Kirari (Kyoto-shi, Fushimi-ku)

つけ麺 きらり
つけめん きらり
Tsukemen Kirari

Norinori tsukemen: 19 / 20

This shop is special – this is obvious already from the outside, with people inconfortably queueing on the elevated rim of the pavement. I had been there a few months ago to try their shioton ramen, and had been so enthusiastic that it was clear to me I had to come back to try their "norinori" tsukemen. A day of plum blossom hunt in Kyoto was the occasion for this.

Broth: A very thick tonkotsu gyokai that sticks perfectly to the noodles – in a somehow similar fashion to Fuunji in Tokyo, although not as sweet (because it’s tonkotsu, and not torigara, as far as I know), and with maybe a more pronounced gyokai taste. The soup is so thick, and sticks so much to the noodles, that I basically finished all of it with my noodles (although I had order the regular, "nami" size, not the big one!) You also get a piece of lemon that you can press into the broth, but I don’t think it’s worth doing so. And I did unfortunately put too much of dashi in my soup wari, so this part was not a great success.

Noodles: Thick noodles with an egg taste, not very salted, very mochi mochi, just perfect – they were kind of hard to slurp though.

Meat: A few cubes of onctuous, delicious meat, with a very melting fat.

Egg: Two halves of a sublime egg: tasty white, whose taste is progressively submerged by the intensity of the gooey yolk.

Toppings: Many sheets of nori and some white onion in the bowl, that both fit perfectly well with the broth. Three very thick, fibrous menma, not so salted – they had a flavor that was definitely familiar, but I could not put a name on it (if you ate there and have any idea, please leave a comment below).

Look at this tsukemen, proud like a peacock making the wheel. And proud it can be: very simply, this tsukemen is perfect. Your personal preferences might make you lean towards other dishes, but like at Takakura Nijo, I cannot think of any flaw. If you are on your way between Osaka and Kyoto on the Keihan line, do yourself a favor and stop here. Icing on the cake: the employees are very friendly.

More info on ramendb.

Other review: Philoramen (for the shio-tonkotsu ramen)

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

Mitsuboshi (Osaka-shi, Fukushima-ku)

みつ星製麺所 (福島本店)
みつぼしせいめんしょ
Mitsuboshi Seimensho (Fukushima Honten)

Wafu ramen: 17 / 20
(和風らーめん)

Fukushima is a remarkably rich area in terms of ramen, and this restaurant is – its name does not lie – one of its stars. I arrived there at 12:30 on a Saturday without much hope to find a seat, knowing that there are many ramen shops in the area anyway, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was only a 15 minutes-long queue; that’s very doable, so here I wait. I ordered the wafu ramen, the thin one (but they are especially famous for their kotteri ramen).

Broth: A thin and cloudy tonkotsu-niboshi broth, with some bits of fat in suspension. The taste of niboshi was present and pleasant, but not as pronounced as e.g. in Mugen where I went last week. You get some yuzukoshio on the side that you can mix in your broth to your liking; despite my love of yuzukoshio, I would not recommend putting all of it, as it would (it did!) overpower the subtle niboshi taste - finding the right balance is relatively difficult.

Meat: An excellent crumbly chashu, with just the right amount of fat.

Egg: Half of a perfectly cooked egg with gooey yellow, on the hard side, infused with a variety of delicious flavors.

Toppings: Lots of negi of all kinds, that were not too strong and fitted quite well with the broth. A slice of kamaboko (are actually some kamaboko better than others?). A small slice of nori that was (too) quickly soaked.

Despite the slightly too mild broth, this ramen is simply excellent, and not far from the perfect equilibrium. Very much recommended.

More info on ramendb.

Other review: Friends in ramen (for the noko ramen)

Rokudo (Osaka-fu, Toyonaka-shi)

六道
ろくどう
Rokudou

Sappari tsukemen: 15 / 20
つけ麺（さっぱり)

I had other ramen-plans around Toyonaka station but they happened to be close on that day, so I turned towards this low-key shop with fake concrete walls (seriously??). They serve a variety of dishes, including a shoyu ramen, a tori paitan, as well as two kinds of tsukemen: kotteri (a mix of torigara and tonkotsu) and assari - I chose the latter.

