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Friday, May 31, 2013

Chibo no Tantanmen

It was the short time in Japan between the chilly winter and humid summer - May. I had one last day, so I decided to walk by Utusubo Park. Around there was a tantanmen shop I had wanted to try for a while. There were tons of spicy options, but since it was my first time I went with the staff-recommended white sesame tantanmen.

5月にはちょっと春っぽい天気があるので、外を歩きたくなります。靭公園に行って、その辺りに行きたかった担々麺屋さんがありました。辛いメニューがいっぱいありましたけど、初めてなので、お勧めしてもらった白胡麻タンタン麺にしました。

Information
ちー坊のタンタン麺
3 Chome-3-8 Utsubohonmachi

The Bowl
Wow, they weren't kidding about the white sesame in this bowl. There was a ton of it and white pepper hovering at the top. It was pretty spicy but not overwhelming. The noodles were curly and chewy, and the sprouts and ground pork went with the sesame flavor well.

やっぱり白胡麻がいっぱい乗っていました。白胡椒もけっこうあって、辛くてうまかったです。麺がもちもちの縮れ麺でした。もやしも豚肉もゴマの味に合いました。

Would I Go Again?
It was a solid if standard bowl of tantanmen, but I want to try the other items on the menu.

普通でおいしいタンタン麺でしたが、他のメニューを食べてみたいです。

Should You Go?
For those in Osaka craving some spice, this is a good place.

辛いものが好きな人、行ってください。

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

bird

I had some time after work and decided I would wander around a part of east Umeda, Doyamacho. I had never really been there before, but it's in the part of Umeda that should be full of interesting bars and restaurants. I looked up a ramen shop beforehand - bird. bird claims to be the product of a Japanese food competition, and produced by Japanese author Kumagai Tatsuya. A weird combination, to be sure, but all the more intriguing. All they offer is ramen and tsukemen. I got the ramen, which came topped with, unbelievably, cotton candy.

仕事が終わってから東梅田の近くにある堂山町というエリアをうろうろ散歩しようかなと思っていました。その辺に行ったことなくておいしいレストランとかバーがいっぱいあるはずなので、行きました。birdと言うラーメン屋さんを先に調べて、まずそこに食べに行きました。birdはなんとかのグランプリを買ったらしくて、熊谷達也に作られたそうです。ラーメンを頼んで、変ですけど、綿飴が乗っていました。

Information
bird
8-10 Dōyamachō

The Bowl
A two-faced bowl of ramen. The soup was a rich shoyu, but as I was instructed by the chef, I mixed the cotton candy into just one half of the broth. That side became light and sweet. I would have never guessed that cotton candy mixed well, but it made a salty soup syrupy and drinkable. The noodles were pretty thick, and there was a monstrous piece of tender chashu that went well with both faces of the soup.

二味のラーメン。スープが深い醤油でしたけど、チェッフに説明された通り、綿飴を半分だけに混ぜました。その半分がもっとあっさりで甘くなってきました。そういうコンビネーションがよくできたのが意外でした。両方の側がおいしくて、交互飲んでみました。麺は中太麺で、とろけるチャーシューも両方のスープうまかったです。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, this place was crazy and delicious.

この店が変でうまかったので、また行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes.

行ったほうがいいです。

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Lotteria

Most of the time on this blog I write strictly about ramen and tsukemen. But every once in a while, something weird enough that's ramen-like comes around, and I can't help but take note. This time is fast food chain Lotteria's ramen burger. Created by Tokyo's famous Menya Musashi, the ramen burger is ramen noodles, chashu, and sauce on bread. Served with a side of soup. They even offered kaedama, a refill of noodles, which of course I had to try.

普通はラーメンとつけ麺についてしか書きませんけど、たまに変なラーメンっぽい食べ物が出て、それも気にしないとだめです。ロッテリアって言うファストフードチェンが東京の麺屋武蔵とコラブして、ラーメンバーガーを発明しました。ラーメン、チャーシュー、ソースがパンに挟まれました。替え玉も提供して、私は注文しました。

The set as it is presented
提供してもらったセット

A look inside
中の見た目

How do you eat this thing?
どうやって食べる?

