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)

Motor Boo (Osaka-shi, Kita-ku)

MOTOR BOO
もーたーぶー
Motor Boo

Tsukemen (with raw egg): 18 / 20

(Note: I'm slightly changing the layout of the blog in order to increase the size of pictures; that may change a bit again during the next few days while I'm fine tuning this. Let me know in case of problems etc.)

After 7.5Hz+ and Monjiro, I decided to continue the exploration of the ramen-rich Kitashinchi area. Difficult not to notice the odd name of "MOTOR BOO" standing out amidst all Japanese-named places (by the way, a small piece of advice: if you want to get extra attention for your place, just write it in capital letters; cheap but efficient). I was about to discover that its name is quite fitting: it is probably one of the most unusual tsukemen place ever.

Following the signs, I arrived on the second floor in a fancy small bar. I was surely wrong – but no, the waiter asked me if I was looking for tsukemen! If you’ve ever wanted to enjoy a Yamazaki whisky with your bowl, that’s the place.

Simple to choose your food: they only offer tsukemen, that you can order with a raw egg on the side – as I did. The friendly, dressed-up waiter started to prepare my bowl.

Broth: A delicious sweet and sour gyokai tonkotsu, that transferred the perfect amount of taste to the noodles. You can dip your noodles in the egg after dipping them in the broth – don’t let them too long, or the egg will dilute the taste of broth, but with a quick dip this was a simple, perfect combination!

Noodles: Perfectly firm – they could have a little bit more taste, but nothing really to complain about. I barely dared slurping in such a fancy atmosphere!

Meat: A fair amount of meat, with both tasty lean and melting fat, and the perfect crumbliness. A model.

Toppings: A few very large and thin slabs of menma on top of the noodles, relatively sweet, neither soft nor firm, but very good. You also get a few squares of white negi in the broth that bring some sharp crunchiness, a few brins of rucola, and some black pepper to sprinkle on the broth. A lot of small twists that made this bowl a real culinary roller coaster!

Soup wari: A very round and harmonious soup wari – and totally huge! I could barely drink half of it, but it was a perfect ending to this bowl.

What an unexpected surprise! This place reminded me Sugari in many respects – an excellent tsukemen in an unusual atmosphere – although both bowls are pretty different. This bar is clearly Osaka's ultimate ramen dating place, and – taking into consideration not only the quality of the bowl, but also its atmosphere – ranks among the most exceptional ramen place in Japan. The question is not whether you should go there, but when – and, most importantly, with whom.

More info on ramendb.

Other review: Friends in Ramen

Monjiro (Osaka-shi, Kita-ku)

つけ麺 紋次郎 (大阪駅前第二ビル店)
つけめん もんじろう
Tsukemen Monjirou

Tsukemen: 13 / 20

I continued my exploration of the undergrounds between Nishi Umeda and Kitashinchi. After 7.5Hz+ two weeks ago, another restaurant seemed worthwhile of attention: Monjiro. Lost in the underground maze, it is a bit difficult to localize even with a smartphone (look at the printed maps!), but finally, here I am. I ordered the special, their gyokai tonkotsu tsukemen - has been a while I haven't had any.

Broth: A quite fat gyokai tonkotsu broth, pleasant for sure, but that did not give so much taste to the noodles. You get some fish powder on top of a small bit of nori sheet: I recommend to mix it right away to the soup as it is otherwise a bit mild. You also have on the side some yuzu powder and shoyu/vinegar mix that you can use to spike a little bit your bowl. It makes it better indeed, but does not turn it into something exceptional either.

Noodles: Thick, firm and curly – in a kind of hard-to-slurp way. The taste was a bit bland, though.

Meat: A few bits of a very unremarkable chashu. I would have preferred my bowl without that.

Toppings: Different kinds of menma: some thin and crunchy, and some large and soft – but all mild in taste.

