風雲児
ふううんじ
Special tsukemen: 19 / 20
Special ramen: 17 / 20
On a rainy evening at 20:30 in south Shinjuku, it was a perfect occasion to attempt the usually impossible task of eating at Fu-unji without dying of boredom on the pavement: Fu-unji is famous for its endless queue, but arriving shortly before the door-closing time (21:00), we had to wait only 15 minutes. I ordered the special tsukemen, and my friend the special ramen. Let's start with the highlight, the former.
Broth: A remarkably smooth broth, thanks to the use of torigara (chicken bones) instead of tonkotsu, mixed with fish. I'm usually not a big fan of chicken-based soup, but this bowl did definitely reconcile me with it. The taste was not too strong, even a bit sweet - a sweetness that infused all the ingredients, and remained or even increased with the soup-wari. Eating this bowl felt like plunging in a giant cotton candy.
Noodles: Eggy noodles with the right texture.
Meat: Quite a few long slices of chashu, salty and good, that harmonize well with the rest.
Egg: Gooey, very well cooked ajitama, a bit on the hard side, with some sweet taste that infused the white part.
Toppings: A little bit of bonito powder for some umami explosion. The menma were large, very mild and sweet.
And what about the ramen?
The fish taste is less marked here, it was somehow similar to a soft and smooth corn soup. The meat was more diversified, with some thick, very fat slices, and some thinner ones. Overall, it was also very good, although not as wonderful as the tsukemen.
Eating at Hototogisu for lunch and Fuunji for dinner is a truly magical experience, maybe my best ramen-day ever - both bowls transported me in some kind of aetheral world, soft and clear at Hototogisu, thick and sweet at Fuunji.
A last note: impossible not to think about Michi's broth when eating at Fuunji - although the latest may feel even more like cotton wool. Michi may have an even more remarkable broth (although I would need to try them both on the same day to be sure), but all the rest is more remarkable in Fuunji (the egg, the menma, the coherence of the whole thing, and even the meat). Put Michi’s broth in Fuunji, enhance a slightly little bit the quality of the chashu, and you’ll get a 20/20 tonkotsu gyokai. But Fuunji is clearly in Tokyo's top 10 ramen places, hands down - especially when you add to that the very pleasant atmosphere in the restaurant (if you manage to forget about the long queue of hungry people waiting behind you!), and the very attentive staff.
More info on ramendb.
The official website.
Other links: Ramen Adventures, Time out, Ramen Shaman, Jin Loves to Eat, I'm made of sugar, Go Ramen!
ふううんじ
Special tsukemen: 19 / 20
Special ramen: 17 / 20
On a rainy evening at 20:30 in south Shinjuku, it was a perfect occasion to attempt the usually impossible task of eating at Fu-unji without dying of boredom on the pavement: Fu-unji is famous for its endless queue, but arriving shortly before the door-closing time (21:00), we had to wait only 15 minutes. I ordered the special tsukemen, and my friend the special ramen. Let's start with the highlight, the former.
Broth: A remarkably smooth broth, thanks to the use of torigara (chicken bones) instead of tonkotsu, mixed with fish. I'm usually not a big fan of chicken-based soup, but this bowl did definitely reconcile me with it. The taste was not too strong, even a bit sweet - a sweetness that infused all the ingredients, and remained or even increased with the soup-wari. Eating this bowl felt like plunging in a giant cotton candy.
Noodles: Eggy noodles with the right texture.
Meat: Quite a few long slices of chashu, salty and good, that harmonize well with the rest.
Egg: Gooey, very well cooked ajitama, a bit on the hard side, with some sweet taste that infused the white part.
Toppings: A little bit of bonito powder for some umami explosion. The menma were large, very mild and sweet.
And what about the ramen?
The fish taste is less marked here, it was somehow similar to a soft and smooth corn soup. The meat was more diversified, with some thick, very fat slices, and some thinner ones. Overall, it was also very good, although not as wonderful as the tsukemen.
Eating at Hototogisu for lunch and Fuunji for dinner is a truly magical experience, maybe my best ramen-day ever - both bowls transported me in some kind of aetheral world, soft and clear at Hototogisu, thick and sweet at Fuunji.
A last note: impossible not to think about Michi's broth when eating at Fuunji - although the latest may feel even more like cotton wool. Michi may have an even more remarkable broth (although I would need to try them both on the same day to be sure), but all the rest is more remarkable in Fuunji (the egg, the menma, the coherence of the whole thing, and even the meat). Put Michi’s broth in Fuunji, enhance a slightly little bit the quality of the chashu, and you’ll get a 20/20 tonkotsu gyokai. But Fuunji is clearly in Tokyo's top 10 ramen places, hands down - especially when you add to that the very pleasant atmosphere in the restaurant (if you manage to forget about the long queue of hungry people waiting behind you!), and the very attentive staff.
More info on ramendb.
The official website.
Other links: Ramen Adventures, Time out, Ramen Shaman, Jin Loves to Eat, I'm made of sugar, Go Ramen!
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