Shiki (Osaka-fu, Moriguchi-shi)

麺ゃ しき
めんや しき
Menya Shiki

Shiki-men (shoyu-niboshi ramen): 16 / 20
(しき麺)

It was time to hurry up a little bit with the Ra-Sai ramen festival - I still had quite a few bowls to try to finish the stamp rally! On this day I went to Menya Shiki, a relatively isolated ramen shop, fifteen minutes away by subway north-est from Tenroku. Their menu features the Shiki Men (a shoyu-niboshi), a shio-niboshi, a mazemen, as well as a tori paitan tsukemen with tataki chicken. The choice was difficult but my love for niboshi was the strongest and I ordered the shoyu-niboshi, with curly noodles (you can also order straight ones if you prefer).

Broth: As my bowl was getting closer, I knew I had found a winner: the niboshi fragrances were making me hope for something seriously good here. And indeed, it was, a real niboshi bomb, the way I love them - what a delicious pungency! And it wasn't as fat as it looked like. It seems that shijimi is also used in the broth (as in Kuso Oyaji Saigo no Hitofuri).

Noodles: Good curly noodles, very easy to slurp. A lot of it!

Meat: The letdown of this bowl. You get two small, thin slices of overfatty kata-rosu, and one slice of bara that tasted like liver. Which is not my favorite thing in the world...

Toppings: A serious asset of this bowl: a few thin strands of kombu, which brought some crunchiness, as well as a great idea - a few bits of solid niboshi, crunchy under the tooth as they disaggregate, just wonderful! Also, a long, juicy menma branch with a relatively fresh taste. And a sheet of nori which - as usual - fits well with the niboshi broth.

This broth was great – it kind of reminded me the now defunct Hachi in Tokyo for the niboshi broth and the variety of chashu. Too bad the meat was not so convincing, otherwise it could have deserved a 17 / 20.

More info on ramendb.

Fusuma ni Kakero (Osaka-shi, Kita-ku)

麬にかけろ 中崎壱丁 中崎商店
ふすまにかけろ なかざきいっちょう なかざきしょうてんがい
Fusuma ni Kakero Nakazaki Ichou Nakazaki Shoutengai

Shio ramen & shoyu ramen, thick noodles : 16 / 20
Shio ramen & shoyu ramen, thin noodles : 15 / 20

Fusuma ni Kakero had been something of a revelation when I went there last time, so living next door, I had to make it discover to my family - and, at the same time, to try their more regular shio and shoyu ramen (last time I had their divine shrimp tori paitan). You can order each of them with either thick or thin noodles.

Broth: The shio ramen had a light but complex taste, and adding the side shrimp oil with the ingenious small syringe system definitely added a layer of complexity. The shoyu was very pleasantly flavored, a bit sweetish, with some smoky, fishy notes (was it niboshi?). It also included some ginger in a shell that you can add to your taste: a little bit may be nice, but I used the whole amount and it was definitely too much, overpowering the bowl.

Noodles: The thick noodles were pleasant, though they could be slightly harder. The thin noodles were definitely too thin and soft.

Meat: A few slices of thin pork (I think) which was pleasantly peppered, but the texture was too soft and not that great. Also, one slice of chicken that felt a bit synthetic – definitely not convincing. You also get some cockles – not so tasty, but a nice change.

Egg: Although it was beautifully presented (with some hot-iron branded inscriptions), it was too hard, I don’t recommend ordering it. That's surprising, as it was quite well-done last time.

Toppings: A very long, sweet menma, with a mild classical taste.



Anyone a bit knowledgeable about Osaka ramen's scene would have recognized the similarity between this ramen and Strike Ken's straight bowl - indeed, the two shops have many affinities and the waiters here were even wearing a Strike Ken T-shirt.

The broth of those both bowls are brilliant, but the unconvincing chicken meat and egg pushed it "down" to a 16 / 20. Compared to my last sublime experience of their limited shrimp special, this was a slight disappointment - how could they screw the ajitama that way? Anyway, overall this was very good, and a great experience for my last ramen of the year 2014!

More info on ramendb.

Other review: Friends in Ramen (for the shoyu ramen), Japan Times, Philoramen (for the tori paitan)

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)