Soup wari: You get a yakiishi (hot stone) to heat your broth, as in TETSU. The soup wari wasn’t bad, but nothing to write home either – for once, it wasn’t on the gyokai side. Adding the yuzu powder made it kind of better, again.

I would recommend this bowl only to the gyokai tonkotsu addicts. Otherwise, places like Suzume, Teru, Mita Seimenjo or Roku San Roku are better in my memory – and wait for my reviews of the excellent Küche and Motor Boo! (and BTW, the latter is not far from Monjiro)

More info on ramendb.

Other (more enthusiastic) 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)

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

Sandaime Miyatamenji (Osaka-shi, Chūō-ku)

三代目 宮田麺児
さんだいめ みやためんじ
Sandaime Miyatamenji

T2G tsukemen: 15 / 20
(T2G)

I hadn’t noticed before this low-key tsukemen restaurant near Shinsaibashi, but this was a mistake. The place occupates two floors of a building, with the kitchen and a counter on the first floor, and the main dining room on the second floor. Pleasant lounge music, lots of couples – looks like the perfect ramen-date place. I ordered the first tsukemen on the menu.

Broth: A very thick veggie broth (the base seems to be tonkotsu gyokai), that sticks exceptionally well to the noodles – last time I saw such a thick smoothness was probably at Fuunji in Tokyo! (with a very different broth) I didn’t have time to ask for the soup wari, so I just drunk my soup like that - it felt like a thick countryside soup.

Noodles: Relatively soft, but very good though.

Egg: Half of a quite hard, but good egg.

Toppings: A few crunchy, mild and sweetish menma. A couple of tomato slice.

Overall, it was a very convincing mix, a bit like Watanabe Seimen in Kyoto and Toyonaka. I’ll have to try their other specialties, the KK100 and the TM3 (seriously, what do they smoke to find inspiration in naming their ramen, the same stuff as they do in IKR51?)

More info on ramendb.

The shop's website.

For a review of the first Myata Menji (now gone): Friends in Ramen

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!

KING KONG (Tōkyō-to, Toshima-ku)

池麺 KINGKONG
いけめん きんぐこんぐ
Ikemen Kingu Kongu

Torofuru tsukemen:  17 / 20
(トロフルつけめん)

King Kong had been on my radar for a long time, as it was on Ramen Adventures' first recommendation list, but for some reason I did not find myself so much in Ikebukuro - and most of the time I was there, it was to bring friends to Tokyo's most crazy place, Namjatown, where you can eat gyoza from all over Japan (try also some of the 60-or-so ice cream flavors there, you'll be surprised!). So this time I was in the area with no plan to go to Namjatown, I really wanted to try at last this mythical tsukemen.

Broth: A dense and sweet tonkotsu gyoukai broth that sticks very well to the noodles. The sweetness seemed to come from some green unidentified stuff - and was maybe a little bit ovepowering after some time, but really brought an interesting twist to your usual tonkotsu gyokai fix.

Noodles: Very firm noodles – at first I thought they were even too firm, but as it happened they were quite pleasant like that. They did not have the eggy taste that you often find in tsukemen noodles.

Meat: A slice of biocolor, very melting chashy, infused with delicious fat, and two slices of leaner meat – was it chicken? There was also some minced white meat in the broth but it didn’t really bring anything.

Toppings : Some thin, menma with a strong, typical taste of preserved food. You can also add some curry powder to the broth for some interesting twist.

Overall, an excellent tonkotsu gyoukai tsukemen. Looks like I missed their special apple/yuzu vinegar - a good reason to come back some day.

More info on ramendb.

Other reviews: Ramen Adventures, Japantravel

TOKYO UNDERGROUND RAMEN Ganja (Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku)

TOKYO UNDER GROUND RAMEN 頑者
とうきょうあんだーぐらうんどらーめん がんじゃ
TOKYO UNDERGROUD RAMEN Ganja

Kotteri tsukemen: 15 / 20
(濃厚 つけめん）

Arriving early with the night bus in Tokyo at Ikebukuro, I wanted to use the time I had there to maximize the number of ramen I could sample. Therefore, I was happy to discover that a relatively highly praised ramen shop was opened from 10 am. I tried their kotteri (thick) tsukemen (it is their default option, but they also offer a ‘light’ tsukemen that seems to be shoyu-based), with ontama (alternatively, you can go for a more classical ajitama).

