Kokontei

I moved to Osaka last June, but I didn't start writing this blog until August.  In that time, I went to a number of ramen places that I have no notes or posts for.  Some of them were bad, some were good, and some I barely remember.  Kokontei is in the latter group, and since it's conveniently right in Umeda Station, I decided to stop in again for a review.

Kokontei offers a couple different kinds of tsukemen, with an option of fat noodles or super-fat noodles.  I didn't remember what I got the first time, so I went with the staff's recommendation of the chicken tonkotsu tsukesoba, with fat noodles.

Information
らーめん つけそば 古今亭
9 Kakudachō

The Bowl
The broth was thin but murky; it was very porky but I could only taste the slightest trace of chicken.  The noodles were thick as advertised.  The soup was thin enough that they didn't absorb much of it, which makes me wonder what the super-fat noodles would have been like.  The chashu was the best part.  It was tender and more similar to Chinese roast pork than the normal stuff you'd expect in ramen.

Would I Go Again?
The broth was a bit too light for me to love it.  I'm curious about the other kinds, but I'd just as soon go somewhere else.

Should You Go?
Kokontei is practically inside Umeda Station, so it's really easy to get to if you don't have a lot of time before getting on a train.  But if you do, there are better places around.

Bushido

I was walking around Nishi-ku after looking at some apartments, and decided to get something to eat.  What better way to relax on a Sunday after walking around all day than a huge amount of garlic, oil, salt, and pork?

Bushido is a Jiro-style ramen shop located near Awaza.  Bushido is paired with a similar ramen shop in Teradacho called Wasshoi.  Both offer soups that will kill your breath and your stomach in huge, or "men's" sizes.  Thankfully they offer reasonable sizes for those of us who can barely finish a small.

Information
麺屋 武士道
4-6-20 Itachibori

The Bowl
A classic bowl of Jiro-style ramen: oily, garlicy, and covered with chunks of fat.  The broth was scalding too, so my tongue hurt for a couple days after this meal.  The noodles were oily, firm and eggy.  There were some onions and cabbage in there so you can pretend the bowl is at all healthy.  The chashu were, unlike Maccho, not large chunks, but thinner strips, and not as good.

Would I Go Again?
It wasn't bad, but the best thing about this brand of Jiro-style ramen is that it came in a relatively small serving.  I won't go back to Bushido, but maybe I'll review Wasshoi some time.

Should You Go?
It's Jiro-style ramen you can eat without getting a huge size, but if you're aiming for the best, try a different place.

Kuruma

I was on my way to check out some apartments and I wanted something quick to eat.  I didn't think I would have time to fit in a full ramen meal, but luckily I stumbled upon a sign posted outside of the yakitori-based izakaya Kuruma.  According to the sign, on weekends during lunchtime they serve up chicken-based ramen.  Can you expect any less from a place that specializes in yakitori?

Information
車
3-4-13 Nanba

The Bowl
The broth was a thin, but rich and oily chicken broth.  It was slightly yellow-ish, and the thickness reminded me a lot of the broth at Totto Ramen.  The noodles were medium, curly egg noodles, and in place of normal pork-chashu, there were a couple large pieces of chicken.  Those were pretty fatty, and not bad.  Overall the bowl was good but not amazing, but it was very chicken-y and different enough from what I'm used to that I enjoyed it.

Would I Go Again?
It was good but with the restrictive hours I probably won't go back.

Should You Go?
It was pretty good, but if you're in the market for chicken broth, I would definitely hit up Taku or Men Life Taku first.

Kuromonya Ramen

Right near the Kuromon Market in Osaka lies Kuromonya Ramen.  It's a small shop with only one counter that is open to the outside.  I've walked by several times, but never got around to going there.  It was the night before the solar eclipse, so I had to go to sleep early, but was hungry.  I biked over to Kuromonya to check it out.  They offered a few different kinds of ramen, and I decided on the one with the name of the shop in it, Kuromonya Black Raudoru Ramen.

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黒門屋ら〜めん
1-21-28 Nipponbashi

The Bowl
I've had shoyu tonkotsu bowls before, but this was easily the fattest.  It reminded me of Jiro-style ramen in how filling it was, but where Jiro kills you with tons of garlic and oil, Kuromonya overflows with flavorful pork fat.  The noodles were medium, firm, yellow noodles that tasted like the ones that come in some Chinese dishes.  The chashu wasn't very tender, but it was super juicy.  The fatty broth and chashu combined to stop me from drinking all the broth; a rare but necessary occurrence.

Would I Go Again?
The bowl was pretty good and I'm curious about the other styles, but like other bowls I'm not sure if my stomach can handle it.

Should You Go?
It's pretty solid and in a good location.  Stop by when you're really hungry and don't have to move after.

Kio

One of the first ramen shops I've ever been to in Osaka was a Kio near Higashi Umeda Station.  It's the kind of place that has every single type of ramen you could imagine, along with a bunch of strange and seasonal variants.  It's hard to know what to get in a place that doesn't specialize at all, but at that time I went with a tonkotsu bowl recommended by Ramen Walker that was very good.

This time was late at night, after drinking with some friends near Dotonbori.  I've tried a couple "normal" bowls at Kio before, so I went with the crazy Saga black shoyu tsukemen.  With so many qualifiers, it can't be bad!

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らーめん亀王
2-2-17 Dōtonbori

The Bowl
I can't think of the last time I've had a tsukemen with a broth so dark.  It tasted strongly of roasted soy sauce, was very thin, oily, and a bit spicy.  The noodles were thin and very chewy, and tasted alright with the sesame seeds and seaweed put all over them.  The pork in the broth was fairly standard, and there were also onions and menma deep in there.  The wari-soup made the broth a bit more drinkable, and the sesame went quite well with it, but it was still too salty to finish.

Would I Go Again?
Kio is alright and all over the place, so I'm sure I'll find myself back there again, but I'll go with one of the more standard ramens.

Should You Go?
There are better places to go than Kio, but their normal bowls are not bad and you can find them all over Osaka.

Shingetsu

It had been a while since I had ramen, and I had been hankering for some.  I found one day where I wasn't busy, and walked home from work.  I had never heard of it before, but I picked out a place on the way home, and Shingetsu was it.

They offered a number of chicken paitan ramen bowls, both shio and shoyu.  I was deciding between the shoyu paitan and the gyokai shoyu paitan, but in the end went with the former because the staff suggested that one was richer.

Information
新月
8-8 Honmachibashi

The Bowl
As promised, the broth was quite rich.  It wasn't super thick, but it was a strong shoyu with a bit of chicken flavor.  The noodles were medium-thin, firm, and very hot.  The chashu was served as a couple of thick slices which, like the broth, were very rich.  The bowl was smaller than normal, but it was very flavorful, which left me satisfied but not bloated.

Would I Go Again?
Everything about the ramen was great, save for maybe the egg, so if I'm ever in the area again I might stop by.

Should You Go?
If you're near Sakaisuji Honmachi Station for some reason, definitely stop by.