Tokyo Ramen Chain Offers Ramen Made of Bear Meat

We've seen ramen come in burger, pizza, sandwich and bag form, but despite the novelty of all those incarnations, a true ramen know-it-all would hardly bat an eye.

Recently, however, a Japanese ramen chain introduced a ramen sure to raise the pulse of even the most jaded ramen aficionado: bear ramen. Yeah, that's ramen made out of bear meat.

RocketNews 24 reports that Japanese ramen chain Menya Musashi spent last year celebrating 20 years of operation by offering a special ramen at one of its locations every month. Early last year, the English-language Japanese news site tried out a white chocolate strawberry ramen, as well as other unconventional flavors like green tea and chocolate.

But for the final ramen of the series, to close out 2016, Menya Musashi went in a different direction with a ramen featuring 3.5 ounces of Asiatic black bear meat.

The bear meat came from Kyoto and Aomori prefectures, and in Menya Musashi's preparation, it was served in a bear stock broth with miso and garlic that also contained honey in a dark homage to one of the known favorite foods of bears. For those with knowledge of the nuances in flavor between the meats of different kinds of bears, some people claim Japanese-sourced Asiatic black bear meat is less gamey than Asiatic black bear from other regions. (Rocket News 24 notes this type of claim isn't uncommon among Japanese gourmands.)

Though the bears used to make the ramen are presumably from a farm, the Asiatic black bear population is classified as vulnerable due to deforestation and hunting for its body parts; skins, paws, and, in particular, gallbladders are prized by hunters for their uses in traditional foods and East Asian medicine. Bear bile extracted from black bear gallbladders has sold for as much as four times as much as gold in recent years.

The ramen cost $17, and was available at a Tokyo location of Menya Musashi for three days to close out the year. It was certainly a unique way to say goodbye to a, uh, bear of a year.