Broth: Kotteri it said, kotteri it was: that may have been one of my thickest tonkotsu gyoukai broth ever (the divine Fuunji is out of competition, as it is chicken-based). It sticks exceptionally well to the noodles, but lacks a little bit of taste - fortunately, there is a little bit of powder on top of the bowl to add some punch. As usual, the soup-wari pushed the taste towards more fishiness.

Noodles: Flat and thick noodles, with a good, classical taste of eggy tsukemen-noodles.

Meat: A few meat-‘allumettes’ in the broth (sorry for importing some more French words into food vocabulary, but I don't know the equivalent in English, I don't think that 'meat-match' would sound so great...), nothing exceptional here.

Egg: The ontama was very runny, I was not sure how to combine it with the dish. First I tried to dip the noodles in the ontama before re-dipping them in the soup - it made an even thicker coating, not unpleasant.  Then I mixed it with the soup, but it didn't really bring anything. I would rather recommend to stick with the classical ajitama (in case it is good, I have no idea about that), or to order your dish without egg.

Toppings: A few fin and alumettes-shaped menma, very salty and crunchy, with a mild aroma.

So overall, a good tsukemen, and one that - I presume - some thick-broth-fan may fall in love with, but for me it did not reach exceptionally high levels. They also have a tantanmen-mazesoba that I’d like to try some day. Not that the settings were quite pleasant, with one side of the counter facing a large mirror, and the other side facing a wall of big stones.

More info on ramendb.

Other review: Go Ramen!

Yasube (Osaka-shi, Chūō-ku)

つけ麺屋 やすべえ (道頓堀店)
つけめんや やすべえ
Tsukemenya Yasubee

Tsukemen: 14 / 20
(つけ麺 )

I had already been to this ramen shop just next to the canal, but it was before I started that blog, so I gave it another try. It is, as far as I know, the only branch in Osaka of a chain with quite a few places in Tokyo. They specialize in tsukemen, that you can order up to the mega-gigantic scale (which, I had learnt last time, is definitely TOO big for my stomach). This time I took the regular, middle size (you can also order the tsukemen with spicy broth).

Broth: A relatively thin broth that does not stick so much to the noodles, slightly sweet and spicy. The soup wari was pleasant - they give you some dashi on the side to add to your broth to your liking - but maybe not enough, I thought it was still too thick to drink (but I'm sure you can ask for more).

Noodles: Thick, chewy, eggy and maybe lack a little bit of salt (but of course the broth makes up more than enough for this).

Meat: The usual long pork bites in the broth.

Toppings: Long, thin slices of mild and sweetish menma. A dry slice of nori.

So you have here a good tsukemen, but not exceptional. A couple of hundreds meters from there, you can find Suzume which might be better in my memory.

More info on ramendb.

The chain's website.

Other reviews: Friends in Ramen, and for the Tokyo shops: Ramenate, Enjoy Ramen, Ramen-Otaku, Tokyo Dining Out

Sakurazaka (Tōkyō-to, Shibuya-ku)

中華ソバ 櫻坂
ちゅうかそば さくらざか
Chuuka Soba Sakurazaka

Tsukesoba: 17 / 20
(つけソバ)

This ramen joint just south of Shibuya station is kind of a fame. I went there and tried the tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen with ajitama.

Broth: Quite liquid for a gyokai-tonktosu tsukemen, it maybe lacked a little bit of adhesion to the noodles. Did I taste a hint of yuzu? Anyway, it had a very pleasant spiciness. The soup wari, however, did not bring anything special

Noodles: Not so thick, not so tasty, but the right mochiness - wait a minute, didn’t I just write this somewhere else??

