Where to Find the Best Vegan Ramen in Taichung

I’ve never been a big fan of ramen, but these vegan ramen will surely have you coming back for more…

Originating from China in the 1800s, ramen has become increasingly popular in Japan throughout the last century and was made popular internationally by the Japanese. However, it’s hard to find traditional ramen that is vegetarian/vegan friendly, as the broth is usually made of bone or seafood. I am firm believer that you should not have to compromise the joy of eating no matter what types of diet you choose to practice. Which is why last year, I’ve made it a goal of mine to discover all the hidden vegan ramen restaurants in Taichung waiting to be eaten by us fellow vegetarians.

If I’m being really honest, I never understood all the hype around ramen. To me, eating ramen has always felt kinda like drinking soy sauce because it’s so salty. But thankfully, I have been open to trying out various types of ramen throughout the years, and I think that I’ve successfully found ramen that my tastebuds enjoy. Although I still wouldn’t call myself a huge fan of ramen, now I can happily say that I do have a few go-to ramen places for when I crave it occasionally.

Which brings us to today’s post: the best vegan ramen in Taichung.

Xun Chan vegan ramen 旬嚐

Located in the West District of Taichung, this ramen stand feels straight out of a Japanese anime. You know the ones where office workers come to eat late at night after getting off work? The warm and welcoming ambience of this ramen stand blends in well with the very late-night lonely vibe. What’s more, this place is open until 10:30 pm, which is much later than all the other restaurants around. This literally makes it the perfect place to go if you’re looking for a warm meal after work to release all your stress for the day.

My favorite seats are the bar seats at the side of the street. I love the soothing sound of ramen being prepared, and slurping on some delicious vegan ramen while feeling cars zoom by is a whole experience in itself. If you’re looking for a place to hang out late at night, whether it be by yourself or with some friends, Xun Chan Ramen is definitely the place to go.

Overall rating: 🌝🌝🌝🌚 (3.5/5)

Xu Mai vegan ramen 旭麥蔬食拉麵

Xu Mai vegan ramen is located near Taichung Girl’s Senior High School in the West District of Taichung. What’s so special about this restaurant is that they promote a diet based off of barley instead of the usually refined grains. Here, you’ll find many organic barley products in their store, but the one thing that you have to try here is their barley ramen.

Their barley ramen tastes different from all the other ramen you’ve had before; it’s a bit more chewy, and much more aromatic. We tried the pomelo ramen and the black sesame ramen, and they were out of this world.

They make their soup with oat milk, which makes it a hundred times creamier and more delectable, guaranteed to have you coming back for more. Xu Mai is also very generous with their sides. My favorite is definitely the huge piece of fried enoki mushrooms! The vegan ramen here at Xu Mai is so unique that even non-vegans will enjoy the heck out of it!

Overall rating: 🌝🌝🌝🌝🌝 (5/5)

Fukuya (Fu Wu) ramen 福屋拉麵

Fukuya ramen is the closest I found to real authentic Japanese ramen. It’s so authentic that you won’teven be able to tell it’s vegan. Unlike other vegan ramen restaurants that serve vegetables as sides, here at Fukuya you’ll get delicious torched soybean curd and vegan “kakuni”, which is the Japanese word for a braised pork dish. The vegetarian kakuni tastes exactly like meat. It tasted so fatty and real, I literally had to double check that it was vegetarian with the restaurant owner.

If you want convince your friends and family that vegan ramen can taste just like the usual ones, then you definitely have to check out Fukuya ramen.

Overall rating: 🌝🌝🌝🌝 (4/5)

Long Chu vegan ramen 龍廚拉麵

Deep into Yongxing Street of the North District, you’ll find a very homey and cozy vegan ramen restaurant. Although this restaurant does not serve the traditional ramen, it is every bit just as delicious. Everything here feels extremely fresh and healthy, and it’ll leave you super satisfied after eating. Sometimes I get feel really sick after eating a lot of ramen because they’re usually so oily, but you won’t get any of those feelings here- you’ll be able to devour the entire bowl and still feel amazing afterwards. The ramen is served with a ball of mashed potato, which acts as a natural thickener for the soup, and it tastes absolutely amazing.

What I love the most about Long Chu is that they are make an effort to preserve the environment despite running a business. Everything is no waste here, from their utensils to the containers that they use for their side dishes. Usually at most restaurants, you’ll find a lot of the side dishes wrapped up in single use plastic wraps. Here all the containers they use are reusable and they encourage customers to bring their own bento boxes for takeout as well. I love seeing environmental friendly businesses, and that is definitely more of a reason to support them.

Overall rating:🌝🌝🌝🌝 (4/5)

Do you like to eat ramen? Leave me some of your recommendations down below!

Until next time,

⭐ further reading: The Best Vegetarian Restaurant in Taipei