Enishi Thailand — *Tell me this isn’t the most colorful bowl of Dan Dan noodles you’ve ever seen*

A popular Michelin Bib Gourmand Awarded restaurant has opened in Bangkok, Enishi Ramen! Straight from Kobe Japan! Personally, I love ramen so you know I gotta try out Enishi Ramen Thailand.

Located near Ploenchit BTS station on the second floor of the One City Centre building, Enishi specializes in their award winning DanDan Noodles which are made with 32 types of spices and ingredients to provide you with the perfect bowl of noodles. In addition, they also serve the up and coming trend of Dashi-based Ramen derived from Kombu (kelp) instead of the typical Tonkotsu (pork bone) broth.

Usually I don’t follow trends or really trust in the Michelin label all that much (especially for restaurants in Asia), but Enishi Thailand’s Dan Dan noodles look really good, plus my girlfriend wanted to try it so it’s a win-win situation.

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Enishi Thailand’s Concept

I’ll be focusing on DanDan Noodles for this review as that’s Enishi Thailand’s speciality dish. Right off the bad the atmosphere of Enishi Thailand looks very cozy. It’s a small yet intimate restaurant with only a handful of bar counter style seating with an open view of the chefs and their kitchen.

This is in line with the concept that they described on their website of being a “faithful representation of Japan” with it’s blend of a high class dining experience combined with the intimacy and comfort of it’s spacing.

According to their website, Enishi Ramen takes pride in their “exclusive employment of Japanese staff”. I’m not sure about the exclusive part though because the waiters, waitresses, and chefs were definitely Thai… Only one person seemed to be Japanese, the owner of this particular branch.

If you’re looking for a similar style restaurant serving delicious ramen, might I recommend you check out Kiri Tsukemen in Thonglor? Kiri Tsukemen specializes in well… Tsukemen (Dip ramen), and it’s my favorite place to get a nice hearty bowl for lunch.

Enishi Thailand’s Menu

Enishi Thailand Menu — *A lot of information in a single page, which is good, though I don’t know what the lightning bolts mean…*

Enishi Thailand’s menu is quite small yet concise, they have different versions of Dan Dan Noodles to choose from:

Regular Dan Dan Noodles - Your regular dan dan noodles with all the toppings, comes in 3 spice variants, none, medium, very spicy
Curry Dan Dan Noodles - Dan dan noodles with added Japanese curry powder
Rich Dan Dan Noodles - A version of the regular dan dan noodles with added sesame sauce and sesame seeds for a more rich and nutty flavor

Aside from Dan Dan Noodles, Enishi Thailand’s soup based ramen offering are:

Dashi Ramen - Their iconic kelp broth based ramen
Shoyu Ramen - A soy sauce broth based ramen
Yuzu Shio Ramen - Dashi broth with added salt and yuzu oil for a refreshing taste
Shellfish Stock Ramen - An umami rich broth, a dashi and scallop based broth

You can order the ramens in 3 different size: basic, regular, special. For toppings, each bowl comes with Japanese chashu pork, and roast duck. Only the regular and special size comes with Ajitama (marinated boiled egg).

Enishi Thailand also has some Japanese Karaage Fried Chicken as an appetizer/snack.

Drinks are the usual affair: Coke, green tea, mineral water, beer, shochu, sake, etc…

Pricing

Being a Michelin restaurant, it’s no surprise that the price is pretty expensive. For Dan Dan noodles, the price is around 450 THB per bowl. While for the ramen, the price ranges from 290 THB to 420 THB depending on what size you order.

One slightly off putting thing I saw was that Coca Cola, 50 THB, costs less than a bottle of mineral water, 75 THB…

Portions were good though, very filling considering you get a complimentary mini bowl of rice to mop up any remaining toppings and sauce once you’ve eaten all your noodles.

PRO TIP: DO NOT ORDER MINERAL WATER. Don’t be fooled into ordering mineral water thinking that you won’t have anything to drink, water is served free, just that it’s not mineral water.

How to Eat Enishi Ramen’s Ramen?

