glass lets you see the busy action inside. My friend and I waited about ten minutes before getting a seat.

The menu is quite well designed. Since it’s not their first shop, everything seems more complete.

In terms of pricing, it’s around 210 NTD per bowl. Considering that ramen is often treated as a refined Japanese dish in Taiwan, the price is pretty reasonable, though a few items are still being prepared during the trial period.


What sets them apart from typical ramen shops is that besides ramen, they also offer a wide variety of other dishes like curry rice and skewers, giving you plenty of choices. I read online that a netizen named Jiuxiong mentioned that people in Kyushu like to eat ramen with plain rice – no wonder they offer both noodles and rice here. Honestly, the portion sizes Japanese people eat really surprised me, especially after seeing how quickly Japanese girls finish both noodles and rice in Kyoto.


The portion of ramen with rice and fried chicken is so big that even I feel stuffed just looking at it – it really shocked me.

There are three simple seasoning bottles on the side, and especially the sesame – don’t forget to add it to your noodles for extra aroma.


By the way, here you can choose the hardness of your noodles. Most places offer soft → regular → hard, but this shop even has an option for “very hard.” Real tough guys should definitely go for the very hard one XDD (just kidding). Actually, I’ve always preferred firmer noodles. For the broth, you can choose between light or regular – I was a bit disappointed at first because I’m a fan of super rich broths, and the menu only listed regular or light. But the regular broth turned out to be close to the original, full-bodied flavor.


[Tonkotsu Black Garlic Ramen / 210 NTD] – I don’t know why, but even though tonkotsu broth is rich and delicious, I just can’t resist black garlic ramen. This ramen is still based on tonkotsu broth, but with added black garlic oil. The whole bowl looks pitch black but is incredibly enticing.

It comes with wood ear mushrooms, two slices of char siu, bean sprouts, and green onions. I added a half-boiled egg (each extra egg is 40 NTD – the photo shows half an egg). At first, I frowned a bit when I saw that the menu only offered regular or light broth, because I’m a super-rich-broth person. The half-boiled egg was actually pretty good – the yolk wasn’t fully solid, and it had a slightly thick, creamy flow of egg yolk flavor. Overall, compared to other ramen shops I’ve tried in Taichung recently, this one was surprisingly excellent.


Later, the staff explained that the “regular” broth at Yamagoya refers to the original, full-flavored concentration. That reassured me. The original tonkotsu richness, combined with the aromatic spiciness of the black garlic oil, isn’t as heavy as the garlic flavor at Kagetsu Arashi, but it’s very smooth and satisfying. It’s oily, but I love how the flavors blend together.


The noodles are thin, and choosing the very hard option was indeed the right call. Even after soaking in the broth for a while, they still had the perfect amount of chew, and the broth clings nicely to them.


As for the char siu, it wasn’t as impressive. I’ve gotten used to thicker slices of char siu from other ramen shops recently, so these thinner slices didn’t wow me as much.

[Spicy Doubanjiang Ramen / 210 NTD] – Also based on tonkotsu broth. I actually don’t know why this one comes with an extra slice of char siu – Q???? It has the same kind of meat. The broth has a rich depth, and you can adjust the spice level, but what’s particularly notable is the addition of small bits of “spicy crunch.” Don’t underestimate that tiny ball – and don’t think Japanese spicy sauces are just for show. When it melts into the broth, every bite brings not just surface-level heat but also a lingering spice that tingles on your tongue. It’s not overwhelmingly harsh, but it’s definitely flavorful enough for spice lovers to try.

Since it’s still the trial period, I came just for a quick taste. But it exceeded my expectations. Later, I found out that after the Taipei Yamagoya branch closed, the Japanese headquarters took back the rights, so they chose to reopen in Tainan. I haven’t tried the Tainan one yet, but based on my experience at the Taichung branch today, I think it’s really quite good – with no major compromises on broth richness or noodle texture.


Compared to the recent openings of Menya Teru and Ichiki in Taichung, Yamagoya performs quite well. The only downside is that at 200 NTD, the portion of noodles is really quite small. You can add 30 NTD for extra noodles, but I’d still prefer a more satisfying portion even at the original price!


I could finish the noodles in just three bites. Among the thin-noodle competitors in the same western Taichung area, the only real rival would probably be Da Hai Ramen. Now we just have to wait for the opening of Tonkotsu Nagi in Taichung to make this ramen battleground even livelier. Sharing my simple thoughts with everyone – Up!

Well, otherwise I would have slurped up the noodles in three bites. As for thin noodle competitors in this West District area, Daidara Ramen is probably the only worthy rival. Next, we just need to wait for the opening of Nagi in Taichung, which will make this ramen battleground even more lively.Sharing my simple thoughts with everyone—Up!


[Kyushu Yamagoya Ramen Chikuho LaOh]