Taishoken

Tsukemen, the form of ramen where you dip your noodles instead of drinking them straight from the broth has its origins in Taishoken in Higashi-Ikebukuro in Tokyo.  A long time ago I visited that shop, and while I was less experienced then than I am now, I was not impressed.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as solid as a lot of other bowls I had had before.  But I decided to give it another try, in the Osaka Nipponbashi branch.

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大阪大勝軒
2-1-22 Nanbanaka

The Bowl
Well, I've changed my opinion.  The tonkotsu gyokai broth was thinner than I normally like, but was a really good balance of sweet and salty.  Even though the soup wasn't that thick, the fat noodles worked excellently.  The chashu was pretty good, though the egg and wari-soup were pretty standard.

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, I stand corrected.  I think there's another branch in Osaka that I'll check out next time.

Should You Go?
Yeah, it's in a good location and it's a branch of the place that created tsukemen.

Ramen Nikoku

A ramen friend from Tokyo was in town, and we wanted to try somewhere interesting.  I gave him some recommendations and handed him my copies of ramen walker, and what he chose was Nikoku: the picture of fatty ramen covered in tons of chashu, garlic, and kimchi.

In the end neither of us got the crazy bowl that was pictured, but what I got, the stamina ramen, was not that far off.

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らーめん2国
2-13-18 Sonezaki

The Bowl
The broth was a rich tonkotsu shoyu, and was actually pretty good on its own.  The noodles were medium and firm, and the chashu were fairly standard slices.  The toppings were a bit much.  I like garlic, kimchi, and onions as much as the next guy, but they would have been better served on the side than on top of the ramen.  After a few stirs, the original broth's taste completely vanished and was replaced by a biting sour pickly one.  Well, I guess it was my own fault for ordering that one.

Would I Go Again?
My friend's beef suji ramen was better than mine, but I'm not sure I'm quite curious enough to go again.

Should You Go?
You don't need to, but if you do, get something a little simpler.

Rakuzan

The quest for curry ramen continues!  I'm blown away by just how many curry specialty ramen shops there seem to be.  Not too far from Miyagamiya lies Rakuzan, with curry ramen, tsukemen and tantanmen.  I love curry tsukemen, and this isn't the first time I've had curry tantanmen, but I couldn't stop myself from choosing such a spicy, delicious-sounding combo.

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楽山
4-6-2 Hiranomachi

The Bowl
Once again, a curry tantanmen bowl delivers on its name.  The broth was a light but syrupy curry, doused in the Chinese chili oil ra-yu.  The noodles were long and thin.  The menma stood out as being very thick and flavorful, and the chashu was very thick and tasted like it might have been barbecued.

Would I Go Again?
Yes.  There is still tsukemen to be eaten.

Should You Go?
Yeah, it's right in the middle of the city, and is delicious.

Kamigata Danshichi

One of my coworkers spent a lot of time in Kobe, and one day he regaled me with stories of one of his favorite tsukemen shops there.  After talking about it for a little while, we realized that there was a branch right in Umeda.  I needed dinner after work that night, so I went straight over there.

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ラーメン屋 上方 段七
3-2 Umeda

The Bowl
The broth was chicken and katsuo-based, but the fish taste was much stronger than the chicken.  It was light, and pretty salty.  The noodles were fat and delicious, and the chashu was pretty good too.  Overall the toppings were solid, but not amazing.  The wari-soup was generically decent, but the broth was still a little salty.

Would I Go Again?
The bowl was alright but nothing special.  I won't be back.

Should You Go?
There are better places you can go in Umeda or Fukushima over this one.

Shioya

Wow, so it's been a year.  It hasn't yet been a year since when I first started posting, but it's been a year since I moved to Osaka.  A new year means a new apartment, and a new apartment means a new base for ramen walks.  In my first exploration, I headed into Horie to check out a small shio ramen shop.

They offered a few different permutations of shio ramen, but one item in particular caught my eye: shio tantanmen.  I've tried mixed styles recently with success, so why not try again?

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塩ラーメン専門店 汐家
2-15-13 Kitahorie

The Bowl
If the curry tsukemen I had previously was a little crazy, then was straight up insane.  The broth was thin and clear, but a very flavorful and hot-peppery shio.  As if the spicy broth wasn't enough, the flat noodles were pretty spicy themselves.  The ground pork and egg were both great; the only thing lacking in this bowl was the standard chashu.

Would I Go Again?
Absolutely.  The owner said that they make a ma-yu ramen in the winter that's not on the menu, too.

Should You Go?
Yeah.  It'll give you a good reason to venture out into the wilderness that is Nishi-ku.