Broth: A very salty shoyu-katsuo-torigara broth that didn’t inspire me so much – not enough taste could be transferred to the noodles.

Noodles: Very good eggy, thick noodles, quite chewy – it looks like they are home made.

Meat: Two large slices of smoked pork - delicious, although definitely overabundant.

Egg: Half a delicious egg, on the hard side, with a very tasty white part.

Toppings: A long branching menma, quite salty but otherwise mild (not sure it was preserved, it may have been fresh). A slice of nori - beware not to soak it too much.

Soup wari: You get some subtle dashi (with a pleasant kombu taste) that you can pour to your liking: a nice personalizable option, but even pouring the whole thing wasn't enough - the broth was still way too salty and undrinkable.

What a contrasted bowl! Too bad the broth was slightly unremarkable, as it could otherwise have been a high class-ramen. One slice of meat less and a less salty broth would have been welcome. But that place is really worth checking if you are in the area - for me, it was better than the more famous Mentetsu.

More info on ramendb.

Kirari (Kyōto-shi, Fushimi-ku)

つけ麺 きらり
つけめん きらり
Tsukemen Kirari

Shio-ton Ramen: 18 / 20
(塩とんらぁめん)

We were supposed to meet with my family in Kyoto's southern Fushimi area for a sake-trip, but they were delayed and I was hungry, so I waited at a nearby ramen-place which looked good. Gosh, what a great idea! This shop specializes in tsukemen, but I was more in a ramen mood, and wanted to try their rare shio-tonkotsu ramen - which I ordered with some additional nori.

Broth: A very thick but delicious broth of tonkotsu - one can actually feel the texture of bone grains at times - with some veggie aftertaste. It sticks so much to the nooodles that it felt like a tsukemen!

Noodles: Slightly soft, but well, we are in Kyoto. I must admit that this fitted well with the broth.

Meat: A few delicious slices of peppery, delicious chashu that kind of tasted like roastbeef.

Egg: Half an egg is included in the regular ramen, so it’s not necessary to order any more. And I must say that this egg is a model, with its melting yolk (but hard enough not to fall into the soup), and a white part infused with strong flavors.

Toppings: Some fibrous menma, with a mild but good taste - more similar to fresh bamboo than to preserved one. The nori sheets I ordered fitted extremely well with the broth and the meat. There were even some fresh garlic you could crush inside the broth.

This is the best Kyoto-style ramen I ever ate - actually, there are many twists compared to the classical Kyoto-style bowl so I'm not sure I could categorize it as such. It was a bit similar to Gokkei in Ichijoji, but whereas the latter was too thick for me, this one just had the highest level of thickness I can stand. It stayed hot quite long, a perfect winter dish that keeps you going.

Delicious, and if I was more into Kyoto ramen, I could have given it a 19 or maybe even a 20: this is flawless ramen - like Takakura Nijo, although in a very different style. Kyoto, home of ramen perfection?

More info on ramendb.

Takakura Nijo (Kyōto-shi, Nakagyō-ku)

麺や 高倉二条
めんや たかくらにじょう
Menya Takakura Nijou

Curry tsukemen : 18 / 20
(カレーつけ麺)

I was quite eager to make discover this favorite ramen restaurant of mine to my family. Being there at 11:10 to avoid the queue, we were unlucky enough to arrive just after a large group of sports kids - so be warned that it can get popular at any time. Anyway, waiting twenty minutes was not that bad for such a great place. My family ordered the regular ramen with ajitama. As for me, I wanted to try the aemen (和え麺 ; that's basically a mazemen); but it wasn’t available on that day, so I turned to a curry tsukemen I had never tried - with, of course, the famous yuzu nooddles.

Broth: A good curry taste that gives a significant twist to the usual excellent sour tonkotsu-gyokai.

Noodles: Yuzu noodles may be the greatest invention of mankind since alkaline water. Brilliant.

Meat: Some bits of meat with melting fat, very good.

Egg: A well-cooked egg, on the hard side, with a very dark yolk.

Topping: A slightly spicy mushroom and a pickled tomato with a slightly sour taste, which both fit very well with the broth. Some very fibrous menma with a mild taste.

Instead of soup wari, you get some rice in your curry sauce for a last curry-rice experience. I’m not a big fan of curry rice but this was convincing - did they also add some cheese?

