Takumi Bus Restaurant (匠麵巴士)

I’ve been yearning to visit  the Takumi Ramen Bus since it’s opening. But every time I wanted to visit it was either packed or too late in the evening. The red bus with the “toriia gateway” is right next to the river, next to “Bo Ai Road” towards the Luxgen car dealer, then turn right, and you will see the red bus. The blue skies and white clouds make the toriia gateway look so beautiful!

Named takumi (匠), which means Artisan is a restaurant on a Isuzu bus specializing in Kyushu style ramen. The original seats have been removed and the bus has been reconfigured to seat up to 14 diners. The rear engine was removed and replaced with the kitchen area. Decor is placed throughout the bus and the drivers area is still intact and allows diners to have some fun picture time.

Seating is limited, so at 4pm before the 5pm opening, the restaurant hands out wooden sticks as a reservation for the first 20 patrons. You can however, show up and put your name on the waiting list because they can serve up to 40 bowls of ramen before selling out.

 The menu is translated as followed:

tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen $200 ($6.25 USD)
red miso ramen $200
spicy ramen $200

half-boiled egg $30 ($0.95 USD)
red wine “fermented” tomato $30
spicy bean sprouts $30

We ordered the spicy ramen and the tonkotsu, plus bamboo shoots and red wine tomatoes as the side items. The ramen is paired the tonkotsu ramen with huge slices of Cha Siu (BBQ Pork slices). I heard some customers say that the soup is a bit too salty, but I think it is just right! Don’t worry about the spice, the tonkotsu soup will go down your throat really well. The ramen was tasty and the noodles were just right!

 

As a bonus, when you check in on Facebook, you will get a desert in a small flower pot. It looks like a small plant with some soil, but its actually a mint leaf over some shredded Oreos over vanilla ice cream.

UPDATE:

The Takumi Ramen Bus restaurant has since closed as of December 1, 2018. The bus has been relocated to Magong, Penghu Island where it will reopen as a specialty restaurant.