Tanron / Wakamatsu (Hyogo-ken, Nishinomiya-shi)

ラーメン たんろん
らーめん たんろん
Ramen Tanron

麺処若松
めんどころわかまつ
Mendokoro Wakamatsu

Noko toritonkotsu niboshi ramen: 15 / 20

Every Sunday (if I understood correctly), Nishinomiya's ramen-star Tanron becomes Mendokoro Wakamatsu and changes its menu to only once choice: a noko toritonkotsu niboshi (thick chicken-pork-sardine ramen). I was quite glad to see that there were only six people queuing when I arrived there; twenty minutes of waiting under a leaking roof later, I was seating in front of my bowl.

Broth: A thick broth that was neither too fat, nor too salty, and covered well the noodles. Curiously, it seemed to have retained only the pungency of the niboshi, but not the rest of the characteristic taste;  quite an addictive pugency, I must say. An interesting mix for sure.

Noodles: Square, mochi mochi, eggy, delicious noodles. I ordered the nami (regular) size - a good idea, as it was already quite copious.

Meat: A thin, large cold slice of chashu, fat and average. The bowl would be better without it.

Toppings: A few menma, sweet'n salty, with the classical menma taste; some were crunchy and some not so much.

Wari soup: You can order either tori paitan (thick chicken) or gyokai (fish) broth. I ordered the latest, and got some pungent dashi, that again did not really taste like niboshi. It was not enough though and the soup remained too thick too drink though (but you can certainly order more if you want to).

An original and good soup, a bit spoiled by the very average meat, but definitely recommended. As I left at 12:20, there was no queue anymore: Sunday seems to be a good day to go to Tanron, if you don't mind having it changed to Wakamatsu.

More info on ramendb: Tanron, Wakamatsu

Kogaryu Seimen (Kobe-shi, Nada-ku)

弘雅流製麺
こうがりゅうせいめん
Kougaryuu Seimen

Shoyu ramen: 13 / 20 
(醤油らーめん)

Shio ramen: 15 / 20
(塩らーめん)

I had been to this shop six months ago to try their torigara tsukemen, and had been a bit disappointed - I was expecting something great, and it was just kind of good. But this shop’s specialty is their shoyu ramen, so I decided to give it one more chance. On the way back from Himeji to Osaka, I stopped there with my mother. She had the shio ramen, and I had the shoyu. Let’s start with the latter.

Broth: An original taste, difficult to characterize - it was a bit roasty, and had some notes that reminded me a bit of French ‘pot-au-feu’. Probably not my favorite kind of broth, but definitely unique.

Noodles: OK

Meat: A quite firm chashu, with some lean parts and fat parts, separated from each other. The fat was too fat, and the lean was pleasant but not so special.

Toppings: You get some long threads of negi, some thin slabs of mild, slightly fibrous, crunchy menma (a bit too hard at places, actually).

It was a very decent ramen, but again, in my opinion not in line with its very high rankings - I’m quite puzzled here about what people find so exceptional in it.

However, the shio ramen had a very good fishy taste and velvety feel - I found it much more enjoyable than the shoyu.

More info on ramendb.

Other review: Philoramen (for the torigara tsukemen)

Tensonkorin (Kobe-shi, Chuo-ku)

麺屋 天孫降臨
めんや てんそんこうりん
Menya Tensonkourin

Shio tsukemen: 14 / 20

Shio ramen (with egg): 15 / 20
(天降らーめん しお)

Shoyu ramen (with egg): 15 / 20
(天降らーめん しょうゆ)

Mazesoba: 16 / 20

I had tried this restaurant’s excellent reimen during the summer and I definitely wanted to come back to try their other dishes. The visit of my family was the perfect occasion: we ordered the regular (shio) tsukemen, shio ramen, shoyu ramen and mazemen. Basically the whole set! Let’s start with the tsukemen:

 
Broth: This broth suffers from shio tsukemen’s original sin: not enough taste. It was barely thicker than the shio ramen broth (although more salty and concentrated), which is clearly not enough for a tsukemen. Pleasant, but really lacks some taste.