Enishi Thailand how to eat — *Be sure the share your pics at #EnishiThailand!*

Apparently there is a a certain way to eat your Dan Dan Noodles. I like how very specific the instructions are. Like how your time limit for taking photos is only 20 seconds and you must gently stir and mix your noodles 5 times, not 6, not 4, 5.

All these specific instructions are to make sure you enjoy your bowl of noodles in their most optimal temperature and peak um… taste.

I think this little bit of information also showcases the attention to detail and meticulous precision of Japanese culture. While other countries might be more liberal in their eating rituals, Japan values the quality and characteristics of their dishes.

Curry Dan Dan Noodles

Ok so I ordered the Curry Dan Dan Noodles and right off the bat, these Dan Dan Noodles look a lot like Mazesoba… They’re similar dishes but not the same.

Dan Dan Noodles are a dry Chinese Sichuan dish made with thinner noodles and topped with a spicy numbing chili oil based sauce, minced pork, and pickled vegetables.

While Mazesoba is a dry noodle dish originating in Nagoya, Japan. It’s characterized by thicker and chewier noodles topped with a dash of broth, various toppings and a runny onsen egg to add more richness to the dish.

Whatever the correct naming is, Enishi Ramen’s Curry Dan Dan noodles are served with thick chewy noodles, minced pork, a sweeter Chinese style bbq Char Siew pork, duck, pickles, onions, mustard greens, fried garlic, and oddly enough, cashew nuts.

I especially like the addition of the onsen egg. Some of you might be a bit turned off by this semi raw boiled egg thing but trust me, it adds another dimension of richness to your bowl of Dan Dan Noodles.

Your order is also served with a bowl of Dashi soup broth on the side. You have the option to add some broth to hydrate your noodles, but I didn’t because I prefer the sauce thick and semi-dry.

I just took a sip of the broth throughout the meal, the dashi soup was very comforting, a little bit salty from the kombu (kelp) but full of umami flavor.

Once mixed, the flavors of all those 32 spices really shines through. Combined with the curry powder and onsen egg, my bowl of Dan Dan Noodles tasted very rich and hearty. Though I did add a few scoops of chili oil as well as fresh black pepper because the noodles weren’t spicy enough for me.

I love the thick noodles, the texture was firm and coated in all that sauce and spices, oh man, it was real good.

One thing (or two) I don’t really agree with are the pickles, and the char siew pork. The pickles were too sour and acidic creating a very weird and out of place flavor contrast to the richness of the other spices. Imagine eating a rich curry and then licking a lemon right, it’s that kind of contrast.

The char siew pork was also a bit too sweet and created a similar conflicting flavor contrast as the pickles.

Though I do like the chunks of onions in there, and the cashews also provided a surprisingly delightful crunch and nuttiness.

Very Spicy Dan Dan Noodles

My girlfriend ordered the regular Dan Dan Noodles but the very spicy version. I had a taste and well… it’s good. Although it’s not as spicy as I would’ve thought.

If you’ve been in Thailand for a while, you might be accustomed to Thai-level spice. As a Thai person who enjoys spicy foods, Enishi’s very spicy bowl of Dan Dan Noodles is mild in spice. But that’s okay because you can add more chili oil to up the spice levels anyway.

Conclusion

Pros

Good cozy atmosphere and friendly staff.
The Dandan noodles are delicious plus a complimentary rice bowl doesn’t hurt
Portions are of good size, very filling.

Cons

The pricing is pretty expensive

Overall I recommend you visit Enishi Thailand. Though not the best Dan Dan Noodles, or rather Mazesoba, I’ve ever had (that title goes to Menya Yamato which is sadly closed forever T_T), Enishi Thailand serves a up a commendable bowl of Dan Dan Noodles full of delicious flavor and spice. The atmosphere is also very cozy with very friendly staff and efficient service.

The only downsides I have are that the pricing is expensive, maybe if each dish was 30-50 THB cheaper and the Mineral Water didn’t cost more than the Coke.

Enishi Thailand | 8 / 10

Phone: Phone number not provided…

Location: 10330, Bangkok, Phloen Chit Rd, 2F

Opening Hours: 11 :00 AM - 3:00  PM and 5:00 PM - 9:00  PM | Mon - Sun

Pricing: 450++ THB | $$$$

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