Shifu Ramen Expo Review: Good Ramen or Just a Fun Manga Spot?

Shifu ramen Expo Review

Shifu Ramen is a ramen restaurant with a handful of locations primarily in Portugal and Spain. It's known for its manga (Japanese comic book) style decor. 
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Also on this trip: Eurostars Universal Lisboa Hotel Review

Shifu Ramen Expo Interior Neon Signs

The google ratings were good, but we had to honestly wonder:

​Is this actually a good ramen spot or just a fun novelty place to visit?
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Inside Shifu Ramen Expo - Step Into Tokyo Japan

If you've been to Japan, this spot will temporarily cure your saudades. The overall vibe will transport you back to Tokyo to relive your travel memories.

​But how is the food? What is on offer here?

Japanese Beer

We tried Super Dry Asahi and Kirin Ichiban beers at Shifu Ramen Expo. 
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Asahi + Kirin Ichiban Japanese Beers at Shifu Ramen Expo Lisbon

Try Zero Alcohol Asahi

Fried ​Gyoza Appetizer

Over here we love a dumpling from any nation and it's now become part of our staple order to try the Gyozas. when we are at a new restaurant! 
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Fried Gyoza Top View Shifu Ramen Expo

Really enjoyed the Gyoza at Shifu Ramen. The texture of the outside was so good, fried enough to get crispy, but n​ot so fried that you lose all the chew. 
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Just look at the texture of these Gyoza!

The Japanese dumplings were pork filled and seemed to be drizzled with a sweet chili sauce. 
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Fried Gyoza Cross Section at Shifu Ramen Expo Lisbon

Order Gyoza: Amazon

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Read: How would you rate this 5 star hotel we stayed at in lisbon?

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Infierno Spicy Ramen 

The infierno (inferno) spicy ramen was a classic tonkotsu pork broth with all the fixings, including some of the most tender chasu pork (braised pork belly) I've had in a ramen for a while.

​It was so easy to break apart with your chop sticks!
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Infierno Spicy Chasu Tonkotsu Ramen Pic | Shifu Expo

​Spicy Fried Chicken Ramen

The spicy fried chicken ramen was something different for us to try. I thought the coating on the chicken was great and was hugely impressed with how good it tasted even by the bottom of the bowl, when the chicken had been swimming in broth for the duration of the meal!

Spicy Fried Chicken Ramen Pic | Shifu Expo

​A note on spicy levels at shifu ramen

Spice levels at restaurants are notoriously tricky to navigate on your first visit. Every restaurant's spice scale is different and the way they make a dish spicy varies. Some just add extra scoops of straight up chili flakes at the end while others weave spicy levels into the actual cooking of the dish. 

We like spicy, but I had read that they take spice seriously here, so on a scale of 1-5 I opted for level 3. The waitress really tried to talk me down from that to a 1, I mean she nearly begged me, no exaggeration.

She said she would bring more spice if needed. I asked about a level 2? In the end I am not sure if I got 1 or 2 but honestly she knew what she was talking about. It was a perfect amount of spice to let you appreciate the flavors of the ramen while enjoying some heat. 

I probably would not have enjoyed it as much at a level 3. 

Mango Mochi Dessert

Stuffed full of liquids (Ramen and Japanese Beer), plus the gyoza, I didn't think I had any space left for dessert, but we did decide to split a single Mochi ice cream... for you, the esteemed reader. 

Mango Mochi at Shifu Ramen Expo

Mochi always seem to be around 5 or 6 euros at a restaurant, for a single mochi, which always feels like a lot, but they are good. ;) 

We opted for the mango mochi. They are bigger than the mochi we picked up from aldi recently, and it was really just the right size. The ice cream was a nice way to cool off after a hot ramen (temp and spicy), and the chew of the rice dough surrounding the ice cream is just.. such a pleasant experience. :)
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Mango Mochi Cross Section | Shifu Ramen Lisbon Portugal

​Fully amused by the addition of the spray can whipped cream and wafer garnish. Random, but I'm not mad. Makes the plate feel less sparse than just a single mochi alone sliding around. :) 
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Try Mochi Ice Cream At Home!

​Overall Thoughts on Shifu Ramen

If I am honest, I walked in with low-ish expectations. I mean, I thought this would be more of a gimmicky spot than a decent ramen. A place that's fun to visit once and take pictures with your friends or whatever.  But I walked out thinking "Wow, that was respectable!" 

Shifu Ramen Expo Location in Winter Time

It was a solid ramen experience on a damp, cold day in Lisbon. The staff were kind and helpful. It's a fun, unique environment to dine in and I'd say it's more than just a novelty spot!

They have great reviews on google, and I do believe they lightly incentivize leaving a google review, but this is a trend I see a lot in Portugal. There are many opinions about this practice, but at the end of the day these restaurants are out here trying to survive in a sea of competitors so I get it. 

If you get a ramen at Shifu Expo, I'd love to hear how you enjoyed the experience. 

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We hope you enjoyed this honest review of Shifu Ramen in Expo, Lisbon, Portugal. 
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