Sunday, March 1, 2015

Strike Ken (Osaka-shi, Kita-ku)

ストライク軒
すとらいくけん
Sutoraiku Ken 

‘Straight’ shoyu ramen: 14 / 20
(ストレート)
’Sinker’ tori paitan: 14 / 20
(シンカー)

My family had just arrived to visit me for some time, and obviously our first meal together would be a ramen! I had been to Strike Ken in summer to try their delicious reimen, and it looked like a perfect place for my family's first bowl, as it famously features two very different kinds of ramen: a traditional shoyu, and a more ‘new wave’ clam-based tori paitan. Being in a shoyu-run, I ordered the former, and the rest of my family the latter. Let's start with mine:


Broth: A high quality, intense in taste, classical shoyu broth, with some pepper and herbs for a more Western finish.

Noodles: Some yellow noodles, with a more square section than the regular shoyu ramen noodles you will often find out there.

Meat: Some lean meat with crunchy fat - a nice change.

Toppings: Some thin menma, crunchy outside and soft inside. Some elegant long negi. A sheet of nori, to complete the classical 'chuka-soba' picture.

A good ramen, for sure. And classical. Maybe too classical?

Let’s see how does fare her extravagant cousin, the sinker:


I did not eat enough of it to make a full review, but the tori paitan was good (I don't have so much experience with tori paitan though), heavy on the bone texture. The shellfish was a nice change, but the chicken meat was unfortunately not that great. An original bowl, maybe slightly over-hyped, but surely worth trying - especially if you like discovering ramen oddities in a cool atmosphere.

More info on ramendb.

Other reviews: Friends in ramen, Ramen Adventures, Philoramen (for the reimen)

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