The New Classic

Shin-Uchi, possibly the single best ramen place in the city of Guangzhou, and surely one of the best Japanese ramen shops in China, offers some next level umami with their innovation.

Sitting by the central axis of the city, Shin-Uchi is a relatively low-key ramen shop by a quiet community. When you see it’s outside, you would have an instant feeling of “it’s not gonna be bad.” It just looks like a good ramen place standing alone.

Still Classic

There has been more than a hundred kinds of ramen, but ramen is mostly categorized into four dominant styles named after the flavors of the broth:

“Tonkotsu(pork bone),” “shio(salt),” “shoyu(soy sauce),” and “miso.”

Among all, tonkotsu stands out being the starring classic of ramen, while shio and shoyu being the most flexible ones. Most innovative ramens were developed based on the philosophy of shio/shoyu, and that probably includes the Michelin one-star JeJu Noodle Bar in NYC.

Shin-Uchi is no exception. It has only three ramen of choice on the menu, and to simplify their names, they would be:

“Not Really Shio Ramen(the chicken one)”, “Seafood Shoyu Ramen(the seashell one)”, and “The One You Do Not Order(kidding).”

Menu

Ultimate Composite

Shin-Uchi’s flagship product, the “Creamy Chicken Soup Ramen” is out of the this world. Unlike Nakamura’s chicken broth in NYC, which by the way is also a fantastic one, Shin-Uchi’s innovation is overiding the traditional categories of ramen.

The fish broth base carries its upmost secret, boiling in a large pot and ready to be served. After-cooked, noodles are quickly bathed into plated fish broth, soaking in pure umami. Chicken broth then, processed into a thicker foamy soup, is added onto the fish broth and creates a perfectly textured layer on the surface.

Creamy Chicken Soup Ramen

In fact, I would say this is no shio ramen.
This is nothing basic. The density and complexity of flavors that time and ingredients brought are unparalleled. It contains certain heaviness, but definitely not as oily as tonkotsu.

When that first bite hits you with condensed umami and light fattiness, the whole experience becomes a smooth, joyful journey. The foamy soup is the key player, because the air within maximizes its texture, making the flavors so rich and explosive.

Before everything becomes too much, that shy little sweetness always pulls you back from the dazzling dream of fish and chicken.

Decent Karaage (fried chicken)

Ultimate Umami

The “Seashell Extract Soy Sauce Ramen” however, is another story. It’s just as simple as it sounds. An almost clear broth with invisible oil was shaped to be the very opposite of its companion, an anti-heavy alternative.

Seashell Extract Soy Sauce Ramen

I personally found this sometimes too fishy, but some other times, better than the best shoyu ramen in New York City. The soup is pure umami and nothing else. As we all know that somethings bad umami could very likely be fishiness.

“The extract were made by boiling Clams and oysters in low heat,” as it says on the menu. Every spoon feels like you’re drinking clam meat, in a light, silky state. And if your tongue senses deeper into the flavor, you can taste those dimensions of little details of the actual clams.

After all, this is a bowl of straightforward experience of the ocean. My favorite part of this ramen is the friendly lightness that makes it no pressure for you to empty the bowl.

Interior Design

Like many ramen places in Tokyo , Shin-Uchi is a compact, bar-based, pragmatic ramen shop with roughly 15 seats.

There is (almost) no extra element in design that’s yelling “hey I’m here.” Everything is honest and consistent. The wall is being a wall. The bar is being a bar. Even the hung paintings and the “Japanese Ramen” letters on the column are so quiet.

White and wood forms warm, comfortable tone in space. Warm, subtle light gradually grows from the sides of the ceiling. Large glass windows surrounds the front of the shop, welcoming massive natural light.

The only part that seems a little off would be the live show videos of some J-pop bands, projected on the wall across the bar, breaking out of the silence.

Post-COVID Victory

Shin-Uchi opened in 2017, and was rarely known for 2 years. After the pandemic was under controlled in China on around April 2020, the rapid rise of demand in consuming helped Shin-Uchi gain the reputation it deserved.

Though there were surely some iterations, Shin-Uchi’s 3-ramen menu stays the same since the beginning. The “Creamy Chicken Soup Ramen” awaits to be a new classic ramen recipe. Before then, I shall sneakily sit by the corner, slurping that noodles every once in a while.