Noodles: Firm, thinner than the regular tsukemen’s noodles (which is a good thing in a shio tsukemen, as the broth does not stick so much), with a square section, and good.

Meat: A thin slice of meat with some pleasant fat, relatively unremarkable though.

Toppings: A few thick menma, quite fibrous and juicy, excellent. Some microgreens and white negi.

Soup wari: You get some cloudy, thin broth - did I perceive some mushroom notes? Mixing it with the broth made the broth thinner than the shio ramen’s.

Let's continue with the shio and shoyu ramen. Can you guess which one is which?

The shio ramen had thinner noodles than the tsukemen, too soft (why don’t they actually use their tsukemen’s noodles? they would also fit in the ramen). The broth was similar but better, relatively thick for a shio broth (somehow intermediate between a shio and a tori paitan), buttery in taste. There were two halves of an ajitama, well-cooked, although not so tasteful. As you can guess from the picture, the shoyu ramen was extremely similar to the shio, with, well, some added shoyu.

Finally, the mazemen was very good, with the same high quality noodles as in the tsukemen, and with some raw egg and good meat - the whole thing was relatively spicy. All dishes had the same kind of high-quality menma.

Overall, the mazemen had, as often, my preference. The shio (or shoyu) ramen is also recommended, though - but you can definitely skip the egg. Their tsukemen is not bad, but you can give it a pass. And when watching the website, I realize that I missed their tonkotsu-tori-shoyu. Have to come back there some time!

More info on ramendb.

Tensonkorin (Kobe, Chuo-ku)

麺屋 天孫降臨
めんや てんそんこうりん

Reimen: 16 / 20

This ramen restaurant got excellent-if-few reviews, is conveniently located between Sannonmiya and Motomachi and had been on my radar for some time. Finally, I found the opportunity to go there and ordered their seasonal reimen.

Broth: A thicker broth than the regular reimen broth, smooth in a kind of sirupy way, with an excellent fishy taste enhanced by sprinkled yuzu and myoga bits. Maybe the best reimen broth I had so far.

Noodles: Just the perfect cooking.

Meat: The low point of this bowl, very average.

Toppings: Some negi, chili stripes and cucumber.

I wish I had been there earlier! This bowl shined with its perfect combination of broth and noodles. Too bad the meat was a letdown, otherwise it would have easily deserved a 17. I’m very much looking forward to come back and try their other specialties (a variety of tsukemen, a mazemen…)

More info on ramendb.

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)

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)

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.

Choboichi (Kobe, Chūō-ku)

ちょぼいち 

Tori paitan: 16 / 20

This small ramen joint is an offshot of a restaurant specialized in chicken, and opened recently in February 2014 for the 5th season of Sannomiya station's ramen road. Very naturally, they specialize in a chicken broth.

Broth: Assari chicken broth with sesame seeds, which tastes a bit like a tonkotsu. Quite pleasant – it’s a nice change from the usual kotteri chicken broth. Moreover, you get yuzushio that you can add to the bowl for a delicious twist to the taste!

Meat: A few small, firm slices of pleasant chashu. It had the usual shape but tasted differently, could it be chicken chashu ? Also, there were a couple of meatballs, much better-tasting and with a crunchier consistency than the regular tasteless meatballs.

Noodles: Curly and OK cooking, not very firm, but not too soft.

Toppings: Some negi.

Shoyu ramen: 13 / 20

One week later, I came back and tried their shoyu ramen.

Broth: Classical shoyu, not unpleasant but a bit too salty.

Noodles: Thin and katame.

Meat: Good firm chashu, slightly sweet.

Toppings: Some green negi, a slice of kamiboko. Some thick menma with a classical mild taste, not so fibrous.

Although it was not unpleasant, this bowl was much more unremarkable than the tori paitan, except for its quality chashu. But I’m rarely excited by classical shoyu broth, so if you’re a fan, you might give it a try.

In any case, it is a good place for a tori paitan, conveniently located in sannomioya station and open during the whole afternoon (it closes relatively early though).

More information on ramendb.