Meat: A very crumbly and melting, high quality chashu, quite convincing.

Egg: The regular tsukemen already comes with half an egg (not ajitama, and very average), so I ended up with 1,5 eggs! The ajitama egg had a very liquid, savory yolk. Excellent, but that was too much egg for a single dish, they should definitely remove the default half egg.

Toppings: A very large, branching menma, kind of the same you would get at BASSANOVA - a rarity in my experience.

The subtle broth combined with a very convincing chashu and ajitama make it deserve a 17 / 20 and enter into the ‘excellent’ category.

My friend ordered the shio/tori paitan ramen:

This bowl was much less convincing (Campbell chicken soup, anyone?), I strongly recommend not ordering it.

More info on ramendb.

Other reviews (it seems that there is a consensus here against the shio/tori paitan): Ramen Adventures, Ramen is love, Ramen-otaku

Hamaya (Tōkyō-to, Shinagawa-ku)

浜屋
はまや

Ebi-karashi tsukesoba: 16 / 20
(エビ辛しつけそば)

A few hundred meters from Gotanda station, this pleasant restaurant is relatively isolated from anything of interest. But as I was soon about to discover, its ebi-karashi (‘shrimp-mustard’) tsukesoba is worth the trip.

Broth: A relatively sweet, thin broth (I mean, thin for a tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen), it gets a delicious shrimp-spiciness when you mix in the special karashi. Moreover, the soup wari add an interesting twist – maybe more on the gyokai (seafood) side.

Noodles: Not so thick, not so tasty, but they have the right 'mochiness' (elasticity) and do the job.

Meat: The letdown of this bowl: a large, relatively thin slice of chashu that falls into parts and does not have any especially remarkable taste.

Toppings: A few thin, crunchy, sweet menma.

Despite the average chashu, the shrimp-spiced broth is definitely something to try. If you like shrimp, do not miss this bowl.

More info on ramendb.

Tokiya (Osaka, Yodogawa-ku)

Pork tsukemen: 16 / 20
豚つけ

Tokiya is a respected ramen joint next to Minamikata, with a pleasant restaurant-like atmosphere. I arrived there at 14:20 on a Saturday and there were still two people queuing in front of me, so I guess it is better to avoid the rush hours. They specialize in two kinds of tsukemen: pork and chicken. I ordered the pork one, with the ajitama.

Broth: A very thick and rich tonkotsu gyokai broth, which coats wonderfully the noodles.

Noodles: Delicate, but lack a bit of a chew - very similar texture to the one you can find at Kitanozaka Oku.

Meat: Some dice of relatively unremarkable meat in the broth - they don’t bring anything to the whole dish IMHO.

Egg: A quite hard boiled ajitama. To my taste, it was overcooked, but despite this it was quite interesting to dip in the broth (something that you cannot usually do with a too soft ajitama).

Toppings: A few thin, sweet menma with a curious taste - difficult to characterize, but definitely different from the usual menma.

Bonus: You can ask for free at the end a small bowl of rice in dashi, with some ume sauce, to finish your soup (but you can also ask for a soup-wari if you prefer, which wholly transforms the thick broth).

This is a contrasted bowl, with an exceptional broth (to which it owes its high rating here), slightly disappointing noodles and relatively unremarkable meat and egg. The rice at the end was an interesting experience.

More information on ramendb.

Other review: Friends in ramen

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!

More info on ramendb.

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

Tokyo tsukemen (limited) contest

 

Tomita Shokudo

Michi

Ginza Oborozuki

 

 TETSU

After having tried Michi, Oborozuki and TETSU in a few days, as well as Tomita Shokudo (but I cannot compare its broth with the others, since it is shoyu based when the others are in the tonkotsu gyokai league), I reached the following comparative verdict:
- the broth is clearly the best in Michi (how do they make it so smooth??)
- Oborozuki’s braised meat beats everything
- Tomita Shokudo had the best ajitama and menma
- the noodles were very good in all of them.
- for the atmospheric touch, TETSU’s yaki-ishi delivers (but none of its ingredients are top-notch, just very good).

