Ilgongyug

If you're a long time reader of this blog, or really anything involving Japan, you'll notice that the name of this shop - which I still don't know how to pronounce - does not seem very Japanese. That's because it's not. A three day weekend means a four night trip, and in this case those four nights were spent in Seoul.

Is it crazy to escape the country for just a few days and still manage to eat a bowl of ramen? If it counts, what they serve at Ilgongyung, which Google translate and the kanji on the store tell me is Korean for "106" is ramyun, a Korean ramen-like dish. I don't know a whole lot about ramyun, so I'll briefly sum up what I've heard about it from my friends, and hope maybe a Korean reading this can comment with more details.

Ramyun is a ramen-like Korean dish in that it's soup-and-noodles, but the way it's presented is different. As opposed to ramen in Japan, which you get at one of many ramen shops, ramyun is a spicy broth you create at home, with store-bought noodles. I've been told it's more similar to instant ramen than shop-ramen.

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일공육 천안점
18-15 Changcheon-dong (4 Yonsei-ro 4-gil)

A series of descriptions all in Korean left me and my non-Hangeul-reading brain at a loss. The girl at the counter knew just enough English to help me out, and the decision was made when she asked if I liked spicy food.

For some reason, I received a complementary side of sashimi, bean sprouts, and you can take as much bread, eggs, or peanut butter as you like. Hey, it's Korea, I don't make the rules here.

The Bowl
I've had ramyun made by Korean friends before, so I had an idea what it should taste like. The broth was spicy like tteokbokki I've had at Korean restaurants, and it did remind me of the ramyun I had eaten before. The noodles, too, were the instant-style curly, cheap kind. There were a ton of veggies in there; the amount of onions reminded me of tantanmen. Overall it wasn't overwhelming but I'm glad I gave it a try, and am curious about the non-spicy versions.

Would I Go Again?
It's all the way in Korea...so no.

Should You Go?
It's not amazing but it is interesting. Check it out if you're in Seoul for a while.

Tobei

A few of my coworkers told me about a chain ramen shop nearby, but I had never gone to check it out. One day I ate lunch with them, and they decided to introduce me into the wonderful world of Tobei. One of the big advantages of chain shops on weekdays is lunch specials. Ramen, gyoza, rice, or whatever else you want all for a fraction of the price you would normally pay. I don't have a huge stomach so I stuck with the gyoza set and the signature tonkotsu Tobei Ramen.

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らー麺 藤平
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Kita-ku, Toyosaki, ２丁目４−２６

The Bowl
Compared with many tonkotsu bowls I've had, this was very light. Refreshing even. The ma-yu in the broth was a bit garlicky, and the soup was a little generic, but it was not bad. The noodles were thin and curly, and the slices of chashu were pretty good as well.

Would I Go Again?
It was fairly generic, so I'm not intending to, but I wouldn't be shocked if I ended up there again with my coworkers.

Should You Go?
Don't go out of your way for it, but they do have cheap lunch specials if you work near a branch, too.

Yamasho

Field trip! A couple of friends of mine were visiting from the ol' US of A, but for some reason they were visiting Nagoya. I took the train to meet them, but arriving late I couldn't find any miso katsu or wing places open, so I stopped for the next best thing: tsukemen. There was a trendy-looking tsukemen shop on the way to the hotel, and any excuse to review non-Osaka ramen is a good one, right?

Yamasho is a gyokai tonkotsu shop, just like they make 'em in Tokyo. I went for the spicy tsukemen, and they let me choose between the tingly-spicy and very-spicy. Obviously I got the very spicy.

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麺屋 やま昇
Aichi-ken, Nagoya-shi, Nishi-ku, Nagono, １丁目１３−１２

The Bowl
This was a properly spicy bowl! Not as much as the other ramen I've had in Nagoya, but still good. It reminded me a lot of one of my favorite bowls from Tokyo, Enji. The noodles were gigantic, and picked up the thick broth well, but I still wonder if they were almost a bit too big. There were big chunks of chashu and menma to accompany the noodles. It finished with a wari-soup that was pretty standard, but tasted better because of the remaining spiciness in the bowl.

Would I Go Again?
Next time I'm in Nagoya I'm sure I'll try a different place if I'm not too busy stuffing myself at Yabaton.

Should You Go?
If you're in Nagoya, check it out. But not before Misen.

Ichimuan

Shio ramen is a rarity in Osaka. It's not my favorite kind, but a good shio can be just as good as any other style, with the nice benefit that you don't feel really bloated afterwards. One day I noticed there was a new, pretty well-located shio shop on my route back from work, so I went to check it out.

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めん処 一夢庵
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Kita-ku, Nishitenma, ２丁目７−１７

The Bowl
I ordered their recommended shrimp salt ramen. The broth was simple and light, as a standard shio tends to be, with a hint of shrimp. The noodles were bright yellow and curly, and while the chashu fell apart in my chopsticks pretty quickly, it was pretty flavorful. To top it off there was a wealth of kikurage, onions, and an okay egg.

Would I Go Again?
It was decent, but I probably won't fit it into my schedule again.

Should You Go?
It's not far and isn't bad, so if you're in the area looking for shio, it's a good stop.

Gomihacchin

Every time you walk in a familiar area, you see the same restaurants and shops over and over. There are those ones you've been to a million times, and the ones that you're not even sure what they sell. I had passed Gomihacchin many times, but never ventured inside. One night on my way back from work I decided to give it a try.