Sou (Hyogo-ken, Nishinomiya-shi)

ラーメン荘 これが好きだから
らーめんそう これがすきだから

Jiro ramen (yasai mashi, ninniku mashi): 16 / 20

5 minutes away from JR Nishinomiya station, this restaurant specializes in jiro ramen. This evening again, I was not meeting anyone, so I figured out it was a good occasion for a jiro ramen and its traditional garlic pile. I don’t know so much about jiro ramen, although I loved the few I have tried, so what I can say about it must be taken with a grain of salt. I ordered the ramen with a small portion of meat (that was already a lot), and a small portion of noodles (given all the toppings, 200g noodles were far enough); but in case you haven't eaten in a week, you can get for the same price the regular portion (300g noodles), or the big one (400g) - just attach a color peg to your plastic ticket to indicate the desired size. I ordered my ramen with all toppings: yasai (vegetables), ninniku (garlic), abura (fat), karame (‘spicyness’), with an extra order of vegetables (yasai mashi) and garlic (ninniku mashi), making the whole thing a tiny little bit less unhealthy.

 

Broth: The usual fat tonkotsu-shoyu broth that you get in jiro ramen shops. It was good, but it is definitely not advisable to finish it (and no one does, as far as I can see), given all the suspended fat inside it.

Noodles: Firm, large noodles characteristic of jiro, slightly curly. Very good.

Meat: A few tasty, roughly cut slices of pork, some quite lean, some fatter.

Toppings: A huge pile of soy sprouts and cabbage (‘mashi’, remember?), sprinkled by a generous amount of garlic (I could have gone ‘mashi mashi’ here...)

I think this was only the fifth jiro ramen I ever had, but I found it quite good, although I was slightly more impressed by Dokamori Maccho in Sannomiya one week earlier - especially by its noodles and  broth. But both are very recommended if you enjoy or want to discover jiro ramen. The waiter was extremely watchful and friendly, congratulating me at the end for finishing everything in my bowl but the remaining fatty juice.

More information on ramendb.

Dokamori Maccho (Kobe, Chūō-ku)

自家製太麺 ドカ盛 マッチョ三ノ宮店
じかせいふとめん どかもり まっちょ

Jiro ramen (with all toppings): 17 / 20

Eating ramen already too often for my health, I try to avoid jiro ramen, which may be the most unbalanced kind of food on Earth. But I like jiro ramen. So an evening that I was not meeting anyone (a jiro ramen includes a massive amount of garlic…), I indulged myself in a recommended Kobe jiro-ramen restaurant.

You can order there a sad-looking “normal” ramen, or a version with toppings, or “mashi” (more of everything), or “mashi mashi” (a lot more of everything). I had the version with regular toppings, and a default tonkotsu-shoyu broth (but it seems that you can order it with a shio-tonkotsu broth, if I believe some reviews on ramendb).

Broth: It seems to me that there was more soup than in regular jiro ramen. Anyway, it was so fat at the end that you really don’t want to drink it (although I think you can order your ramen with less fat).

Noodles: Some of the best noodles I’ve found in Kansai, fat and firm!

Meat: A few slices of rough meat, as is customary in jiro ramen. Quite enjoyable actually.

Toppings: Lots of crunchy soy sprouts and cabbage. Yummy.

Overall, this was a very nice experience. It’s difficult for me to say how it fares compared to other jiro ramen, but it was really good. Make sure you’re hungry before coming here (and if you’re really hungry, you can order the extra size).

Mazemen: 15 / 20

A few weeks later, I came back to try their mazemen. So: no broth, same excellent noodles, and some thick slices of meat that looked a bit fat but were good. It was also enjoyable, but I preferred the Jiro ramen.

More information on ramendb.

Shiogensui (Hyogo, Amagasaki-shi)

尼崎 塩元帥
あまがさき しおげんすい

Shio tsukemen: 17 / 20

This ramen restaurant, located along a road in a relatively isolated area, figures among the best rated in Hyogo. It looked accessible from the Hankyu station - and it certainly is, if you don’t mind walking 20 minutes in an unremarkable area. The reward: the opportunity to eat a rare shio-tsukemen (they also serve a recommended shio ramen, as well as some other flavors: shoyu, etc.). I had only tried one shio tsukemen, the famous Hirugao in Tokyo station, and it was already 4 years ago. I needed to try this.