I could say that this was the best curry ramen-dish I’ve ever eaten, but that would not tell much, since this is only my third one. Let’s put it another way then: this is very probably the best curry ramen-like dish I’m ever going to eat, as I doubt it could get much better than this. If you love kare ramen, you have to try this.

Oh and the ramen was simply divine, as usual. The noodles seemed to get soft a bit faster than last time tough.

More info on ramendb.

The list of all the shops.

Other review: Go Ramen!, Philoramen

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

SCS ramen (with ajitama): 18 / 20

Located close to Nakazakicho station, this restaurant has always at least a few people queuing in front. I would soon realize that this was justified. Inside, the atmosphere is quite pleasant, with a two-tier counter in the middle of which the waiter can bring the dishes, and some fresh jasmine tea to wait for your dish. They usually feature a shio and shoyu ramen, but on this day, they only had one option: a special ebi (shrimp)-flavored, kotteri (thick) tori paitan (chicken ramen), with the intriguing name of ’SCS'. Let’s try it, with ajitama.

Broth: Shrimp it tastes indeed! Don’t think about ordering it if you don’t like it. The chicken taste was relatively subdued, but this broth was delightful. Also, I must say that it was not too thick, contrarily to some very kotteri chicken Kyoto-style broth (who said Gokkei?).

Noodles: Thin and firm, relatively similar to the ones you would find in a Hakata tonkotsu ramen.

Meat: Two very beautiful lean, pink slices of meat, which were simply delicious, tender and full of flavor.

Egg: A very well cooked ajitama, with a slightly sweet white part and a firm-but-gooey yellow.

Toppings: This bowl was a wonder of toppings: some ‘rice krispies’ nicely soaked the broth and brought some additional thickness. There was also some finely shredded seaweed that brought a delicious marine twist. And in case there is not enough ‘ebi-ness’ in your broth, you can even add some shrimp oil with an intriguing syringe system.

This was simply perfect. The shrimp taste may be a little bit too overpowering for my personal taste, but I found it excellent all along. Best ramen I've tried in Osaka so far - and that’s someone who is usually not a big fan of tori paitan who says that. I don’t know how often they serve this special though, it may have been a limited offer. Don't worry, their regular ramen are also delicious (reviews soon to come!)

More info on ramendb.

Other review: Friends in Ramen (for the shoyu ramen), Japan Times.

Takakura Nijo (Kyōto-shi, Nakagyō-ku)

麺や 高倉二条
めんや たかくらにじょう
Menya Takakura Nijou

Ramen (yuzu noodles) with ajitama: 19 / 20
(味玉ラーメン)

The adventure at Takakura Nijo starts before entering, right in the queue, when you smell the delicious scent escaping from the aircon system. As I entered, I had a strong impression of déjà-vu: those golden teapots… this atmospheric lounge music… those two kind of noodles (yuzu and regular)… Of course, it is a Sugari-lookalike! The atmosphere is a bit less fancy here, but they indeed belong to the same chain. I ordered the ramen with ajitama, and chose the yuzu noodles.

Broth: An excellent tonkotsu gyoukai broth, relatively thin but intense in taste, without being overwhelming, on the sour side. Delightful and original at the same time.

Noodles: Absolutely delicious yuzu noodles. They were slightly on the soft side, but despite my addiction to barikata noodles, I loved them.

Meat: One slice of braised chashu, perfectly balanced, firm enough but with just what is should have of melting fat, and a powerful - but not overwhelming - taste.

Egg: A very well cooked ajitama, on the hard side, which fits perfectly well with the rest.

Toppings: One thick, fibrous, firm menma with a very balanced mild, salty taste. A cherry tomato with a pickled taste.

You can also help yourself with some sanshou (japanese pepper), and some garam masala that for some reason tasted like cinnamon and fits DIVINELY well with the broth.

Let me put it shortly: this is the most perfectly crafted ramen I ever ate in my life. Period. They even beat their brother Sugari by having a better cooked egg (although you may prefer Sugari if you're more into motsu than into chashu). I don’t see how this bowl could get any better - except maybe by moving to the even more atmospheric Sugari. Obviously, this is subjective, you may not like this kind of broth and find it too sour. But for me, this is perfection made ramen. I’ll keep the 20/20 rating for the day some ramen will fall from heaven on Earth. But this one may as well have been.