Put all these ingredients together, and you would get a 20 / 20 tsukemen.

TETSU (Tokyo, Minato-ku)

TETSU品達店
てつ
TETSU

Tsukemen with ajitama: 16 / 20

In 2011, I had my last Japanese dish (a tsukemen, of course) before going back to my country with a German friend at what may be the most famous chain of high-quality tsukemen restaurant: TETSU, in Kyoto station. More than three years later, back in Japan, we decided to meet again at TETSU; it may not be present anymore in Kyoto station, but it is well alive and kicking in Tokyo. We met at the branch in Shinagawa’s ramen street, and I ordered their famous (tonkotsu gyokai) tsukemen with ajitama.

Broth: A rather earthy tonkotsu gyokai broth, very pleasant, which sticks extremely well to the noodles. The soup wari simply dilutes this strong taste, without bringing any new twist.

Noodles: Thick and al dente, as they should be.

Meat: One slice of thick, fibrous chashu in the broth. Good, but nothing exceptional.

Egg: A good ajitama with a very liquid yolk.

Toppings: A few slices of menma, slightly sweet, with a rather subdued taste.

Is TETSU up to its celebrity, or is it over-rated, having gained its fame thanks to their now-classical yaki-ishi? (the hot stone that you can put at the end in your broth to make it pimping hot again - make sure there are no noodles anymore in the broth, or they will get burned!). Well, I would say that it is for sure a high-quality tsukemen, but it definitely does nor reach the summits of e.g. Fuunji, Warito and Rokurinsha - or, to compare with the one I had earlier that day, Oborozuki. Compared with the latter, TETSU had virtually the same noodles and ajitama, but Oborozuki’s braised meat, broth complexity and interesting wari-soup definitely push it higher. Anyway, TETSU always remains a safe bet.

More info on ramendb.

Other reviews (basically every single ramen blog has an entry on TETSU):
Ramen adventure, Ramenate, Rameniac, Ramentokyo, Enjoy ramen, Ramen Walker, Tokyo times, Food Republic, Gaijin Pot.

Ginza Oborozuki (Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku)

銀座 朧月
ぎんざ おぼろづき

Tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen: 17 / 20

Those few days in Tokyo being devoted to compare a few high quality tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen, Oborozuki came quickly back on my list. I had been there a couple of months earlier, but I was then in a quest for the best shio bowls around, and I had tried their (excellent) shio tsukemen. So here I am, back to the place, where I order the special tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen for 1100 yens (they also have a kotteri tsukemen that got some good reviews).

Broth: An intense and very good both, with some sweet notes. At the end, the soup wari was very fishy and gave a new dimension to the broth (like it did for their shio tsukemen).

Noodles: Some high-quality, thick, pale yellow al dente noodles, with an egg taste.

Meat: One of the highlight of the tsukemen: three slices of fibrous chashu, with just the right amount of fat, which are braised in front of your eyes. On a lower note, however, there are a few dice of meat in the broth, some extremely fat, and some just tasteless - no idea why they would add such a thing: Mr. boss-of-Oborozuki, please remove them!

Egg: A very pleasant ajitama with a very liquid yolk.

Toppings: A few thin menmas with a strong, classical taste. Some strong negi and microgreens. A slice of kamoboko.

This was an excellent gyokai tonkotsu, with a few twists compared to the classical recipe (sweeter, more liquid ajitama, more fishy soup wari, braised meat…). Since their shio tsukemen was excellent as well, I would recommend you to try both.

More information on ramendb.

Other review: Enjoy ramen.

