Lemon & Fromage, Kichijōji レモンアンドフロマージュ、吉祥寺

Italians and Chinese may be of different opinions when it comes to which came first – spaghetti or noodles? – but Lemon & Fromage gleefully combines rāmen with elements of Italian cooking and manages to produce some interesting results. 

The honten, Due Italian, is in Kudan-minami; my dining partners and I visited the recently opened looking Kichijōji iteration. Very clean, “well appointed,” and squarely in the “popular with ladies” category. Indeed, ladies get to swap normal noodles for super healthy (12kcal) konyaku noodles free of charge.

Although smart; with white walls, nice tables and chairs, and a vaguely espresso bar feel to it this is still a rāmen shop, and so the level of service, etc., isn’t really worth mention. As is often the case, you simply select your meal from a ticket vending machine before being seated.

Average prices, smallish servings. The two bowls we tried, the lemon, and the fromage, rāmen were both nicely turned out, with the strangely clear broth creating a light, “healthy” appearance. The lemon variety might have been healthier, the fromage one certainly not. The huge dollop of gooey cheese slowly permeating the dish surely cancelled out any benefit to the waistline that might accrue from the konyaku noodles.

Both were enjoyable, mainly for the novelty factor and clean presentation. The lemon flavour became overpowering eventually, and would benefit from being taken down a notch or two. Conversely, the fromage rāmen were delicious, but would be even better if the taste were stronger. It would certainly benefit from being supplied in bigger portions. However, and despite being adequate, neither the pork nor noodles will appease the indignation of rāmen purists.

0422-23-3375

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