More info on ramendb.

The list of all the shops.

Other review: Go Ramen!

En (Tōkyō-to, Hachioji-shi)

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

Fuunji (Tokyo, Shibuya-ku)

風雲児
ふううんじ

Special tsukemen: 19 / 20
Special ramen: 17  / 20

On a rainy evening at 20:30 in south Shinjuku, it was a perfect occasion to attempt the usually impossible task of eating at Fu-unji without dying of boredom on the pavement: Fu-unji is famous for its endless queue, but arriving shortly before the door-closing time (21:00), we had to wait only 15 minutes. I ordered the special tsukemen, and my friend the special ramen. Let's start with the highlight, the former.

Broth: A remarkably smooth broth, thanks to the use of torigara (chicken bones) instead of tonkotsu, mixed with fish. I'm usually not a big fan of chicken-based soup, but this bowl did definitely reconcile me with it. The taste was not too strong, even a bit sweet - a sweetness that infused all the ingredients, and remained or even increased with the soup-wari. Eating this bowl felt like plunging in a giant cotton candy.

Noodles: Eggy noodles with the right texture.

Meat: Quite a few long slices of chashu, salty and good, that harmonize well with the rest.

Egg: Gooey, very well cooked ajitama, a bit on the hard side, with some sweet taste that infused the white part.

Toppings: A little bit of bonito powder for some umami explosion. The menma were large, very mild and sweet.

And what about the ramen?

The fish taste is less marked here, it was somehow similar to a soft and smooth corn soup. The meat was more diversified, with some thick, very fat slices, and some thinner ones. Overall, it was also very good, although not as wonderful as the tsukemen.

Eating at Hototogisu for lunch and Fuunji for dinner is a truly magical experience, maybe my best ramen-day ever - both bowls transported me in some kind of aetheral world, soft and clear at Hototogisu, thick and sweet at Fuunji.

A last note: impossible not to think about Michi's broth when eating at Fuunji - although the latest may feel even more like cotton wool. Michi may have an even more remarkable broth (although I would need to try them both on the same day to be sure), but all the rest is more remarkable in Fuunji (the egg, the menma, the coherence of the whole thing, and even the meat). Put Michi’s broth in Fuunji, enhance a slightly little bit the quality of the chashu, and you’ll get a 20/20 tonkotsu gyokai. But Fuunji is clearly in Tokyo's top 10 ramen places, hands down - especially when you add to that the very pleasant atmosphere in the restaurant (if you manage to forget about the long queue of hungry people waiting behind you!), and the very attentive staff.

More info on ramendb.

The official website.

Other links: Ramen Adventures, Time out, Ramen Shaman, Jin Loves to Eat, I'm made of sugar, Go Ramen!

Hototogisu (Tokyo, Shibuya-ku)

SOBAHOUSE金色不如帰
そばはうすこんじきほととぎす

Shoyu ramen (+ ontama and yakinori): 18 / 20

Hototogisu had been on my radar for quite some time already, but I never found the occasion to push a couple of stations west from Shinjuku to go there. Finally it was time to try this monument of the ramen world and I went there around 1 pm on a wednesday. Twenty minutes after starting queuing, I could order and seat in the pleasant restaurant; ten minutes later, my soup arrived - the shoyu with ontama and yakinori.

Eating at Hototogisu was a quite holistic experience, and because of this, I should change a bit my usual, analytical way of presenting ramen. The first sips and bites were slightly disappointing: the soup tasted relatively mild, the noodles were slightly too soft and the meat was nothing remarkable. However, as I continued eating, the full potential of all these ingredients started to express and they blended in a truly wonderful way. The shoyu broth, flavored with clam as you will read everywhere (honestly, I would not have identified the taste) had a remarkable sweetness and thin smoothness, which was perfectly accompanied by the relatively soft noodles - it felt like biting on some wadding; the firm chashu, though not exceptional, brought some texture in this ocean of softness, and the four slices of yakinori a pleasant crispyness. The menma were absolutely remarkable: thick, soft, mild and a bit sweet, very juicy - some of the best I’ve ever eaten; some additional, thinner menma and negi were sprinkled among the noodles. Finally, the ajitama was also a model: the tasty white revealed an interesting gradation in cooking, with a very firm edge, and a more liquid inner part; the yolk was gooey at places, slightly firmer at other, but pleasant everywhere. This ajitama was a rainbow of taste.

