Kogaryu Seimen (Kobe, Nada-ku)

弘雅流製麺
こうがりゅうせいめん

Torigara tsukemen: 13 / 20

I was quite eager to try this highly rated ramen joint in Eastern Kobe, located close to JR’s Sumiyoshi station. They feature several different specialties: tsukemen, torigara tsukemen, and shoyu ramen. Although I’m not a big fan of chicken-based soup, I was curious to try they torigara tsukemen.

Broth: Surprising liquid, it didn’t stick so much the noodles, but still gave to them a strong chicken taste. The soup-wari led to a fat, smooth chicken soup, which was surprisingly similar to a mushroom soup.

Noodles: Quite thin.

Meat: A few bits of kind of hard, unremarkable meat.

Toppings: Some menma with a subtle, pleasant taste. A few green filament vegetables.

Overall, this was original and not unpleasant, but not so high quality - certainly not worth their very high ranking to me. Maybe their shoyu ramen is better.

More info on ramendb.

Pahha (Hyogo-ken, Nishinomiya-shi)

麺処 ばっは
めんどころ ばっは

Assari shoyu ramen: 15 / 20

Conveniently located near the Hankyu Nishinomiya station, it is easy to reach this ramen shop on your way between Kobe and Osaka. It is less easy to enter in, though: I arrived at 13:40 on a hot summer’s Saturday, and had to wait half an hour to get a seat (fortunately, the queue was in the shadows). This restaurant features two shoyu ramen (assari or kotteri) and a tsukemen. I had the assari shoyu ramen, with ontama.
 

Broth: An intense and very fishy broth – possibly due to the use of niboshi, although the taste was also reminiscent of the fishy notes that you can find in a tonkotsu gyokai broth. Very pleasant.

Noodles: Some thin, yellow noodles, a bit too much on the soft side to my taste, but still good.

Meat: That was the weak point here: two large slices of average chashu. Why on earth put so much low-quality meat in a dish? I would definitely have preferred a smaller-but-better chashu (or no chashu at all).

Egg: Two halves of an OK egg, a bit overcooked.

Toppings: Some thin excellent seaweed, a really good idea. A few menma shot with a strong and salty taste.

This was a very contrasted ramen, with excellent broth and seaweed toppings (and very friendly service, I must say), but very average chashu and ontama (I don’t recommend to order the later). Was it worth the wait? I would say no, but that’s up to you.

More info on ramendb.
(contrarily to what is said on ramendb, the shop is open till 4 pm)

Kieiken (Osaka-fu, Minoh-shi)

希永軒
きえいけん
Kieiken

Goma miso ramen: 12 / 20

This ramen restaurant is located near Osaka university’s Suita campus, on a road where ramen joints grow like mushrooms. They feature a tonkotsu ramen (both kotteri and assari version), and goma miso ramen and tsukemen. I ordered the goma miso ramen, slightly spicy (you can chose how spicy you want it to be).

Broth: A good spicy, slightly sweet miso and sesame taste.

Noodles: A bit too soft to my taste.

Meat: A few thin slices of an OK chashu, with the right amount of fat.

Toppings: Some soy sprouts. You can also press a garlic clove in your soup, or add some oriental garlic leaves.

It was a quite OK ramen. Nothing exceptional, but pleasant.

More information on ramendb.

Menya Teru (Osaka, Kita-ku)

麺や 輝中津店
めんや てる

Tsukemen (with ajitama): 15 / 20

Ramen and tsukemen figure on the menu of this ramen shop, north of Umeda and close from Chayamachi area.

Broth: A good, thick tonkotsu gyokai broth that sticks well to the noodles. The soup-wari at the end provided an interesting twist in taste - maybe more earthy?

Noodles: Thick tsukemen noodles with a good chew.

Meat: Two slices of thick chashu, quite salty but good.

Egg: Two halves of a so-so ajitama - not unpleasant, but slightly overcooked.

Toppings: A few pleasant gingery menma in the broth.

All in all, a good tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen place; but seriously, two thick slices of chashu? I would have enjoyed my bowl as much with only one slice, and I don't need to damage my health more than I already do.

More information on ramendb.