Gomihacchin looked like a standard ramen chain, so it wasn't obvious what to order. I asked the guy working there and he directed me towards the special, the "tongarashi" bowl; a hot pepper tonkotsu bowl. Sold.

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五味八珍
1-15-15 Awaza

The Bowl
I don't always eat chain ramen, but when I do, I make sure they're spicy. A generic, tonkotsu broth filled the bowl, and it tasted there was a ton of Chinese chili oil poured in. The noodles were thin and soft, similar to the kind they have in a lot of Hakata tonkotsu bowls. The pork was not the standard chashu, but looked more like the buta-bara you see in Korean dishes.

Would I Go Again?
It was enjoyable despite being generic and chainy, but still not good enough to merit another visit.

Should You Go?
Nah, even if you're near Awaza there are better bowls.

Men To Hito

After a wacky shio-shoyu bowl, and a soupless tantanmen bowl, I'm back in Tenjinbashi for more. This time, Annie of Brother Annie decided to film for a post on her blog, so Annie, cameraman and I met by Tenroku and scrambled in the rain over to Men To Hito.

The "To" in "Men To Hito" is pronounced "toe", and together the whole phrase means "noodles and people". What else do you need? Miso ramen is rare in Osaka, but Ramen Walker's new shio vs miso feature guaranteed me this shop would not disappoint.

I'll comment on the bowl below as usual, but for full video, check out Brother Annie's post!

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麺と人
2-2-26 Kokubunji

The Bowl
It had been a while since had a proper miso bowl in Osaka, and the taste of the rich broth on my tongue was fantastic. The noodles were medium-thick and firm, and they carried the soup well. There were a few slices of chashu that were thick and chewy; not too flavorful on their own, but delicious when soaked in the soup. The miso didn't stand out above my favorite miso bowls in Japan, but it's a more than solid if standard take.

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, it's a good one.

Should You Go?
If you're out by Tenroku, hit it up for some good miso.

Kumagoro

Often I do a lot of research before picking a ramen shop, making sure I'll eat something good or at least interesting. This time, I found myself by Tennoji Station with about an hour to kill, and I needed dinner. I looked around the restaurant areas in a couple of the malls and decided on Kumagoro.

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らーめん熊五郎ステーション店
10-48 Hideninchō

The Bowl
The broth was a light, fishy, shoyu. It was simple and passable, but there was nothing special about it. The noodles were medium, and OK, and the thin slices of chashu were a little bland. I wish there was more to say about this bowl, but it was neither very bad nor very good.

Would I Go Again?
Nope.

Should You Go?
Nope.

Maramen Yanyan

Just the other day I went for a stroll around Tenma and Tenjinbashi, and while I was there I noticed Maramen Yanyan. Yanyan advertises its soupless tantanmen, full of both standard-spiciness and the numbing spiciness you get from Sichuan peppers. I love both, and so as soon as I could I headed over there.

I went for the soupless tantanmen and threw in an egg for fun. For both normal and numbing spiciness, you can choose from 1-4. The owner suggested I get 1 on each, but I balked at the idea of getting the lowest and went 3 for both.

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麻拉麺 揚揚
6-7-24 Tenjinbashi

The Bowl
That doesn't look so spicy, right? The whole bowl smelled like Sichuan pepper. I've had my experiences with more spice than I can handle, but I had never had too much Sichuan pepper before. A few slurps into the bowl and my tongue tingled. A few more and my lips too. Two thirds of my way through and it was like I had eaten miracle fruit; everything I put in my mouth tasted different from what I thought it should. Water had a very tangy taste. Isn't water not supposed to taste like anything? My mouth continued buzzing for thirty minutes or an hour after the meal.

Self-prescribed over-spice aside, the bowl was good. The noodles were thin, curly, and firm, and though the taste of the sauce was pretty light, it did the job.

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, it's not quite as good as the best soupless tantanmen or abura soba bowls I've had, but it's definitely solid.

Should You Go?
Check it out! But watch what level of spice you get.

Mengenso

For a place that's really not that far from Umeda, I don't make it to Tenma very often. There's not a lot there, and it's not the most modern place in osaka, but that's what gives it its charm. One giant shopping arcade that stretches several station lengths, filled with cafes, old clothing, and pachinko parlors. And ramen shops.

There are not that many in the arcade itself, but a keen observer will realize that they dot the alleyways around it. On this lazy afternoon I picked a place from Ramen Walker whose bowl looked eerily like classic-favorite Yashichi. Mengenso's notable bowl is called "naka naka". "Naka" means middle, and the "naka naka" places itself strangely in between other bowls by being half of each. The soup is chicken and fish, and the tare is shio and shoyu.

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麺元素
5-2-16 Tenjinbashi

The Bowl
The broth was very well-balanced; it was peppery and kind of like a light shoyu, but a bit richer. The noodles were soft and not too flavorful, but they matched the soup well. The menma were soft and the egg was creamy. The strangest part was the chashu, which came in flat, sweet pieces that were a little tough. It was more like ham than the normal pork in ramen, but it was delicious.

Would I Go Again?
This place was great. I'd have been back already if it wasn't so far.

Should You Go?
Yes. It's very similar to Yashichi, but you don't have to wait on the massive lines.