Shinn Ramen is waiting for you right near the Taipei World Trade Center and is a place for ramen enthusiasts to test their taste buds with the rich fish stock used in their broth. Prepare for a more uniquely fishy experience as Shinn Ramen serves up authentic, steaming bowls of rich and flavorful ramen.
Shinn Ramen has 3 branches throughout the city, with two of them being around the Xinyi-Dunhua area and one near Liuzhangli MRT station. The branch next to the Taipei World Trade Center specializes in fish broth, but if you’re in the mood for duck, then head to their Liuzhangli branch, or if you’re looking for a classic style of ramen with the choice of a pork broth then you can go to their Renai-Dunhua branch.
With efficient service and a cozy ambiance, Shinn Ramen promises good flavours in a relaxed atmosphere. This is a must-try for ramen lovers seeking a memorable ramen journey in Taipei.
Table of Contents
This fish broth ramen was what I was here for today, and having only had a fish broth ramen once more, I was intrigued.
There is a bit of lining up to be done here, I am afraid. So be prepared when you come.
When you first arrive, make sure to simply write your name and the number of people in your party on this piece of paper. Don’t just line up and hope that it all works out. They go through the list and call your name. No name, no calling.
They are a bit rule-heavy here. Most of them you don’t need to pay much attention to. But, some of them could be important for you. For example:
- Rule 3 – Once you have finished ordering, give the receipt to the server and they will help seat you.
- Rule 6 – Don’t change your seats once seated.
- Rule 7 – If you miss your name being called out when waiting outside, then you have to wait for 3 more groups to go in before you. So it’s definitely best to hang around for your name rather than go and explore the alleyways or shops around the restaurant.
- Rule 11 – Minimum spend of anyone over 12 years old is $200.
- Rule 12 – This restaurant is cash only.
- Rule 15 – For IGrammers – no videos inside the kitchen area.
How To Order At Shinn Ramen
I don’t particularly enjoy vending machine ordering for the lack of intimacy with the restaurant itself, but it can sometimes be helpful if you don’t have faith in the servers. When you first get to the machine, you have the choice to order in or take out.
外帶 = Take out, 内用 = Eat in.
You’ll then be taken to the main page where you have 5 possible categories to cycle through:
- 魚 – Fish-based stock
- 非魚 – Non-fish-based stock
- 副餐 – Sides/Additions
- 飲料 – Drinks
- 限定 – Limited
Ordering Sides
I was excited about some char su rice, so we went to the Sides/Additions first and ordered a bowl of the char su rice – Mini 叉燒飯. Once you click, you’ll be asked if you want pork+chicken (豬雞) or fish (魚肉). We ordered the fish, of course!
Ordering Ramen
The next step was to choose the ramen. We came here for fish-based stock, so we clicked through to that, and we were faced with 5 possible selections. We chose 淡麗 (果香/魚香) priced at $260.
Row 1 – You can customize your order by choosing normal or hard noodles (we chose the hard noodles – 硬).
Row 2 – Here you’re able to choose the level of salt, choosing either light (淡), normal (正常), or salty (鹹).
Row 3 is for any items you’d like to add on. They have an onsen egg, thin noodles, or normal noodles – it is unselected by default.
Row 4 is about the type of noodles you’d prefer. The first selection is thin noodles (細麵) and the second is normal noodles (正常麵).
The penultimate row is if you want the overriding flavour to be fish (魚香) or if you’d prefer it more fruity (果香).
The final row is if you don’t want scallions/green onions (不要葱) or if you don’t want onions (不要洋葱).
Huzzah – you have ordered 1 bowl of noodles!
For our second bowl of ramen, we chose 海音 priced at $300.
Row 1 – You can customize your order by choosing normal or hard noodles (we chose the hard noodles – 硬).
Row 2 – Here you’re able to choose the level of salt, choosing either light (淡), normal (正常), or salty (鹹).
Row 3 is for any items you’d like to add on. They have an onsen egg, thick noodles, normal noodles, or thin noodles – it is unselected by default.