The kaedama, or noodle refill
替え玉

Victory
成功

The whole thing was ridiculous, and not very good. The sauce was salty, the noodles were thin and stringy, and the chashu tasted like generic fast food meat. The soup was thin and light, with little flavor. Weirdly enough, there was mayo on the burger, too. I'm glad I had it, and I dare say I'm confident that it can be done right, but this was done like a fast food chain.

ラーメンバーガーが変でやっぱりおいしくなかったです。ソースは塩っぱかったし、麺が細くて変だし、チャーシューが普通のファストフードの味がしました。マヨネーズも乗っていました。一回食べてみる価値がありましたけど、結論はうまくなかったです。

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Kyuji

It was the day of the Craft Beer Live event in Osaka, and after having a few pints with my friend, we decided we needed some food to settle our stomachs. My friend wanted tsukemen, so I took him to the flagship branch of baseball-themed yakiniku and tsukemen shop Kyuji. I had previously been to the shop in Tennoji, where I got the the kotteri tsukemen, so this time I decided to go for something different. They didn't have the miso or spicy tsukemen that I was aiming for, so I went with the standard Kyuji tsukemen.

クラフトビールライブって言うイベントに行って友達と一緒にいろいろな地ビールを飲んだので、何か食べたくなってきました。友達がつけ麺を食べたかったので、野球がテーマの焼き肉とつけ麺専門店球児に行きました。前に天王寺の支店に行って、こってりつけ麺を食べたので、今回違うメニューを食べようかなと思っていました。味噌と辛いつけ麺がなくなったので、元祖球児にしました。

Information
つけ麺 球児
4 Chome-2 Nanba

The Bowl
Where the previous time I had gone, the broth was really thick, this time it was very thin It was refreshing, with a taste of chicken, but it didn't match the fat noodles that were served with it. The barbecued chashu was chewy and as delicious as I remembered, but the soup was a bit too salty towards the end. Hopefully next time I'll get one of the thicker soups.

前回、ドロドロなスープがあったんですが、今回あっさりしてとろりがほとんどなかったです。ちょっと鳥の味がしておいしかったですけど、塩辛くて、太い麺にそんなに合いませんでした。チャーシューが覚えたようにおいしかったですけど、スープはやっぱりとろりがあるほうにしたらよかったです。

Would I Go Again?
I wasn't happy with what I ordered, but I want to try some of the other types, so I might be back.

こってりのほうがおいしかったですけど、いろいろな種類を食べてみたいのでまた行くかもしれません。

Should You Go?
It's a decent place in Namba, just order one of the thicker soups.

なんばにおいしいところなんですが、こってりつけ麺を頼んだほうがいいです。

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Tancho

I was in the mood for a long walk, so I chose a direction I had never walked in before: west. Thanks to Osaka Bay the farthest I could go west is to Osakako, where famed smallest mountain in Japan Tenpozan lies. I knew a long walk would make me hungry, so I looked up the one-and-only ramen shop in the Supleks ramen database: Tancho. A long walk, and some shio ramen.

どっか遠いところまで歩いて行きたいなと思って西の方に行くことにしました。大阪湾があるので大阪港でしか歩いて行けません。天保山って言う日本の中に一番低い山に行ったことがなかったので、行ってみました。それで、おなかがすいてきましたから、その近くにある丹頂と言うラーメン屋さんで食べました。

I made it! The top of Japan's shortest mountain.

上りました!日本の一番低い山の頂上です。

Information
丹頂
3 Chome-8-7 Chikkō

The Bowl
I haven't had a bowl this light in a long time. It was a clear and refreshing shio; no strong flavors but a light salt-and-pepperiness in the seasoning sprinkled all over the bowl. The noodles too were thin and weak. They weren't bad, but would have gone better with a soup that packed some more punch to make up for the noodles lack of flavor. There was one thin slice of juicy chashu, and some sprouts and onions to go with the peppery soup.

こんなあっさり系スープは久しぶりに飲んだことありません。透明でさっぱり塩で味が濃くなくて塩胡椒の味が結構しました。麺が細麺ですが、スープが薄めで麺もちょっと薄かったかなと思いました。チャーシュー一枚がおいしくて、もやしとネギが胡椒の味に合いました。

Would I Go Again?
Nah. It's far and it was OK, but not amazing.