Broth: A salty and fat broth, that will spread over the noodles and give them a tasty, oily coating. Quite good, and flavored with yuzu. You can also finish it with some soup-wari - a bit too salty and fat, maybe, but still good.

Noodles: Very mochi mochi, quite good, and generously served.

Meat: A few cubes of awesome chashu, one of the best I have eaten so far in Kansai.

Egg: A good ajitama, very well cooked, although on the hard side.

Toppings: A few thin menma stripes and negi, as well as some red chili threads in the broth.

Overall, a very recommended restaurant. As I was writing this post and wondering if this restaurant is really worth going so far out of the way, I realized that they had another shop in Minamikata, much closer to central Osaka! But if you are driving between Kobe and Osaka, this Hyogo shop may be accessible. In any case, I recommend this chain, this is a rare opportunity to try a shio-tsukemen - and a very good one actually.

More information on ramendb.

Other reviews: Friends in ramen, Japan times 

Mokkosu (Kobe, Chūō-ku)

もっこす

Chuka soba : 8 / 20

This very local restaurant serves a simple ramen to seemingly regular customers. It had just a few recommendations on ramendb, but only good ones, so I was curious to try it. I ordered the chuka soba.

Broth: Quite bland, not even sure what it was made from.

Noodles: Thin straight noodles, nothing special.

Meat: 6 or 7 slices of tasteless chashu. I left half of it.

Toppings: Some moyashi and lots of negi.

There were quite a few condiments on the side, so you can give your best to try to change this tasteless soup into something more interesting. I half succeeded, but was still disappointed by the result. Ramen hunting brings its lot of good surprises, as well as some bad ones. Although its working-class and casual atmosphere is quite pleasant, I really cannot recommend this place; I’m quite puzzled that it go so positive reviews. The only positive thing I can say about this bowl is that it enabled me to enjoy better other ramen, by contrast.

More information on ramendb.

Another (more enthusiastic) review: Go Ramen

Kitanozaka Oku (Kobe, Chūō-ku)

北野坂 奥
きたのざか おく

Motsu tsukemen (with ajitama): 16 / 20

The stairs going down to the basement corridor leading to this restaurant may not be very welcoming, but you should really overcome this first impression. You will soon enter into a very spacious and pleasant, high-ceiling, kind of New York-loft-style restaurant serving ramen and tsukemen, that you can order with offal (motsu / もつ). I had the motsu tsukemen with an egg (aji-tama), and my friend the motsu ramen.

Broth: A good (if a bit thin) tonkotsu gyokai broth.

Noodles: Home-made noodles with a delicate taste, lacking a bit of a chew though.

Meat: The motsu bites are really the highlight of this restaurant. Grilled and mouth-melting, they are simply excellent! (at least, if you’re as much into motsu as I am)

Egg: The egg was very well cooked, though not totally homogeneously - but overall, the yellow was gooey in a yummy way. The white part had a strong shoyu taste.

Topping: Thick menma with a classical menma taste. Some white negi.

You can help yourself with red chili, sanchou and black pepper - I think that the latter fits the best with the motsu bites. This is one of my best ramen-experience in Kobe, I definitely recommend it (but look at my review of Sugari in Kyoto for an even better Kansai motsu experience).

I also tasted my friend’s ramen. The fishy taste was quite strong for a ramen, and the noodles a bit softer. It was quite creamy. I also recommend it, although the tsukemen may have my preference.


UPDATE (August, 17th): I came back and tried their spicy ramen.

Karai ramen (I don't remember the exact name): 12 / 20

The broth was here much less pleasant, with nothing much more than spicyness and a somewhat undefinable taste. The noodles were definitely too soft. Chashu was thick and very tender, a nice surprise. The egg was definitely overcooked that time. The thick, salty menmas were pleasant. I strongly recommend sticking with their tsukemen (with motsu, if you like it).

More information on ramendb.
Other review: Go ramen