いらっしゃいませ!

Welcome to my ramen dream... Currently being interpreted in Ramen Burger Land... Looking for a good slurp? Email me ! - Keizo

Friday, October 3, 2008

Foo-Foo Challenge - Day 3: Miso Ramen

If you've read some of my past posts, you probably know that I'm not a big fan of miso ramen. Mostly due to the fact that nobody in Southern California can seem to replicate the supreme taste of Hokkaido Miso. UNTIL NOW!! I was surprisingly shocked and shockingly surprised by Foo-Foo Tei's Miso Ramen. With a single sip, I felt the cool Hokkaido breeze raise goosebumps down my neck. Seriously folks, this soup is good! The base is made with 12 different ingredients, including 2 types of white (not red) miso. I've been sworn to secrecy on the rest, but in the words of Murakami-san, it contains "nanana and nanana plus nanana with nanana..." One thing that really impresses me about Murakami-san is his constant desire to perfect his soups. He's always searching and experimenting with new quality ingredients without stopping at just being good. He wants it to be great! This Miso Ramen, for example, reached this point a little over a year ago. So if you've tried this in years past, chances are you won't recognize its taste today. Hey Monterey Park, it's too bad you can't steal talent!...HA!


As I was slurping, Murakami-san remembered my recent post of Sumire's Miso Butter Corn Ramen from last month's Hokkaido Fair and proceeded to whisper something to the waitress. When she returned, I couldn't believe my eyes. A spoonful of fresh-looking butter to add to my Miso. Sweet! And as I dipped it in, there was an instant transformation. The mildly spicy soup became buttery smooth and charmingly sweet. Sigh...I'm speechless.


This is not your ordinary supermarket butter. It is butter from France that contains no salt and no additives. You cannot replicate this flavor with American butter and that's precisely the way Murakami-san thinks when it comes to his ingredients. "Only the best!", he says.

I also need to make a clarification at Murakami-san's request of how I've previously stated how he only uses organic ingredients. Obviously, it's difficult and nearly impossible to have an organic version of everything, so he told me that when he has to choose between a less-expensive non-organic ingredient and a more-expensive organic ingredient, he will almost always choose organic without regard for price as long as it improves the flavor of his recipes. Now that's honesty. And the fact that he's perfected these flavors without the use of MSG is masterful in itself!

Tomorrow's ramen: Torikara
And I get to choose the base: Shoyu, Shio, or Miso. So what do you think I should choose?

5 comments:

  1. Murakami-san really seems like my kinda guy.
    I've dabbled with Yelp and now started my own blog but I realized it definitely takes both the combination of a passionate restaurant owner as well as the support of peeps who care for the difference to make a change in the food scene of any given place. I will have to go up to Foo-Foo just to show my support. Not so hard since if there isn't one thing that trumps a good Tonkotsu is an even greater Miso! Keep up the great work Keizo!

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  2. Hmm...I'd add "nanana" to my glossary, but there'd just be question marks for the definition. Torikara...maybe a lighter flavor like shio? For some reason, when I read your Foo Foo Challenge posts, I'm hearing in my head "chug! chug! chug!" Hahaha. What's the ramen equivalent?

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  3. Thanks Dennis! I've been following your blog too lately and I think the amount of detail is great. Keep it up. I can't wait to make it back down to SD soon!

    Hmmm...ed. That's a good question! How about "nanana! nanana! nanana!" :)

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  4. Hi Keizo,

    Glad you liked the Miso! :) And that's awesome that Murakami-san gave you some fresh French Butter for the Miso Ramen! Lucky! (^_^)

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  5. You have to request the butter the next time you try the miso. You'll love it!

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