The whole thing infused a homogeneity and a coherence that I rarely tasted anywhere - eating this with Prince’s Purple Rain on the radio, in front of this bright white counter surrounded by a pitck black atmosphere, made me feel like I just had fallen in some kind of alternative dimension. Shoyu may not be my favourite broth flavor, the meat may not be perfect, but this is a remarkable bowl that you have to try.

More info on ramendb.

Other links: Ramen Adventures, Gastrolust, Confused abc, Foodsaketokyo, Timeout

Mitsukabuzu (Osaka-fu, Toyonaka-shi)

味噌らーめん みつか坊主
みそらーめん みつかぼうず
Miso ramen Mitsukabouzu
"Special kansai daitayama": 16 / 20

And here I am again in Mitsukabose, back to Osaka’s miso-ramen star, to make it discover to a friend. We both tried the Special kansai daitayama (not sure of the name again!) with ajitama, that I had noted last time.

Broth: A quite liquid broth with a subtle miso taste, not too strong, and flavored with many herbs - parsil, coriander…

Noodles: That was a surprise here: overcooked. Seems that I’ll have to clarify a few things next time before ordering…

Meat: A slice of firm, lean chashu with some fat veins in the middle.

Egg: It was remarkable: perfectly cooked (gooey yellow, hard white), nothing to say - a model of an egg.

Toppings: A couple of tofu slices and two pieces of non-fermented bamboo - a nice change from the usual menma!

Interestingly, I had a better impression of this soup when I tasted it from my friend’s plate last time (but it I understood correctly this is a special dish, whose composition might vary over time?). Although the broth was very pleasant, the egg fantastic and the bamboo parts brought an interesting twist, the relatively uninteresting meat and overcooked noodles spoiled a little bit the experience. With just a little work, it could easily become a 17/20 though.

More information on ramendb.
The restaurant's website.

Other review: Friends in ramen.

Tomita Shokudo (Chiba-ken, Matsudo-shi)

松戸中華そば 富田食堂
まつどちゅうかそば とみたしょくどう 

Tsukesoba (with ajitama): 17 / 20

It is kind of painful to hear, after 50 minutes spent in the train, that the ramen shop you came to visit is exceptionally closed today because of some problem with the air-con system. It is even more painful when this shop happens to be Japane's most highly rated ramen joint, namely Tomita. Turning with sadness to my ramendb app on my phone to see if there was anything else valuable in the area, I discovered a spin-off of the restaurant, Tomita Shokudou. Let’s try it!

Broth: In contrast with Tomita's tonkotsu gyokai, the broth is here a slightly sweet shoyu. Although it does not have the kotteri structure of a tonkotsu gyokai broth, it sticked decently to the noodles. Adding the wari-soup at the end gave it a delicious, slightly burned taste.

Noodles: Relatively thin for a tsukemen - I presume that it fits better with a broth less sticky than a tonkotsu gyokai - but very pleasantly firm.

Meat: A slice of pork chashu that was really the letdown of this bowl, too fat and nothing exceptional; and a slice of tender and tasty, slightly peppery chicken, that saved the meaty part of this bowl.

Egg: Very flavorful white part, and an excellent gooey yolk. Very well cooked.

Toppings: Some tender, melting peppery menma - some of the best I’ve ever eaten. A few slices of wakame.

This was an excellent bowl - with a better pork chashu, it would have deserved an 18. If you want to try a tsukemen a bit different from your usual tonkotsu gyokai fix, that’s the place to go; you can also consider it in case there is too much queue at Tomita's main shop - that might happen, on the days when the air-con is not broken...

More information on ramendb.

Other reviews: Enjoy Ramen

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.

Tatsu No Ya (Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku)

龍の家 (新宿小滝橋通り店)
たつのや

Tonkotsu ramen (kokuaji): 17 / 20
(こく味)

At the time I tried it, Tatsunoya was the 5th most highly ranked tonkotsu of the capital. After having tried Hakata ramen center, and leaving Kanto in the evening from Shinjuku, there was only one sensible thing to do: compare it with Tatsunoya. I chose the black bowl, koku ramen.

