For the ultimate ramen experience, the bowl is just as important as the food it contains.
Can you imagine using a bowl for your ramen that is angled too high, and your chopsticks can’t function properly?
Or using a bowl where the opening is too small and toppings are forced to be piled on top of each other instead of being spread out enticingly as it should?
What about a bowl that is too shallow and your soup is overflowing and spilling out every time you try to grab at the contents?
Many factors, like the bowl’s shape, weight, exterior curvature, affect whether the ramen bowl is considered good or not.
A good ramen bowl is the fundamental building block for a diner to happily enjoy that bowl of ramen.
Japanese ramen chefs know this and that’s why you can see many different types of bowls being employed in a ramen restaurant.
There are so many different shapes of ramen bowls out there. Here I will introduce 7 of the most commonly used shapes:
1. Menbachi (麺鉢)
The name of this bowl literally means “noodle bowl”.
The shape of this bowl is usually bigger and deeper than other regular bowls.
In addition, this bowl has a large and wide opening, which makes it best used for noodles that come with a lot of soup.
2. Ohgigatadon (扇型丼)
Literally meaning “fan-shaped bowl”, this bowl is characterized by a straight and steep exterior side.
This bowl is very user-friendly in a commercial kitchen, as it is easy-to-hold, stackable and does not take up much storage space.
Because of its steep-angled body, the contents you can put in is much less than bowls of other shapes.
Unlike traditional bowls, this bowl is considered modern and very stylish and therefore, most commonly used in high-end restaurants that focus on quality of the noodles rather than quantity.
3. Tayoudon (多用丼)
The name of this bowl is literally translates into “multi-purpose” bowl.
This type of bowl is most commonly used in new ramen restaurants that were opened after 2000.
Typically, these restaurants are expensive and creative, straying away from your traditional ramen menu items like shoyu ramen, miso ramen, etc.
Because of this bowls’ multi-purpose function and shape, you can also use it for noodles other than ramen like udon or soba.
The shape of this bowl also makes it great for holding rice dishes as well, like katsudon or oyakodon.
4. Hira Tayoudon (平多用丼)
This is the flat version of the tayoudon mentioned above.
Because you can fit a lot of noodles in this type of bowl, it is usually used in low-end ramen restaurants that focus on offering high volume for cheap prices.
5. Tamadon (玉丼)
Literally meaning “ball-shaped bowl”, this round bowl is characterized by a thick and round mouth. A thicker lip makes the edge of the bowl harder to chip.
This bowl is typically used for ramen that come with many toppings.
6. Koudaidon (高台丼)
This “high-footed” bowl, as its name suggests, is characterized by a tall bottom, which allows the user to avoid burning themselves on the bottom of the bowl when holding it.
Usually, the lip of the bowl is slightly bent backwards, which allows the diner to easily see the soup, noodles, and toppings of the ramen in one glance.
This kind of bowl is most often used at budget restaurants that focus on convenience for the customer rather than the perception of the restaurant.
7. Marukoudaidon (丸高台丼)
This is the “rounded” version of the koudaidon bowl described above.
Similar to the characteristics mentioned above regarding the koudaidon bowl, this bowl has an additional rim on the mouth.
Most commonly used for ramen noodles or fried rice, this bowl makes it easy to serve as the extra lip makes it easy to grab and transport without burning your fingers.