Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Mendokoro Ginzasa (Tokyo, Minato-ku)

麺処 銀笹
めんどころ ぎんざさ

Shio ramen (with ajitama): 18 / 20

Caught in a shio-ramen frenzy, I checked ramendb and discovered that the second most highly rated shio ramen in Tokyo was conveniently located close to Shimbashi (actually, it is a bit in the middle of nowwhere, but still only 10 minutes on foot from the station). Here I go, arriving 3 minutes after the opening of the shop at 11:33. The shop is nearly already full! Quite pleasant restaurant, no counter, only 7 or 8 small tables. I order the shio-ramen with the aji-tama. Here it comes, beautifully presented.



Broth: A classical shio broth. Good, although this was not the highlight of the bowl: everything else was.

Noodles: Yellow and firm noodles, which fit well with the soup.

Meat: A wonderful thick, tender slice of chashu, perfectly salty and braised, with melting fat. Oh boy that’s one of the best chashu I ever had! It gave a delicious braised taste to the soup around it.

Egg: Well-cooked aji-tama with a tasty white part; slightly on the hard side, but this is how it needs to be here, as you don’t want the yolk to spill in a shio broth.

Toppings: A couple of gingery shrimp wantons, tender but including crunchy parts, simply delicious. A few menma, very classical. You also get on a side dish some bits of dry nori, garlic and spice to sprinkle at your convenience in the soup.

So overall, the broth may not be stellar, but all the rest is. The combination of chashu and wanton is brilliant; both shine in their own way. You should not miss this ramen. Hyottoko may beat it for the soup, but all the rest (except menma) is far superior at Ginzasa. This is a clear winner.

More information on ramendb.

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