Other reviews: Friends in ramen.

Kio ramen (Osaka, Kita-ku)

九州ラーメン亀王 (堂島店)
きゅうしゅうらーめんきおう

Giru ramen: 13 / 20

Kiou ramen is a good ramen chain in Osaka - you won't be amazed by their dishes, but the "king turtle" never disappointed me. This time, I tried a seasonal dish, the giru ramen: some cold noodles to dip in a sesami broth.

Broth: A good-if-slightly-unremarkable sesami broth.

Noodles: Al dente, and thinner than the usual tsukemen noodles.

Toppings: Some nori strips, and some microgreens.

That was pleasant, in a kind of minimalist way. If you’re looking for a summer dish, their abura soba with lots of fresh vegetables may be better, in my memory.

More info on ramendb.

The chain's website.

Other reviews: Friends in ramen, Osaka insider
 

Higeinu (Hyogo-ken, Amagasaki-shi)

麺舎 ヒゲイヌ
めんや ひげいぬ
Menya Higeinu

Niboshi reimen: 17 / 20

Five minutes away from Amagasaki station, this ramen place got really good reviews, so I went there on my way from Osaka to Kobe. I was initially determined to try their beef suji tsukemen, but discovered that they had a seasonal offer of niboshi reimen - a quite welcome suggestion on this hot, summer day.

Broth: A truly wonderful, strong - but not too strong - niboshi broth.

Noodles: Thick tsukemen-style noodles, very mochi-mochi and tasty.

Meat: Three slices of cold chashu. Not bad, but why as many as three slices?

Toppings: Some raw onions; their crunchiness fit well with the cold broth, although the added taste was IMHO not necessary. Also, a couple of gombo slices which brought some more freshness.

This was probably the best reimen I ate so far, with truly wonderful broth and noodles. Too bad the meat was overabundant, they could definitely trade quantity with quality there.

More info on ramendb.

Other review: Ramen Manager (for the Nibo-shio ramen)

Ryukishin (Kyoto, Nakagyo-ku)

龍旗信 (京都店)
りゅうきしん


Shio reimen: 16 / 20

Just before meeting some friends for Yoiyama, I had to eat a ramen at one of my favorite place around Karawamachi, namely Ryukishin (see here for my former review of Kansai airport's Ryukishin shio ramen). I ordered a tempting seasonal shio reimen (cold noodles).

Broth: A subtle, shellfish-flavored cold broth.

Noodles: Firm and good.

Meat: A slice of bacon with a very mild taste.

Toppings: A profusion: salad and coriander, a couple of cherry tomatoes, a very well cooked and savoury aubergine, chili stripes, and a few bits of light-tasting crab.

A very refreshing experience with a delicate taste. Recommended.

More info on ramendb.

The website of the chain.

Tamagoro (Osaka, Kita-ku)

煮干しらーめん 玉五郎 (阪急梅田店)
にぼしらーめん たまごろう

Niboshi tonkotsu gyokai ramen (with egg): 14 / 20

This chain specializes in tonkotsu gyokai ramen and tsukemen flavored with niboshi, and has a few branches around Osaka. This one is conveniently located in Hankyu station.

Broth: You may find it thin if you compare it with a regular tonkotsu gyokai, or thick if you compare it with a classical niboshi ramen. It had a relatively mild, but pleasant, niboshi taste.

Noodles: Curly and katame.

Meat: Kind of OK chashu, quite lean.

Egg: A bit too hard to my taste.

Toppings: Soft menma, slightly sweet.

Tamagorou was a good experience, but not the best niboshi ramen you will find around. I'm afraid I discovered niboshi ramen with such extremely strong broths at Nagi and Oozaki that most of them might now be too mild for me!

More information on ramendb.

Other reviews: Friends in ramen, Ramen manager, Picrumb.

Nanamaru (Hyogo-ken, Akashi-shi)

中華そば ななまる
ちゅうかそば なななる

Shio ramen: 12 / 20

This restaurant got raving reviews for their tori paitan. I was curious to try it, so one week-end I was in the Akashi area, I ventured up to there for lunch. Unfortunately, it looks like they changed their menu and don’t serve tori paitan anymore. I went with a shio broth instead.

