Taiki

After my preparation the night before, I was off to Toyama. I had gone pretty close on my trip to Kanazawa the year before, but this time I was planning on touring Toyama city and then heading on the Kurobe Alpine Route to see Kurobe Dam.

前の夜の準備をしてから富山に行くことになりました。金沢に行ったときには近かったですけど、今回富山市と黒部ダムを遊びに行くつもりでした。

Whoops, I messed up in my Toyama Castle photo

富山城を撮り間違え 

 Toyama City

富山市

Firefly squid

ホタルイカ 

White shrimp

白海老 

Toyama craft beer Ecchu Fuga

富山生産地ビール「越中風雅」

But I wouldn't dream of stopping in Toyama without trying their famous ramen. I've had it on occasion before, but now with a chance to have it in its birthplace, I looked for a famous shop in the city, and made my way to Taiki.

もちろんせっかく富山に行ったので富山風ラーメンも食べなあかんかった。食べたことがありましたけど、本場で食べるのが正しいと思います。いい場所を検索して「大喜」という店に行きました。

The Bowl
They say that Toyama ramen was created in the fifties; laborers were working all day, and needed sodium to replenish all the salt they were sweating out. Where there's a need, business will fulfill it and extra-salty Toyama black was born. Workers would take rice from home, and use that to counteract the salt in the ramen itself.

I have to say, I understand why that rice was there. The pitch black soup was maybe the saltiest ramen I've ever had. In other bowls that would disappoint me, but with Toyama black that's kind of the point. Similar to Osaka's Takaida-kei ramen, you're not really supposed to drink the soup (although I did anyway), it's more of a flavoring agent for the absorbent yellow ropes of noodles. The menma were super thick too, and it was impossible to eat one of the slices of chashu without feeling like I took a small shot of soy sauce. I was not let down by this bowl.

富山ラーメンは５０年代に作られたそうです。労働者がずっと働いていて汗をかいて塩分不足になったらしいです。それで、塩分補給のための富山ブラックが生まれました。労働者は家からご飯を持って行って昼に塩辛いラーメンを食べました。

ラーメンの一口を食べると、なぜご飯が必要かわかってきました。真っ黒なスープは人生の中に一番塩っぱいラーメンかもしれません。ほかのラーメンだったら「やりすぎ」といいますけど、富山ブラックはわざとでした。大阪の高井田系ラーメンみたいにスープを飲むはずもありません（けど、僕は飲んでみました）。太ぉい黄色い麺とメンマの味をつける感じがしました。チャーシューは固くて食べると「醤油！」という味がしました。やるな、富山ブラック。

Would I Go Again?
Toyama black is not an every day thing; it was a bit much but I also really enjoyed it; I would go back.

毎日こういうラーメンが食べれませんけど、うまかったです。また行ってみたいです。

Should You Go?
For any ramen tourist, Taiki or a similar shop is a must stop.

ラーメン旅行者には大喜に行くべきです。

Information
大喜

Sanjin Sanjin

I had to get home to do some packing for a trip to Toyama and Nagano, but I also needed to eat dinner. I did a quick search of ramen shops in Umeda that I could swing into on my way home and found one that I had passed many times and never entered: Sanjin Sanjin. Sanjin Sanjin is a small chain from Kobe that offered two kinds of soups: a mild chicken and pork, and a garlicky shoyu. Normally I lean for the kotteri ramen, but I needed to still be able to function after eating, so I went with the mild.

富山と長野への旅行のための準備をしないとだめでしたけど晩ご飯も必要でした。梅田にあるラーメン屋さんの検索をして、よく通る山神山人にしました。山神山人は神戸からのチェーン店で二つのスープを提供していました。鶏ガラと豚骨スープとニンニクっぽいマー油が入っている醤油でした。重すぎないように鶏ガラにしました。

The Bowl
The broth was fairly easy to drink, a standard tonkotsu-style broth with very soft edges. The miso on top was solid and added some variety to the too-regular bowl, and the sesame and bean sprouts were a good touch, but by the end it felt like drinking leftovers of a bean sprout soup.

スープはまろやかな豚骨で飲みやすかったです。上に乗ってある味噌はうまくて味を変えてよかったです。もやしとごまもうまかったですけど最後にはもやしだらけなのでちょっとやり過ぎかなと思っていました。

Would I Go Again?
It wasn't bad, but definitely not worth visiting again.

悪くなかったですけど、また行く気がしません。

Should You Go?
Nah.

行かなくてもいいと思います。

Information
山神山人

Toga no Ya

Months ago a shop opened up not too far from where I work, but for some reason I never got around to visiting. Eventually passing by a giant "tsukemen" sign all the time wore me down, so I finally swung by after work and ordered the shoyu tsukemen.

何ヶ月前に職場の近くにラーメン屋さんができましたけど、なぜか行きませんでした。何回も「つけ麺」と書いてある看板を通って行っちゃおうと思っていて醤油つけ麺を頼みました。

The Bowl
Toga no Ya presented a bowl of shoyu broth with a deep gyokai influence. Unlike tonkotsu-strong variants, this broth was much rounder and easy to drink, which went well with the whole grain noodles. Add to that a strong egg and couple slices of chashu and you have a bowl that is not blowing anyone's mind, but is one you'd happily eat on your way home.

