Friday, May 23, 2014

Oozeki (Tokyo, Shibuya-ku)

おおぜき中華そば店
おおぜきちゅうかそばてん

Niboshi ramen: 17 / 20

Six hours after I had my niboshi-ramen breakfast at Nagi, it was time to move to some more ramen discoveries. I had to be in Ebisu later in the evening, and I remembered that there was a very highly rated ramen restaurant there on my to-do list. Imagine my delight when I realized that it ALSO specialized in niboshi ramen. A treat for a food-comparison lover like me! Here I enter the restaurant, and order the niboshi ramen.



Broth: If Nagi gives you a punch, then this one smashes you in the face. One sip of the broth, and I felt like an army of baby sardines was jumping in my mouth to eat me alive from inside (which would be a fair punishment indeed for my carnivorism). Very impressive, although maybe a bit too much for me. The broth was also a bit fatter, and maybe saltier than Nagi’s.

Noodles: Some thin and firm, good noodles.

Meat: That was really the highlight of this restaurant for me, with two different-looking slices of chashu (at least I presume it was chashu): a softer, lighter colored one, and a firmer, darker one. Both were braised in front of me while the ramen was getting ready. The lighter one has a strong braised taste, whereas I would say that the darker one was more on the herby side. Both were excellent, with my preference going to the darker. A great experience for sure.

Toppings: Some very mellow menma, slightly on the sweet side. A sheet of nori.

With enough salt in my blood to compete in the world championship of hypertension, it is now time to count points. Oozaki was a great ramen for sure; but how great compared to Nagi? Nagi had definitely better noodles, and I also preferred the soup - Oozaki’s broth was a bit more pungent, fat and agressive. Nagi’s negi was more delicate, and the nori fitted better with the broth for some reasons. However, Oozaki had definitely a better chashu. Overall, the balance still goes to Nagi for me, also taking into account its great location and atmosphere (although Oozaki is located just next to the famous, tiny Ebisu shrine - go there to offer a coin to the fisherman god). But that’s a small edge, and I can easily imagine that some people would judge the opposite. If you like niboshi, you have to try both.

More information on ramendb.

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