Shoyu Ramen

Smaak Ramen – Slurping the broth till the last drop

Nat Komar

08 May 2026

I never finish the broth in a bowl of ramen, but at Smaak Ramen I did.

Stepping into Smaak Ramen's restaurant feels like stepping onto a Wes Anderson set. Located in Amsterdam's vibrant Pijp neighbourhood, Smaak opened in August of 2025. What started as a pop-up is now Chef Shige’s own restaurant. The name “Smaak” was chosen by his wife, which means flavour in Dutch. And when it comes to flavour, Smaak really lives up to its name.

There are five options on Smaak’s menu to choose from: shoyu, shio, miso, shrimp wonton and vegan shoyu. As Chef Shige explained, his broth is made of many ingredients, all clearly listed on the menu: niboshi (small dried fish), clams, sababushi (dried smoked mackerel) and kombu.

During my visit, I ordered the shoyu. What struck me most was the layering in the broth. One sip had more of a sweet seafood taste to it, and another would be deeper and more savoury. I simply loved the layered complexity of the broth, it had body and yet it didn’t feel heavy.

Delicious till the last drop - Shoyu ramen

At Smaak you get a generously-filled bowl. For example, with the shoyu you’d get:

A shrimp wonton – a thin wonton sheet, filled with a sweet, plump shrimp
Sous-vide chicken – a juicy, perfectly cooked chicken filet, with the right texture, not too soft and not too firm.
Aburi pork belly – this was my favourite. It was so soft, it almost melted on my tongue! And the smoky flavour was a great finishing touch.
Pork neck chashu – a nice addition to the toppings.
Half an ajitama egg – what’s a bowl of ramen without an ajitama egg?

And the veggies:

Spinach
Onion
Spring onion
Menma (bamboo shoot).

What was really interesting was that the toppings didn’t overpower the broth, but they actually added more flavour to it. The noodles were cooked perfectly with just the right bite. My friend who joined me for dinner, chose the shio flavour. With a bowl of shio you’ll get the thinner noodles, which makes sense because the flavour is lighter.

A lighter broth and thinner noodles - Shio ramen

After the ramen, we shared the yuzu panna cotta for dessert. It was fresh and creamy at the same time, with a bright citrus flavour from the yuzu. Very moreish, I could easily have eaten a few more!