煮干鰮らーめん 圓
にぼしいわしらーめん えん
Niboshi Iwashi Ramen En
[Niboshi] shio ramen: 18 / 20
(塩らーめん)
Niboshi [shoyu] ramen: 18 / 20
(煮干らーめん)
I had been at En in Hachioji during my one-month Tokyo-stay a few months ago before I started this blog, but I was still kind of a ramen-rookie at the time (probably under 100 bowls), and it was the first time I had tried a niboshi ramen. Now going to the Showa kinen koen a few stations away from there, I thought it was a good occasion to re-try this monument of the ramen world with more experience. That was a good idea. I took the shio ramen, and my friend the niboshi ramen (both are niboshi based, but the niboshi ramen has some shoyu added - you can also try the 'mukashinagara' bowl for a shoyu with some more punch).
Broth: Very simply, En’s broth is sublime. A model of niboshi-ness, with enough fat to concentrate the subtle taste and make it infuse into your whole body. If I should just rate the broth, En would score 20 / 20: this tare is out of this world in its simple perfection. Both the shio’s broth and the shoyu’s broth ranked equally, with the shoyu’s one having a little bit more of roastiness and more pungent, and the shio more smooth (nearly buttery?) letting the niboshi express itself in its whole purity. I might have a slight preference for the shoyu one (the so-called 'niboshi ramen'), but not enough to rank them differently. Both are divine.
Noodles: Katame and relatively brittle (maybe like some kind of whole grain noodles, although they didn’t have the typical light brown color). There was quite a lot of them though and they became soft after a while. Enjoyable enough, but not the kind of noodles I love - I prefer more elastic noodles.
Meat: The letdown of the bowl. Although the roasted edge of the slices was very pleasant, the fat inside was quite elastic and the meat not up to the level of the rest of this bowl.
Egg: Half of a superb ajitama, with a very tasty white part (infused with shoyu) and a gooey yolk. I appreciate that they provided only half of it, this was just the right amount necessary to enjoy it.
Toppings: Some thick menma with a square section, soft and crunchy at the same time (don’t ask me how that’s possible, just go there and try by yourself), with a strong taste, that perfectly harmonize with the broth.
With better chashu (and noodles a bit more to my taste), this ramen could have score 19 or even 20. But this is a model of a ramen, and if you are a fan of niboshi broth, you definitely have to try it some day.
I usually don't post the pictures of my bowls once finished, but I thought that this one was cute:
More info on ramendb.
Other reviews: Ramen Adventures, Timeout
にぼしいわしらーめん えん
Niboshi Iwashi Ramen En
[Niboshi] shio ramen: 18 / 20
(塩らーめん)
Niboshi [shoyu] ramen: 18 / 20
(煮干らーめん)
I had been at En in Hachioji during my one-month Tokyo-stay a few months ago before I started this blog, but I was still kind of a ramen-rookie at the time (probably under 100 bowls), and it was the first time I had tried a niboshi ramen. Now going to the Showa kinen koen a few stations away from there, I thought it was a good occasion to re-try this monument of the ramen world with more experience. That was a good idea. I took the shio ramen, and my friend the niboshi ramen (both are niboshi based, but the niboshi ramen has some shoyu added - you can also try the 'mukashinagara' bowl for a shoyu with some more punch).
Broth: Very simply, En’s broth is sublime. A model of niboshi-ness, with enough fat to concentrate the subtle taste and make it infuse into your whole body. If I should just rate the broth, En would score 20 / 20: this tare is out of this world in its simple perfection. Both the shio’s broth and the shoyu’s broth ranked equally, with the shoyu’s one having a little bit more of roastiness and more pungent, and the shio more smooth (nearly buttery?) letting the niboshi express itself in its whole purity. I might have a slight preference for the shoyu one (the so-called 'niboshi ramen'), but not enough to rank them differently. Both are divine.
Noodles: Katame and relatively brittle (maybe like some kind of whole grain noodles, although they didn’t have the typical light brown color). There was quite a lot of them though and they became soft after a while. Enjoyable enough, but not the kind of noodles I love - I prefer more elastic noodles.
Meat: The letdown of the bowl. Although the roasted edge of the slices was very pleasant, the fat inside was quite elastic and the meat not up to the level of the rest of this bowl.
Egg: Half of a superb ajitama, with a very tasty white part (infused with shoyu) and a gooey yolk. I appreciate that they provided only half of it, this was just the right amount necessary to enjoy it.
Toppings: Some thick menma with a square section, soft and crunchy at the same time (don’t ask me how that’s possible, just go there and try by yourself), with a strong taste, that perfectly harmonize with the broth.
With better chashu (and noodles a bit more to my taste), this ramen could have score 19 or even 20. But this is a model of a ramen, and if you are a fan of niboshi broth, you definitely have to try it some day.
I usually don't post the pictures of my bowls once finished, but I thought that this one was cute:
More info on ramendb.
Other reviews: Ramen Adventures, Timeout
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