Friday, July 4, 2014

Watanabe (Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku)

渡なべ
わたなべ

Ramen with ajitama: 18 / 20
(味玉らーめん)

Frequently rated as the best ramen shop in Takadanobaba, Watanabe is a restaurant I had to try, tucked in a small alley within walking distance from the station. Uncommonly for a tonkotsu gyokai place, it is first and foremost famous for its ramen (rather than its tsukemen), so that's what I ordered with ajitama.


Broth: A thick and unctuous tonkotsu gyokai broth, very powerful in taste, a real umami bomb. When finishing, it was so thick that I was tempted to ask for some wari-soup although it was a ramen, not a tsukemen!

Noodles: Slightly thicker than average, the broth adhere to them as it would in a tsukemen.

Meat: A firm chashu with a thin layer of fat, quite salty.

Egg: A wonderful ajitama with a partly liquid, partly gooey yolk whose taste will explode your mouth. A model.

Toppings: Some of the largest menma I’ve ever seen, but quite mild in taste.

Overall, this was an excellent ramen. I generally prefer a tonkotsu gyokai broth in a tsukemen than in a ramen (maybe a simple matter of habit?), but that may have been the best tonkotsu gyokai ramen I ever had - more to my taste, for example, than the famous Menya Kissou.

More info on ramendb.

Other reviews: Ramenate, Ramen Adventures, Ramen Tokyo, Ii tokoro ne, Time out.

No comments:

Post a Comment