Matsuzaka Gyumen (Osaka-fu, Suita-shi)

松坂牛麺(吹田店)
まつざかぎゅうめん
Matsuzaka Gyuumen (Suita-ten)

Matsuzaka Gyumen: 16 / 20
(松坂牛麺 )

Speak of an isolated ramen place! Seriously, who would think of opening a ramen shop one kilometer west from the far up north Yamada station? If he wanted quietness, that’s a miss: even on a Thursday evening at 20:00, a few people were queuing to eat there. What’s the reason? Not the elegant interior with a long, modern wooden counter. Neither the pleasant sencha nor the hot oshiburi that you get when you arrive. Certainly not the robotic waiter and waitress. No, the reason is simple: people come here for the unique-in-the-world carpaccio-ramen – locally known as the Matsuzaka Gyumen!

Broth: As you see it on the picture, you get served the broth separately from your bowl, and can then pour it as you like – in particular, on the beef meat that you see in the middle. Ingenious! The broth is a light but intense shio, very appreciable.

Noodles: Kind of whole grain noodles, which stick a little bit to each other and break easily under the teeth.

Meat: For me, the nice thing in pouring the broth by yourself is that you can choose how much you want to cook your meat. Rare? Just pour a bit of broth on it and the rest all around. Well-done? Just pour everything on it. You also get a few bits of fat hormon (offal).

Toppings: Some mizuna, as well as a slice of lemon that you can press in your broth for some enjoyable zing.

 

At 1030 yens, this bowl is not cheap, but all along worth it. If you’re broke, you can still switch to their other option, a kasu-ramen that I would really like to try some day. This ramen place is far away from everything, but it is unique in its style – or nearly unique, since there is a twin shop in Nishinomiya. If you like ramen-oddities, don’t miss it!

More info on ramendb.

Jikasei (Osaka-fu, Suita-shi)

自家製にぼしらあめん 秀一 (穂波店)
じかせいにぼしらあめん しゅういち
Jikasei niboshi ramen shuuichi 

Seabura ramen: 15 / 20

Wow, this restaurant is far from the station! Fifteen minutes on foot at least, west from Suita station, through a very nondescript area. But finally, here I am, in front of a shop famous for its ‘seabura ramen’ with niboshi and sammma. No hesitation to have, that's what I order.

Broth: An intense, fishy shoyu broth with some hints of niboshi – very good, but unfortunately a bit too fat (hence the name of ‘seabura’ - this refers to pork back fat). Not too salted – that was appreciable.

Noodles: A quite large portion of very decent noodles – I wouldn't have minded if they were a bit more tasty though.

Meat: Two beautiful small slices of braised chashu, with a delicious (but a bit overabundant) melting fat.

Toppings: Good peppery menma – some small, and some large and soft. Some negi and wakame flavored with goma oil – as often, the negi fits well with the pungency of the niboshi taste.

My neighbor had ordered the ‘zenbu nose’ version and I regret I didn’t, as it gets you two other kinds of noodles: some dark sesame noodles, and some made with jako fish (if I understood correctly), which really woke my curiosity. However, the zenbu nose comes with extra chashu, and the two fatty slices you already get in the regular bowl are more than enough IMO. The cook is quite friendly so you might manage to negotiate a ‘zenbu nose’ without the extra chashu (how would you say that, 'hanbu nose'?) In any case, this guy was really dedicated to his work and proud of it – it was a pleasure to talk with him. If you are a fan of ramen oddities made by real ramen craftsman, brave the distance and come here.

More info on ramendb.