Row 4 is about the type of noodles you’d prefer. The first selection is thin noodles (細麵), the second is normal noodles (正常麵), and the 3rd one is thick noodles (粗麵).
The final row is if you don’t want scallions/green onions (不要葱) or if you don’t want onions (不要洋葱).
2 bowls of ramen – ordered!
Remember to give your receipt to the server – they will show you to your seat.
Each of the seats was separated by a plastic shield. I didn’t really appreciate this, but didn’t have a choice.
At The Table
Once seated, you will find a cup, plate, cutlery, and an hourglass. Huh?
So, according to Shinn Ramen, you should not take pictures of sit chatting for longer than 3 minutes in order to enjoy the perfect bowl of delicately cooked ramen.
Well, based on the video he does say that you should look to eat it in under 5 minutes otherwise the noodles may become soft or expand, impacting upon the flavour. Pseudoscientific? Perhaps.
You’ll find cups and more cutlery here, with sauces and tissues if needed. We didn’t get anything but water and soup, though, as everything you need is at your table. The soup in the kettle is pretty good and has a good depth of flavour similar to that of a stock used in the main dishes.
We definitely ordered that, as it came recommended ^
海音 Ramen
Firstly, the smell coming off this bowl of ramen was incredible. It was beautifully presented, and my mouth was watering even taking these pictures. I turned over the timer so that the sand began trickling down, and my time to take pictures began!
What strikes me is the contrast of colours in the bowl here. The contrast between the broth, lemon, orange, onions, green onion, peppercorns, and then the meat. It is visually glorious, and definitely invites you in to eat it. I like to separately think about the individual elements of my ramen:
The broth – The broth here at Shinn Ramen was thick, rich, and had a real depth of flavour. It was salty enough with the normal level of salt, so I would not recommend you to go saltier, but you could consider slightly less salt if you don’t like deep and rich flavoured broth. Fish flavour comes out really nicely in this chicken and fish head broth, but it isn’t overwhelming in any way, which comes as a relief.
The meat – You get char su pork, char su chicken, and sashimi on the side of your bowl, too. This makes the bowl of ramen excellent value in of itself. The chicken is deliciously juicy and full of flavour. The pork is fine, but neither adds nor detracts from anything in the dish. The sashimi, though, is a welcomed addition. Never have I thought to dunk a piece of fresh sashimi in my rich bowl of ramen.
The noodles – Excellently cooked to be slightly on the hard side. Not only have we found that noodles cooked in this way tend to retain their integrity longer without becoming soft too quickly, but I also really like a slightly chewier noodle rather than it simply disintegrating when I put it in my mouth.
The accompaniments – Interestingly, the peppercorns add a great fragrance to the dish. I could do without either the lemon or the orange, really. But I can’t put my finger on which one. The red onions are a great addition, though, and bring a lovely fragrance to the bowl.
Mini 叉燒飯
I will regularly add on a side order of char su pork and rice when I go for ramen. And this place was not going to be an exception. There were so many chunks of fish on top of the rice here that for $60 it seemed almost unreasonable. The fish was lightly smokey and plenty meaty. When mixed in with the rice was that perfect level of richness and freshness.
Having eaten char su pork over rice at a bunch of other ramen stores, I wasn’t sure what to initially expect with a char su fish bowl like this, but the sheer level of freshness from the fish surprised me a lot. I will definitely go back for this again.
淡麗 (果香)
Remarkably similar in presentation to the 海音, but the broth on this one is much lighter. That’s not to say that it doesn’t pack a rich and deep flavour, but more that it is slightly less salty and therefore a little more refreshing by comparison.
The bottom line
Is it worth it? It is a really good ramen restaurant, and if you’re in the mood for some fish, then it’s spot-on for you.
What is the must-order? I actually think that the char su fish rice bowl is the must-order here. Whilst the ramen is delicious, the char su fish over rice surprised me more than the bowls of ramen did. I would get both of those bowls again, too, but not before I order a bowl of this char su fish over rice.