BANKARA Ramen Sukhumvit 39
The Manor 32/1 Soi Sukhumvit 39, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
Order the original Bankara bowl on the first visit. It is the namesake for a reason, and the kakuni pork belly that comes with it is the strongest argument on the menu. Soi 39 is a heavy Japanese-expat corridor, and this room reads that way the moment you sit down.
You step off Sukhumvit 39 into The Manor's ground-floor arcade and the BANKARA counter is the first thing your eye lands on. The bowls arrive heavy: pork-bone broth simmered the Ikebukuro way, noodles pulled from Japanese flour, and a slab of slow-braised kakuni resting on top.
Four signatures carry the menu. Original Bankara is tonkotsu-shoyu, the house style. Straight Tonkotsu strips the soy back. Tsukemen splits the noodles from a denser dipping broth. Miso runs warmer and rounder.
This was BANKARA's first store outside Japan, opened in 2008, and the Tokyo parent in Ikebukuro still sets the standard the kitchen here cooks to. The bones, the noodles, and the soy come from the same suppliers feeding the original room. That is why the broth has a different weight to it than most Bangkok ramen, even at the higher tier.
Build your bowl with chashu, corn, seaweed, or the vegetable add-on. The kakuni is worth ordering on top of whatever ramen you choose, even if it duplicates the protein.
The Soi 39 location sits inside The Manor complex, a short walk down from Phrom Phong BTS. Lunch runs busy with the office crowd from the EmQuartier and Sukhumvit office buildings nearby, so come slightly before noon or after one for a calmer table. Cash and card both work at the counter.