Kokko (Osaka-shi, Kita-ku)

塩こっこ
しおこっこ
Shio Kokko

Shio ramen: 11 / 20

All the places I wanted to go to were close on this Saturday a-bit-too-late-in-the-afternoon, so I ended up at this shio-ramen restaurant not far from my home, which I had been curious to try when passing by.

Broth: A simple taste of chicken soup.

Noodles: Nothing remarkable.

Meat: Some elastic, salty, smoky chicken.

Toppings: Some beautiful purple and green negi, and kezurikatsuo.

An elegant but very unremarkable bowl. No need whatsoever to stop there. If that’s your only option, I would recommend eating something else than ramen - there are so many good options around in Tenjimbashisuji and Temma.

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Mutahiro (Osaka-shi, Fukushima-ku / Sengoku ramen event)

中華そば ムタヒロ(大阪福島店)
ちゅうかそば むたひろ
Chuuka Soba Mutahiro

Shio ramen: 16 / 20

It was difficult not to notice this funny smiling guy wearing a hat and overalls on the Sengoku ramen event pictures.

It would have been even more difficult to miss him in the middle of the crowd during the event, using a carrot as a microphone (sic) to advertise his ramen. This was not the reason that made me chose his stand, though: as it happened, he was promoting a thin shio ramen with plenty of vegetables, exactly what I needed as a second, lighter bowl after Nibojiro.

Broth: A peppery light broth which had taken the taste of the fried bean sprouts. Very pleasant. It became too fat towards the end, though.

Noodles: Ah, such beautiful noodles! Look at them – do they remind you something?

If you guessed right, you're a real ramen expert: as Ben told me, those are Nagi’s noodles, which offers possibly the best niboshi ramen of Tokyo. Firm, very curly, they surprisingly fitted extremely well with the broth despite its significant difference with Nagi's – those noodles are magic!

Meat: A lot – too much, actually – of firm, good chicken. At some point, I swear I could taste some yuzu notes, but they vanished as fast as they appeared.

This countrysidish bowl was a very good surprise. Unfortunately, you won’t find it at the shop they have opened recently in Osaka's Fukushima area – but as I would discover later, the dishes there have nothing to envy to this one. To meet the guy talking to a carrot, I'm affraid you'll have to go to Tokyo though.

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Other reviews: Ramen Adventures 1 (niboshi ramen, Tokyo), Ramen Adventures 2 (tori paitan, Tokyo), Ramen Adventures 3 (niboshi mazesoba, Tokyo)

Junk Story (Osaka-shi, Chuo-ku)

らーめんstyle Junk Story
らーめんすたいる じゃんくすとーりー
Ramen Style Junk Story

Shio no Kirameki: 17 / 20
(塩のキラメキ)

Junk story! What a poetic name... I remember the first time I went there, more than a year ago, I was expecting something ultra-fat and unhealthy – probably because of the similarity of the name with JUNK GARAGE in Saitama. Hell no! They serve a very sophisticated, light shio broth, which I enjoyed vey much at the time. The Ra-Sai was a perfect occasion to refresh my memory of their special dish, the Kirameki shio ramen (which I ordered with the noodles in regular, nami size – you can also ask for free for a bigger, chuu version).

Broth: A pleasant shio broth with a hint of yuzu, and some herbal notes – although less on the parsley side than e.g. Menya Hyottoko in Tokyo. I appreciate that it was not over-salty.

Noodles: Classical, straight noodles, neither too hard nor too soft. Could be more remarkable, but they do the job.

Meat: That’s the highlight of the bowl, no doubt about it: a few tender slices of chicken tataki with a citrus taste, just great.

Egg: Half of a perfectly cooked egg, with a gooey yellow on the hard side, and a white part well infused with shoyu taste.

Toppings: Some white negi, mitsuba and chili stripes. Some good, slightly fibrous, squared menma – first time I see this shape! – with a classical taste.

A great shio, no doubt about it, the best I’ve tried in Osaka with Shiogensui. The broth may be more interesting in Shiogensui, especially in its plum version, but the chicken tataki here deserves extra credit. A bowl not to be missed, in case you enjoy clear broth ramen.

More info on ramendb.

Other review: Friends in Ramen

Kagari (Tokyo-to, Chūō-ku)

銀座 篝
ぎんざ かがり
Ginza Kagari

Niboshi shoyu: 18 / 20 
(煮干醤油SOBA)

Tori paitan: 17 / 20
(鶏白湯SOBA)

Kagari… this names sounds like a beginning for me. During my Tokyo stay, nearly one year ago, when I decided to start going to the most mythical ramen of the capital city, Kagari was the first ‘big name’ I tried - and like everyone, I had been impressed by their refined tori paitan. They also serve a niboshi shoyu ramen (also available as a tsukemen) that has been regularly praised, so it was now time to try it.