Michi (Tokyo, Katsushika-ku)

つけ麺 道
つけめん みち

Tsukemen: 17 / 20

I continue my investigations of Tokyo’s best tsukemen. Being in Matsudo, I thought I should use the opportunity to try tsukemen Michi near Kameari station, the 6th most highly ranked ramen place in whole Japan on ramendb. Arriving there at 2:45 pm, I was hoping I would not have to wait. How naive I was: 8 persons where still waiting there, and I had to queue during 30 minutes - I cannot imagine how it must be on a week-end. But finally I can enter into the shop; I order the regular tsukemen (they have a special version, and a lighter version too), which comes nicely presented on a tray.

(yeah some day I'll learn how to hide my fingers' shadow on pictures...)

Broth: Wow! That’s why it is so highly rated, no doubt. So smooth… this is remarkable. Feels like floating in the mouth, a really etherical tonkotsu gyokai foam. Let's say it straight: it may be the best tonkotsu gyokai broth I ever had. After the wari soup, it became more classical, but still remarkably unctuous.

Noodles: Nothing surprising here: the kind of thick, chewy noodles that every respectable gyokai tonkotsu tsukemen place should have.

Meat: A thin slice of chashu, relatively unremakable, although it kind of makes the broth even fatter and more unctuous when you put it inside. And a meatball too; relatively flavorfull for a meatball - but, well, just a meatball.

Egg: Half a kind-of-ok egg, but not the high quality ajitama you would expect in such a place.

Toppings: A few thin menma with a strong taste. Some negi. And a little bit of spicy sauce, not sure with what you’re supposed to eat it.

What a contrasted bowl! So first, let me say that I cannot rank it among the 10 very best ramen I've eaten: the broth may be stellar, but a ramen (or tsukemen, for that matter) dish is also composed of many other ingredients - meat, egg, unusual toppings, etc., and those are not up to the level of a top-notch ramen place. However, if you love tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen, you HAVE to try it, just because that might be the best broth ever. I would be curious to compare it with Fuunji on a same day (which also has a very special and smooth broth).

More info on ramendb.

Other review: Enjoy Ramen.

Menya Teru (Osaka, Kita-ku)

麺や 輝中津店
めんや てる

Tsukemen (with ajitama): 15 / 20

Ramen and tsukemen figure on the menu of this ramen shop, north of Umeda and close from Chayamachi area.

Broth: A good, thick tonkotsu gyokai broth that sticks well to the noodles. The soup-wari at the end provided an interesting twist in taste - maybe more earthy?

Noodles: Thick tsukemen noodles with a good chew.

Meat: Two slices of thick chashu, quite salty but good.

Egg: Two halves of a so-so ajitama - not unpleasant, but slightly overcooked.

Toppings: A few pleasant gingery menma in the broth.

All in all, a good tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen place; but seriously, two thick slices of chashu? I would have enjoyed my bowl as much with only one slice, and I don't need to damage my health more than I already do.

More information on ramendb.

Other reviews: Friends in ramen.

Tamagoro (Osaka, Kita-ku)

煮干しらーめん 玉五郎 (阪急梅田店)
にぼしらーめん たまごろう

Niboshi tonkotsu gyokai ramen (with egg): 14 / 20

This chain specializes in tonkotsu gyokai ramen and tsukemen flavored with niboshi, and has a few branches around Osaka. This one is conveniently located in Hankyu station.

Broth: You may find it thin if you compare it with a regular tonkotsu gyokai, or thick if you compare it with a classical niboshi ramen. It had a relatively mild, but pleasant, niboshi taste.

Noodles: Curly and katame.

Meat: Kind of OK chashu, quite lean.

Egg: A bit too hard to my taste.

Toppings: Soft menma, slightly sweet.

Tamagorou was a good experience, but not the best niboshi ramen you will find around. I'm afraid I discovered niboshi ramen with such extremely strong broths at Nagi and Oozaki that most of them might now be too mild for me!

More information on ramendb.

Other reviews: Friends in ramen, Ramen manager, Picrumb.