Broth: Very good tonkotsu broth. It seems that there is a thin layer of fat on top, so you may want to mix your bowl before sipping it.

Noodles: I ordered them barikata. I would say they were katame. Fine for me.

Meat: Two slices of chashu, relatively thin (but not as much as at Hakata ramen Center, and definitely better). Melting and chewy at the same time, with a mild but delightful taste.

Egg: A very-well cooked ajitma with gooey yellow, which could rival with the ajitama you would find in the best tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen places of the capital.

Topping: The kikurage were somewhat tastier and less plastic-ish than at Hakata ramen center. Some soy sprouts with a little bit of spicy miso, which bring a nice twist between two sips of classical tonkotsu taste. Of course, you can add as usual goma powder, some (average) green vegetables and ginger, but (shocking!) no garlic. Also, while waiting for your bowl, you can help yourself with some spicy, oily bean sprouts - not bad.

Overall, this was a very good tonkotsu ramen, and not a single part of it did disappoint me. This was a better experience than Hakata ramen center and Tamagatta, although I would rate Ishimanji's black tonkotsu higher (sorry, Tokyo people!). With some fresh garlic, it could have earned an 18.

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Other review of several Tatsunoya shops: Ramenate, Go Ramen, Great Food in Japan, Ramen Ramen Ramen, Ericakjordan, Ramen loving

Shunmen Shirohachi (Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku)

旬麺しろ八
しゅんめんしろはち

Shio ramen: 17 / 20

I continued in my shio-ramen hunt. Supleks brought me to this pleasant restaurant with a very large counter.

Broth: A stronger taste than for most shio, with maybe some herbal notes?

Noodles: Paler and with a lighter taste than the usual one.

Meat: A good, thin slice of chashu, very tender, with again some herbal taste.

Egg: Two halves of a wonderful egg - a yummy, powerful yolk, while the white had a very distinctive salty taste. Divine!

Toppings: Quite interesting and unusual toppings: a couple of pieces of daikon, some thin seaweed threads with an interesting taste and consistency, and some green leafs (komatsuna I think, and maybe something else).

So many delicious shio-ramen during this Tokyo-stay! This one is wonderful too. Compared to Hyottoko and Ginzasa, it had the most interesting toppings - and its egg is hands down the winner. The broth was good, but it was maybe slightly tastier in Hyottoko. Finally, the noodles and especially the chashu were better at Ginzasa. Make your own choice.

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Mendokoro Ginzasa (Tokyo, Minato-ku)

麺処 銀笹
めんどころ ぎんざさ

Shio ramen (with ajitama): 18 / 20

Caught in a shio-ramen frenzy, I checked ramendb and discovered that the second most highly rated shio ramen in Tokyo was conveniently located close to Shimbashi (actually, it is a bit in the middle of nowwhere, but still only 10 minutes on foot from the station). Here I go, arriving 3 minutes after the opening of the shop at 11:33. The shop is nearly already full! Quite pleasant restaurant, no counter, only 7 or 8 small tables. I order the shio-ramen with the aji-tama. Here it comes, beautifully presented.

Broth: A classical shio broth. Good, although this was not the highlight of the bowl: everything else was.

Noodles: Yellow and firm noodles, which fit well with the soup.

Meat: A wonderful thick, tender slice of chashu, perfectly salty and braised, with melting fat. Oh boy that’s one of the best chashu I ever had! It gave a delicious braised taste to the soup around it.

Egg: Well-cooked aji-tama with a tasty white part; slightly on the hard side, but this is how it needs to be here, as you don’t want the yolk to spill in a shio broth.

Toppings: A couple of gingery shrimp wantons, tender but including crunchy parts, simply delicious. A few menma, very classical. You also get on a side dish some bits of dry nori, garlic and spice to sprinkle at your convenience in the soup.

So overall, the broth may not be stellar, but all the rest is. The combination of chashu and wanton is brilliant; both shine in their own way. You should not miss this ramen. Hyottoko may beat it for the soup, but all the rest (except menma) is far superior at Ginzasa. This is a clear winner.

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