paid chf 29.- (US$ 37.50) for this bowl of tantanmen in Basel / Switzerland

by SavageSausage1

32 Comments

  1. SeekersWorkAccount

    Shit I thought things were expensive in NYC, but $38 is absolutely crazy for a bowl of ramen.

    I consider eating out in general a luxury, not just ramen.

  2. MarionberryConstant8

    God, that is insane. Ramen is essentially street food. As it should be! It supposed to be a quick, cheap, comforting sort of soul food that the average person can buy.

  3. JapanPizzaNumberOne

    I can get it cheap. I can pay through the Bose. Depends what you’re looking for.

  4. mightymike24

    Yes, definitely a luxury in western europe. Especially for good tonkotsu

  5. Traditional-Ad1633

    Nah u hv to be rich to have decent ramen

  6. UnfortunateSnort12

    I know Ramen’s origins as a cheap street food, but I think that it should and can be whatever a chef or restaurant wants it to be. As in other aspects of ramen, there aren’t “rules.” So if I go to a place that brands themselves as a luxury joint, I do expect it to be pricey and luxurious. It better be worth the price. And if I want a casual bowl, I’ll go to a regular restaurant.

    This is no different than bbq, hamburgers, etc.

  7. PorousSurface

    Jesus that’s expensive 

    In Toronto it’s maybe 15-25 Canadian dollars. About 12-20 usd 

  8. Well everything is costly in Switzerland unfortunately.

  9. Funkj0ker

    In Switzerland everything is luxuriously priced

  10. I was gobsmacked when I took my family of 5 for ramen in Tokyo and paid less than this 1 single bowl.

  11. Madrid, Spain.

    A bowl of ramen? No.

    A GOOD bowl of ramen? yeah.

  12. TheRemedyKitchen

    Never mind luxury, it was impossible up to a few years ago. You’d have to drive an hour to get to a big city from the area where I live in order to get any ramen. But then we had a little place open up in town run by a lovely couple from Nagoya. It’s really good stuff, handmade noodles and gyōza etc. And it’s excessively pink inside with anime posters, etc. The owner’s wife is a bit of an otaku and did all the decorating herself. I don’t consider their ramen to be a luxury. It’s not nearly as fancy as some of the places in, say, Vancouver do it, but it’s well worth it.

  13. bumbaklutz

    In Victoria, BC, Canada, I can get a very good bowl of tonkotsu for $16 CAD now (around $12 USD)

  14. wobby_sobby

    If it’s a happy hour special (a few places do that in our city), then no,it’s fast food priced. If it’s from a nicer restaurant/full price – yes, but mainly because we mostly eat at home.

  15. Automatic_Stand9254

    I was the chef at a very nice ramen restaurant. And since I left that place about 10 ramen spots have opened up here… so no

  16. A good ramen is pretty expansive for what it is in Western Europe. 20€ is the average price for a good ramen in the great places in Paris

  17. ChanceblamedFate2

    Yes. The closest place to me is 30 miles away and it doesn’t have a lot of choices. Tonkotsu and Janjangmyeon are pretty decent though.

  18. iMadrid11

    Outside of Japan. Authentic Japanese style ramen isn’t cheap. Some of the ingredients are imported. Labor and rent aren’t cheap. It’s slow food. Stocks have to boiled for hours as prep for next day service. Noodles have to hand made from scratch. If there isn’t a factory around that makes fresh ramen noodles.

    The price of ramen is artificially price controlled in Japan due to competition from many ramen shops. You can’t just increase ramen prices without losing sales to your competitors.

  19. Pyrostark

    It gets pretty pricey for authentic ramen bowls in India

  20. Sparkly-Siren

    I can get a pretty great tantanmen for the equivalent of $4.50 to $5.00 where I live (a smaller town in India). Even the absolute best/most coveted ramen in a more expensive city like Delhi would maybe be the equivalent of just under $11.

  21. Luxury in that it’s hard to find a good bowl of ramen. But it’s not a luxury good.

  22. The taste is definitely a luxury. The price most times as well

  23. mrchowmein

    No, ramen is working class food. Of course there are people who want to sell ramen as premium food. Because “Japan is fancy”

  24. Where i’m from there isnt a place that serves a decent bowl…

  25. Ilsunnysideup5

    Tried a $25 fancy pork ramen once. Not as good as home cooked noodles for $5.

    Home cooked food is the ultimate choice if you want the best taste. Especially if you use pure meat broth instead.