とがの屋やのスープは魚介系醤油でした。めっちゃ豚骨が入っているラーメンよりまろやかで飲みやすかったです。全粒粉平たい麺がちょうど良かったです。味玉とチャーシューもよくできて仕事帰りにいいラーメンだと思っています。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
I would go if you're looking for tsukemen in the area, but I wouldn't go too far out of my way.

あの辺にいるなら行ったらいいと思います。

Information
とがの屋

Mumei

In one of my yearly trips to Tokyo, my friends and I decided to walk the Ginza line. No long stroll around Tokyo would be complete without a stop at a good ramen shop on the line, so this time we went to my friend's recommended: . That is, the shop has no name. Clever, I guess? People call it "mumei", which means "nameless" in Japanese. My friend recommended the shoyu ramen, so that's what I went for.

定期的な東京の旅行で今回銀座線を終点から終点まで歩いて行くことにしました。東京の散歩なら絶対どっかのラーメン屋さんに行かなあかんので友達にお勧めしてもらった「」という店を選びました。「」と書くと店が名前がないのでみんなに「無銘」と呼ばれます。友達に「熟成練り醤油らーめん」をお勧めしてもらったのでそれにしました。

The Bowl
Mumei's shoyu was like one I had never seen. It was a shoyu potage, a rich bowl that tasted more like a potato and vegetable stew than ramen. The giant flat noodles and quarter-bowl fat-laden slice of chashu were perfect choices for the hearty meal. Waiting to mix into the stew was a dollop of miso, that brought salty seafood flavors with it into the rest of the broth. My only complaint about this bowl was that I had to keep walking after I finished it.

無銘の醤油みたいなラーメンは見たことありません。醤油ポタージュでラーメンよりポテトシチューに似ていました。太平たい麺と油がたっぷりあるチャーシューがめっちゃ合いました。スープの上に浮いていたのは黒い味噌のトッピングでした。混ぜたら、魚介的なしょっぱさアップになりました。唯一の文句は食べてからもっと歩かないとだめでした。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
Yes.

はい。

Information
『 』（無銘）

Shiru Nashi

Tantanmen is one of my favorite kinds of ramen (or ramen-like noodle dishes if you don't consider it ramen), and there's really not enough in Osaka. Let alone soupless tantanmen. But in steps Horie newcomer Shiru Nashi, brought to you by the same parent company as Kyuji. They opened in a good location, so I went with a friend to try their namesake dish - soupless tantanmen.

麺料理の中に担々麺がけっこう好きです。汁なし担々麺はもちろん、普通の担々麺もあまりありません。で、きゅうじを作った会社が堀江に「汁なし」という店を開きました。いい場所でできたので友達と一緒に汁なし担々麺を食べに行きました。

The Bowl
This is the simplest kind of abura soba - some eggy noodles, onions, sesame, and a solid dose of ra-yu chili oil. Mixing it together gives just a light tantan taste, with Sichuan numbing spice that grows a little bit with each bite. There's nothing deep here waiting to punch you in the face after each bite, just a simple, solid execution.

シンプルな油そば。黄色い麺、ネギ、ごま、ラー油。混ぜたらあっさり坦々味がして、だんだん山椒が利きます。パンチとかはなくて、本間に薄めのおいしさです。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
If you like soupless tantanmen.

汁なし担々麺が好きなら行ってください。

Information
汁なし

Tenshiro

Tenma is an area with a ton of ramen shops and other restaurants, but for some reason I don't find myself there as often as I should. On one random weeknight, though, I was hankering for tsukemen, and discovered online the shop Tenshiro, in Tenma. Tenshiro is actually a sister shop to Menya Teru, and that was all I needed to know to decide to check it out.

天満にはラーメン屋さんもほかのレストランもいっぱいありますけどなぜかあまり行きません。ある平日につけ麺が欲しくてインターネットで天満にある「天四郎」という店を見かけました。天四郎は麺や輝と同じ系列なので行ってみることにしました。

The Bowl
Tenshiro makes its broth from a combination of two soups: one with chicken and pork, and the other with fish. The fish stood out: the broth was thinner than average, and the seafood essence was stronger than its umami, but the combination didn't work quite as well as other similar examples. The noodles, fatty chashu, and egg were all fairly standard but pretty decent; the main component that stood above the rest was the unique sudachi vinegar on the side. It was light and refreshing compared to the heavy tsukemen.

天四郎のスープは鶏ガラ豚骨と魚介のだぶるスープでした。肉系より魚介の味の方が強い感じがしてちょっととろみが足りなかったです。太麺、チャーシュー、味玉はよくできたんですけど、一番気になったのは食卓の上においてあったすだち酢でした。さっぱりしてちょうど良かったです。

Would I Go Again?
I felt the same way about Teru's tsukemen - it's not bad, but there are better places to go.

輝のつけ麺みたいにおいしいですけど、もっとおいしい店がいっぱいあります。

Should You Go?
Nah.