まあまあおいしかったですけど、遠いです。

Should You Go?
If you're hungry for ramen by the aquarium, then check it out. Otherwise, pass.

海遊館に遊びに行くときにラーメンを食べたければいいかもしれません。

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Tsukemen Makoto

When I walk home from work, I take different routes depending on my mood. Sometimes I walk through Kitashinchi, and then down Yotsubashi Dori. Makoto is a shop I passed around there all the time, but was never intrigued or hungry enough to go in. It didn't look amazing, but it had a few interesting menu items including curry tsukemen and spicy tantanmen-like ramen. One day I knew I'd have to try it, and today was that day. I went for the spicy ramen.

会社から歩いて帰るときに、いろいろなルートを歩きます。たまに北新地を通って、四ツ橋通りで南へ行きます。その辺に眞というラーメン屋さんをよく通りますけど、いつもおなかすいてなくて入ったことがありませんでした。カレーつけ麺とか辛いラーメンがあったので、いつか行ってみないとだめかなと思っていました。ようやく入って、旨辛辛眞ラーメンを注文しました。

Information
つけ麺 眞
2 Chome-2-37 Dōjima

The Bowl
This was a spicy ramen I could get behind. It was kind of a miso ramen, with tons of the Chinese chili oil ra-yu poured in. It was almost like a miso tantanmen. Sprinkled with onions, pork, and with one sheet of nori, the bowl was completed by standard but good medium, straight noodles.

こんな辛いラーメンがおいしいですね。味噌ラーメンですけど、辣油がいっぱい入った味がしました。オニオン、ネギ、のりも入って、普通でおいしい麺も入っていました。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, this was good and I want to try the other kinds of ramen, too.

おいしくて他のラーメンを食べてみたいのでまた行くつもりです。

Should You Go?
It's not as canonical as other places, but if you're in Nishi-Umeda it's a pretty good choice.

他のおすすめの店より行かなくていいんですが、おいしいので西梅田のほうにいれば是非行ってください。

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Shuji

Teradacho is a small station in Osaka near Tennoji. There's not a lot there, but for some reason there are a few heavy ramen places. Before starting this blog I went to Jiro-style ramen Wasshoi, and recently another gut-crushing shop opened. I was shopping in Tennoji, so I decided to swing by the area to stop in the unusual rich shio paitan shop Shuji.

天王寺の近くに寺田町という駅があります。店とかはそんなにないんですけど、こってりなラーメン屋さんが何件かあります。このブログを作る前にわっしょいという次郎系ラーメン屋さんに行きました。今回天王寺で買い物していたので、寺田町に寄って鶏白湯を売っているしゅうじで食べてみようかなと思っていました。

Information
閉店熟鶏らーめん しゅうじ
2 Chome-1-29 Ikunonishi

The Bowl
Wow, what a molasses-thick broth. It was less of a soup and more of a gravy. Never before had I had a bowl of ramen that tasted like chicken-fried steak, but there it was. The noodles were short and flat, and though they and the chashu were tasty, it was hard to put them in my mouth without still tasting the soup. The egg, on the other hand, stayed fresh and creamy, and gave my tongue a much needed break from the overbearing if delicious bowl. I hadn't had a bowl so powerful since Muteppo.

ドロドロでしたね。スープよりアメリカのチキンフライドステーキのグレービーみたいでした。麺が短くて平たくて、チャーシューもおいしかったですけど、トッピングなのにスープの味がしました。卵はさっぱりして、スープの休憩としておいしかったです。無鉄砲を食べてから、こういうドロドロなラーメンを食べたことないと思います。

Would I Go Again?
I might, but it's closed as of writing.

行きたいですけど、つぶれました。

Should You Go?
You can't, sadly.

つぶれたので、行けません。

Friday, May 10, 2013

Kyotan

After a good Golden Week, I was back in Osaka and hungry. There's a ton of shops near Umeda that I had not been to, especially in the series of buildings just south of Osaka Station. Although a little rundown, those buildings are known to hold a wealth of ramen shops, okonimayaki restaurants, Chinese food, and pretty much any other food you want to get your hands on. Today's visit was to a relatively new tantanmen shop, Kyotan.