Broth: Nothing really interesting here.

Noodles: OK

Meat: Some good, melting chashu.

Toppings: The menma had a strong and sweet taste. The sheet of nori fit well with the broth.

This ramen was reasonably pleasant for sure, but without its tori paitan, this shop is obviously not worth the great ratings it got on ramendb. Unless you really are in the vicinity (it is at least 10 minutes on foot from the station), I do not recommend stopping here.

More info on ramendb.

Atago (Tokyo, Minato-ku)

京鰹節つけ麺 愛宕 ATAGO

きょうかつおぶしつけめん あたご

Shoyu ramen, yuzu taste: 14 / 20

In the evening, I continued my exploration of Shimbashi ramen scene with my German friend. Atago is an atmospheric restaurant with a very black interior. I ordered the Yuzu shoyu ramen, and my friend the Yuzu tonkotsu gyokai ramen.

 

Broth: I’m not a big fan of shoyu broth, but with that light yuzu taste, it was quite enjoyable.

Noodles: Whole grain noodles, quite thin, which could be a bit firmer.

Meat: A couple of small slices of tender, slightly fat chashu.

Egg: Well cooked ajitama with gooey yolk; not perfect (some small parts were hard), but very honorable. Apparently, this is a special 'goma tamago' (see the "other reviews" below), but I did not see any difference with a regular one.

Toppings: Thick menma, negi, and nori.

So this was a pleasant-if-not-so-remarkable ramen. The yuzu tonkotsu gyokai my friend ordered had thicker noodles (also whole grain), and the yuzu taste was kind of masked by the strong broth flavors.

More info on ramendb.

Other reviews: Ramen Adventures, Ramen Tokyo.

Matoi (Tokyo, Minato-ku)

新橋 纏
しんばし まとい

Niboshi-ramen with ajitama: 14 / 20
(平子煮干そば)

Continuing my exploration of the niboshi-ramen world, I went to Matoi, a highly ranked ramen restaurant (a bit hard to find, you have to walk behind a metal railings to reach it).

Broth: A good, strong niboshi broth, although not as strong as e.g. Nagi's.

Noodles: Firm, yellowish and salty.

Meat: A large slice of chashu, too fat and not so tasty.

Egg: Not bad, but the yellow was too liquid and fell into the soup - niboshi broth and yolk do not especially fit well together...

Toppings: A few thin sweetish menmas, some small white negi and tasty herbs. A sheet of nori, but I could not find here the wonderful alchemy between nori and broth that you would get in Nagi.

This was a good ramen, and worth trying if you like niboshi broth. But it was clearly below the top ranked niboshi ramen restaurant, notably because of its very average chashu.

More info on ramendb.

Watanabe (Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku)

渡なべ
わたなべ

Ramen with ajitama: 18 / 20
(味玉らーめん)

Frequently rated as the best ramen shop in Takadanobaba, Watanabe is a restaurant I had to try, tucked in a small alley within walking distance from the station. Uncommonly for a tonkotsu gyokai place, it is first and foremost famous for its ramen (rather than its tsukemen), so that's what I ordered with ajitama.

Broth: A thick and unctuous tonkotsu gyokai broth, very powerful in taste, a real umami bomb. When finishing, it was so thick that I was tempted to ask for some wari-soup although it was a ramen, not a tsukemen!

Noodles: Slightly thicker than average, the broth adhere to them as it would in a tsukemen.

Meat: A firm chashu with a thin layer of fat, quite salty.

Egg: A wonderful ajitama with a partly liquid, partly gooey yolk whose taste will explode your mouth. A model.

Toppings: Some of the largest menma I’ve ever seen, but quite mild in taste.

Overall, this was an excellent ramen. I generally prefer a tonkotsu gyokai broth in a tsukemen than in a ramen (maybe a simple matter of habit?), but that may have been the best tonkotsu gyokai ramen I ever had - more to my taste, for example, than the famous Menya Kissou.

More info on ramendb.

Other reviews: Ramenate, Ramen Adventures, Ramen Tokyo, Ii tokoro ne, Time out.