行かなくていいです。

Information
麺や 天四郎

Motor Boo

Kitashinchi is a neighborhood that hides a lot more ramen shops than you'd expect. Sure, it's a place to go to drink on weekend night, but it's also higher class - filled with the type that wouldn't necessarily finish their night off with a bowl of steaming noodles. Of all the neighborhoods in downtown Osaka I mean to visit more, especially for ramen, Kitashinchi might rank first. Which is why it's good that I decided to go to the second floor bar/shop Motor Boo.

Motor Boo's atmosphere was as weird as its name. It was old, with a TV on the wall, and somehow had attained the smokiness of a well-worn pub without it actually smelling smoky. It was dark, so the photos I took did not come out well, so you'll have to go and experience the snack bar from a yesteryear yourself. At any rate, there was one item on the menu, and it was tsukemen.

北新地にはラーメン屋さんが意外と多いです。そこで飲んでいる人が多いですけど普通に帰る前にしめラーメンを食べるイメージとかしません。「もっと行ったらいいけど」と思っている地区の中に北新地が一番かもしれません。だから今回「Motor Boo」という店に行くことにしました。

Motor Booの雰囲気は名前みたいに変でした。古かったし昔の映画がテレビで映ったしすっている人がいなかったのにスモーキーという雰囲気がしました。暗かったので写真がうまく撮れませんでしたから昭和のスナックラーメン屋さんを見たければ自分でぜひ行ってください。とにかく一つのメニューしかなかったので「つけ麺」を頼みました。

The Bowl
As per standard, I was given a bowl of broth and a bowl of noodles. The soup was thin but fruity - it tasted like the essence of sweet onion, mashed into a boiling soup. Despite the fact that the soup wasn't very thick, the fat, grainy noodles matched the sweet broth, and went even better with a sprinkle of ground pepper.

Halfway through the meal I was additionally handed a raw egg in a bowl, for extra dipping. I was instructed to dip the noodles in the egg, as desired, for a different texture. I didn't know what to expect, but I've seen raw egg and ramen work out well, so I gave it a try. What I got was a creamy, smooth texture to the thick noodle. I appreciated the variety, but the egg prevented the noodle from picking up the soup as well, so I preferred it without.

いつものように麺とスープをもらいました。スープは薄めでしたけど甘みがしました。甘いネギの味がメインでした。スープがとろみめっちゃあったわけじゃないのに太麺がけっこう合いました。ちょびっと故障をかけるとさらにうまくなりました。

麺を半分ぐらい食べてから生卵をもらってしもた。麺を好みに玉子につけてからスープにつけるはずっぽかったです。意外だと思いましたけど、おいしい生卵を食べた体験があったのでつけてみました。つけてから麺がつるつるになって、食感が変わりました。変わっていて面白かったと思っていながらつるつる麺はちょっとスープを吸収しにくくなったのでつけない方がおいしかったです。

Would I Go Again?
I'd love to bring a friend here.

友達を連れて行きたいです。

Should You Go?
This is a weird spot. Check it out.

この店が面白いです。行ってみてください。

Information
MOTOR BOO

Rarara no Ramen Ittonriki

It's not every day I make it down to Sakai, but sometimes I get the hankering for a bowl of ramen or tsukemen that's famous down there. In fact, the last time I went out of my way to Sakai for a bowl of ramen was a year and a half ago. Similar to that time, it wasn't any dish that could tempt me, but curry tsukemen.

Rarara no Ramen is a shop I had read about in Ramen Walker ages ago, and kept wanting to go. As soon as I arrived, I realized they offered so many other items, such as a spicy miso tsukemen, but it was curry tsukemen I came for, so it was curry tsukemen I ordered.

堺市にあまり行きませんけど、たまに堺にしかないラーメンが欲しくなります。実は前行ったのは一年半前でした。あのときみたいにカレーつけ麺を食べたかったので行ってしもた。

らららのらーめんはラーメンウォーカーで知ってずっと行きたかったです。着いた時点にカレーつけ麺だけじゃなくて辛みそつけ麺などいっぱいおいしそうなメニューがあったのを気づきました。だが、カレーつけ麺を食べる使命があったのでカレーつけ麺を頼みました。

The Bowl
A dip of the noodles into the curry revealed that this well-spiced, hearty broth showed the signs of a great meal: the curry wasn't just good with the noodles, it would have been delicious eaten on its own or with rice. I did not reject the flat, grainy noodles, though which like the under-flavored chashu, came into their own after sucking in the rich soup. Even towards the end, although the soup was a bit salty when drank on its own, the wari-soup diluted it just enough to make for an after-dinner light curry snack.

カレーを一味するとスープの本物のおいしさがわかってきました。麺と一緒じゃなくてもそのままでもご飯と一緒でもスパイスがよく利いた風味がいいカレーが合いました。麺が平たくてもちもちでした。チャーシューはちょっと味が薄めでしたけど、カレーにつけたらちょうど良くなりました。最後の一滴でもちょっと塩っぱかったですけど、割スープと混ぜたら軽くて飲みやすくなりました。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
Yes.

はい。

Information
らららのらーめん 一豚力