ゴールデンウィークをけっこう楽しんでから大阪に帰りました。梅田にいろいろで行ったことないラーメン屋さんがあります。特に、大阪駅前ビルにはラーメン屋さんとかお好み焼きの店とかがいっぱいあります。今回は新しい京担と言う担々麺専門店に行きました。

Information
極旨担担麺専門店 京担
1 Chome-1-3 Umeda

The Bowl
A classic bowl of decent if standard tantanmen. It was light, not too spicy, and sprinkled with onions. The long noodles stuck together as I ate them from the oily broth. The chashu and ground park were nothing special, but the melty egg was something I'd like to find in more bowls of ramen.

普通の担々麺でしたけど、おいしかったです。軽くてそんなに辛かったです。ネギがちらちらと乗っていました。麺が長くて、チャーシューがまあまあおいしかったですけど、とろける卵が最高でした。

Would I Go Again?
Probably not, I have other stores in the area to try.

大阪駅前ビルに他の行ってみたい店があるので、また行きません。

Should You Go?
If you love tantanmen. Otherwise, there are more standout shops in the area.

ほんまに担々麺を食べたければ、いいかもしれませんけど、その辺にはもっと特徴がある店があります。

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Menoh

After a day and two ramen shops in Onomichi, it was on to Kagawa. We ate barbecue when we first arrived, and waited on line for an hour for udon the next morning, but that didn't stop us from finding ramen too. I visited Tokushima two years before, and the thought of delicious Tokushima ramen has stuck with me since. There was a branch of famous Tokushima ramen chain Menoh (now available in San Francisco!) near Takamatsu Station, so we took a break from the Kagawa delicacies and went on in.

尾道を遊びに行ってから、香川に行きました。着いたらまずバーベキューパーティーをして、次の朝に一時間ぐらいうどんの店で並びました。でも、またラーメンを食べたくなって来たので、ラーメンも食べました。二年前に徳島に遊びに行って、徳島ラーメンにはまられました。高松駅の近くに麺王という徳島ラーメンのチェン店があって、入ってみました。

Information
麺王
1 Chome-1 Kotobukichō

The Bowl
Tokushima ramen is tonkotsu shoyu; a bit porky, but with a soy sauce taste, and sweet. Iekei, the similar style from Yokohama doesn't have the sweetness and full of oil, making it much more overwhelming of a meal. In addition, it's standard to crack a raw egg into the bowl and let it mix with the soup. The noodles were thin and soft, and the pork was thinner slices like the kind you'd find it a lot of Korean food, and sweet too. After an interesting bowl like this, I remember why I like Tokushima ramen so much.

徳島ラーメンは豚骨醤油ベースです。家系に比べると、もっと軽くて甘い味がします。それに、生卵をかけて、スープと混ぜて、さらにおいしくなります。麺が細くて柔らかくて、チャーシューより韓国料理みたいな豚バラが乗っていました。こういうラーメンを食べたら、「やっぱ徳島ラーメン最高だ」と思ってしまいます。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, if I'm near another branch.

他の支店の近くにいれば、行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes, especially those of you living in San Francisco.

行ってみたらいいです。

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Ichiban Kan

Another day in Onomichi, another bowl of ramen. My friends and I were going to head out early towards Kagawa, but we were hankering for some Australian meat pies, and when we decided to stay for meat pies, we realized we might as well stay for more ramen, too.

Shukaen was the most highly recommended shop, so we had a bit more options for number two. We went with another place suggested that wasn't too far, Ichiban Kan.

私たちは早く香川に行こうと思っていましたけど、見つけたオーストラリア風ミートパイ屋さんで食べてみました。ミートパイを食べるために待つことになったら、ラーメンも食べてしまおうかと思っていました。

Information
尾道ラーメン壱番館
2 Chome-9-26 Tsuchidō

The Bowl
The broth was a rich shoyu, that tasted almost like a sauce you'd see on Chinese food, but compared to Shukaen, it was lighter. The noodles were thin and chewy. I expected a simple bowl, but Ichiban Kan laid on the toppings hard. Creamy egg, menma, all kinds of onions, and thick if chewy kakuni pork topped the bowl.

濃い醤油でした。朱華園みたいに中華風ソースの味がしましたけど、朱華園より薄めでした。麺は細くてもちもちでした。トッピングもいっぱいもらいました。柔らかい卵、メンマ、ネギ、あつあつ豚角煮が乗っていました。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, this place was great.

