German luxury car dealer Mercedes Benz Japan has opened a restaurant in its Tokyo showroom.
But diners can forget caviar – bowls of noodles are the order of the day with a choice of two varieties of ramen, largely considered cheap, fortifying comfort food in Japan.
All lit up for Christmas, the restaurant is in the showroom of Mercedes Connection Tokyo in the swanky Roppongi neighbourhood.
In its usual offhand style, Rocketnews sent its intrepid reporters to test drive the restaurant…
“While our paychecks put us in less expensive transportation than what is parked in the showroom, we could afford to try both varieties of Mercedes-Benz ramen, which are identically priced at 1200 yen (US$10.60).
“We started with the Umi (‘ocean’). True to its name, it has a seafood-based broth, made in the Frenchfumet de poisson style, and the nautical theme continues with a pair of scallops being the star toppings. The thin noodles tasted great with the broth, which had notes of grilled fish in its flavour profile.
“With grilled fish and rice being such a common meal in Japan, we couldn’t resist putting our grilled rice ball, which comes with the Umi ramen, into our leftover broth, providing an excellent finish to the first act.
“Moving on, the Riku (‘land’) was the polar opposite to the Umi. Even the colour schemes of the bowls are reversed. The noodles are much thicker, and the broth is made from duck ham. It is flavourful and delicious, with no hint of gaminess.
“Instead of a grilled rice ball, the Riku is accompanied by baguette slices, along with foie gras butter and blackcurrant compote as a dip. If you’re looking for one more way to indulge, you can mix the condiments with the ramen broth, then use their combined form to flavour the bread.
“Both types of Mercedes-Benz ramen left us fully satisfied.”
The showroom restaurant is serving ramen until December 25.