Broth: No doubt, the niboshi is there, but relatively light compared to some niboshi-bombs like Nagi or Ozeki; the broth gets however more and more of the delicious niboshi-pungency as you finish it.

Noodles: A bit soft.

Meat: A good, slightly sweet, light chashu; and also a slice of red and firm roastbeef, an interesting change.

Toppings: A slice of crunchy lotus. A few bamboo shoots, fresh and slightly acid, a very nice change from the usual menma. As usual, the nori fits extremely well with the niboshi – niboshi is definitely the best broth for nori in my opinion!

A refined, subtle and beautifully crafted bowl. How does the tori paitan fare in comparison?

The broth had a wonderful smoothness and tasted a bit like a high quality mushroom soup, that you can spike with ginger and dry onions. You get a few delicate chicken slices, firm and melting, sprinkled which yuzu zest. The bamboo shoots (fresh, not menma) were good and beautiful. Noodles were a bit soft for my taste here too, although such a cooking style fits better with a tori paitan than with a niboshi broth.

It's a kind of intense experience to altenate one spoon of each broth: extreme smoothness followed by pungent punch, that’s what you call a contrast! Contrarily to many people who blogged on this, my heart lies more on the punchy side and I would elect the niboshi as the real star here, but you should try both by yourself to decide.

Oh and we also ordered the grilled rice ball of rice with mentaiko consomme and fuki miso - not bad, but not a must.

More info on ramendb.

Other reviews: Japan Times, Ramen Adventures, Ramen is love, Tokyo Pig out, Dining without borders, Japan Page, Kylie eats Japan, Go Ramen. 

Ishimanji (Osaka-fu, Toyonaka-shi)

Oni-soba: 15 / 20

And here I am, back to one of my favorite ramen restaurant in northern Osaka, Ishimanji. This time, I tried the Oni-soba, a soup-less dish.

Sauce: A delicious mix of fishiness and spiciness.

Noodles: Perfectly katame, as I ordered.

Meat: Two slices of chicken, not bad but nothing noteworthy.

Egg: Half a very decent hard-boiled egg.

Toppings: Some cucumber, negi, chili stripes.

A very pleasant mix. I prefered the hiyashi ramen I tried there last time though, for its awesome broth.

BASSANOVA (Tokyo, Setagaya-ku)

BASSANOVA
ばさのば

Green curry ramen: 18 / 20
(グリーンカレーソバ)

Tonkotsu-gyokai ramen: 17 / 20
(豚濁ソバ)

BASSANOVA is something of a fame among ramen lovers, as this is the place where Keizo from 'Go Ramen!' has been working for some time. I had been in BASSANOVA during my one-month stay in Tokyo, and it was my firm intention to come back there to try their green cury ramen. Thus, a visit at Shimokitazawa was the perfect occasion to complete my discovery of this great ramen shop. I ordered the green curry ramen:

Broth: A very smooth and creamy, quite spicy green curry broth. Divine.

Noodles: Curly, katame in a curious way - not really elastic, they break into small pieces when you bite them. It’s an interesting change though.

Meat: A couple of marinated chicken pieces, quite good, with a very pleasantly flavored skin.

Toppings: Some negi and hot chili, and probably the longest menma I’ve ever seen - a kind of small, branching menma tree!
 
My friend had the tonkotsu gyokai ramen (the top left choice on the machine, as I remember):

Broth: A mix of fish and pork, quite good, thinner than - and overall quite different from - the classical tonkotsu gyokai you would find out there.

Noodles: Typical tonkotsu-style noodles, thin and long, they become quickly too soft for my taste though.

Meat: A delightful slice of chashu, braised, with some crunchy fat - so not melting, but excellent though.

Toppings: The menma, crunchy and mild, were also quite different from the one you can find in the green curry ramen.

Both bowls were excellent, but my personal preference goes to the green curry - I’m partial to Thai food, so having it skillfully adapted to ramen was a great experience (even if the chashu in my friend's bowl was a bit more to my taste than the chicken meat of the green curry ramen). This is a much better experience than any curry ramen I've ever tried (I’m not a big fan of japanese curry, I must say). Interestingly, the green curry broth has the same base as the tonkotsu gyokai broth, with some added nampura (fermented fish) sauce - and, obviously, green curry paste. The cook was extremely friendly and I appreciated that he took so much time to answer my questions.

At just one station from the hip area of Shimokitazawa, it would be a mistake not to run there. Another one on my Tokyo's top 10!

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Other reviews: Go Ramen!, Ramen Adventures, Etaku.