また行きたいです。

Should You Go?
If you're in Onomichi, check Shukaen first. Then go here.

尾道に行ったら、朱華園に行くべきです。次は壱番館です。

Friday, May 3, 2013

Shukaen

Part one of Golden Week was my fantastic trip to Tottori. For the second Golden Weekend, I had four days off so I went with two friends to Onomichi and Kagawa. Anyone who knows me at all knows my primary reasons for going: Onomichi is famous for ramen and Kagawa is famous for udon. Onomichi's style is shoyu, but rich and savery, and filled with pieces of gelatinous pork fat. It's the most famous thing about Onomichi, so we started with the most famous shop, Shukaen.

一つ目のゴールデンウェイーケンドに鳥取に行きました。二つ目のゴールデンウェイーケンドに4連休があったので尾道と香川に行きました。ラーメンとうどん万歳!尾道ラーメンは醤油なんですけど、普通とちょっと違います。背脂がいっぱい入って、ちょっと味が変わっています。尾道の中に一番有名なことがラーメンで、一番有名な店に行きました。

Information
朱華園
4-12 Toyohi Motomachi

The Bowl
A hot bowl of shoyu, just how I like it. As opposed to the more classic, simple shoyu I'm used to, this had a stronger taste. It tasted almost like hoisin sauce; a salty, savory sauce put on a lot of Chinese food. A lot of these simpler, historical bowls have more Chinese elements, like the flat long noodles Shukaen offered. The blobs pork back fat were like pieces of jelly, and chewing through them was satisfying save for the fact that I knew how bad they were for me.

うまい醤油ですけど、やっぱり普通の醤油と違います。味がもっと強くて、中華料理のソースみたいな味がしました。麺も中華風ラーメンのような平たかったです。背脂がゼリーっぽくて、めっちゃおいしくて、不健康を知りながらほとんど食べてしもた。

Would I Go Again?
If I'm ever in Onomichi again, I'll be back.

また尾道に行ったら、絶対に行きます。

Should You Go?
The best reason to go to Onomichi.

尾道に行ったら是非行ってください。

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Hanakyo

It was finally May, and I decided to celebrate the beginning of summer by going to Kyobashi to get ramen with a friend. Kyobashi is a dirty place, filled with love hotels, pachinko parlors and karaoke joints. Fortunately that means it's full of restaurants and bars too. We first trekked to nearby Sakuranomiya to eat at famous kotteri chicken shop Koryumasu. Upon finding out that they were closed, we went to a shop I first went to shortly after arriving in Osaka two years ago. Hanakyo is a small place that fits no more than ten, known for its shoyu and tonkotsu ramen. Fast and delicious, it's the perfect place to make the first stop on a night of drinking. I ordered the kotteri tonkotsu ramen.

ようやく夏になったので、友達と一緒にラーメンを京橋に行くことにしました。京橋はめっちゃ下町の感じがするのでパチンコ屋さんとかラブホテルがある上にレストランもバーもいっぱいあります。まず桜ノ宮にある有名な光龍益に行ったんですが、たまたましまりました。それで、初めて大阪についてから行った花京という店に行きました。花京は狭くて、醤油と豚骨ラーメンを提供されています。私はこってり豚骨にしました。

Information
中華そば 花京
3 Chome-10-4 Higashinodamachi

The Bowl
Having this bowl of tonkotsu ramen shoved in front of me but a few feet from the bustling arcade made me feel like I was back in Fukuoka. The broth I got when I ordered at the food stalls in Fukuoka was light, but this was rich and fatty. The noodles were similar, though; thin and hard, the way they taste best in tonkotsu. In case that alone didn't fill me up, the chashu melted like butter in my mouth, ensuring I wouldn't be hungry for hours.

にぎやかな商店街の近くに豚骨ラーメンを急いで食べるのが福岡の屋台に似ていて懐かしくなりました。博多ラーメンが飲みやすいですが、このほうが濃かったです。麺がおいしく細くてかたかったです。チャーシューがとろけて、店を出てから何も食べられませんでした。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, this was my second time and it's good enough to try a third.

二回でしたけど、もう一回行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yeah, it's the perfect place to use as a jumping point to explore Kyobashi.

京橋にいろいろ遊んだら、花京で食べてください。