It's my day off!!! I heard that there was a new ramen park in Odaiba so I immediately called up Nate and without hesitation we were off to go check it out. We met up in Shinjuku, then found our way to Shimbashi to hop on the Yurikamome to Daiba Station. The Odaiba Ramen Park is being presented by Fuji Television. Some think it's in response to the recent Tsukemen Event presented by Asahi Television, which by the way yours truly was a part of. Anyway, if you thought my posts have recently been lacking pictures, hopefully this one will make up for it.
We got there exactly when it opened at 11am and the place was practically empty. Of course, this event was being held directly in front of the Fuji TV building, which is directly across the street from the Aqua City mall.
We both skipped breakfast so being hungry was not part of the problem. The hard part was choosing which of the 9 different shops we wanted to eat at. The rundown included:
- R1: スパイスTV どーも☆キニナル！- Apparently this is a Tan Tan Men created by the stars of a popular tv program.
- R2: BeeHive - Presenting their 塩ラーメン (Shio Ramen) "Naminori"
- R3: 麺家 うえだ・サイロック軍団 - A Menya Ueda and Psylocke Gundan collaboration presenting 焦がし醤油らーめん (Kogashi Shoyu Ramen). Could there be X-Men involved?
- R4: 麺劇場 玄瑛 - Mengekijyou Gen-ei presenting 海老香麺 (a shrimp-fragranced ramen).
- R5: キャンパスナイトフジ ｘ 元楽 - A Campus Night Fuji and Genraku collaboration presenting キャンナイ初体験ラーメン (campus night first sexual experience ramen).
- R6: せたが屋 - Setagaya presenting 魚介醤油ラーメン (Gyoukai Shoyu Ramen).
- R7: めん徳二代目つじ田 - Mentoku Nidaime Tsujita presenting 味噌ラーメン (Miso Ramen).
- R8: ミオパン - Miopan presenting ミオパンラーメン (Miopan Ramen).
- R9: 麺や 七彩 - Menya Shichisai presenting 真トマトつけ麺 (Shin Tomato Tsukemen).
I chose to go with Menya Shichisai first. Although they were featuring a Tomato Tsukemen, there was also a Tomato Ramen and that's what I went with.
The guys working there were totally cool and after a 5 minute conversation, it turns out that I live fairly close to their honten. They invited me to check it out and of course I will. I've heard nothing but good things about Shichisai.
I ordered my Tomato Ramen with "high collar" parmesan cheese.
It tasted like a diluted Campbell's Tomato Soup with noodles and a distinct chicken stock in the background. It was unusually good and the cheese made it taste like a soupy-spaghetti. It possibly could've used some ground meat but I still liked it.
Nate chose to go with Mengekijyou Gen-ei and their shrimp-fragranced ramen for round one.
It was remarkably fresh and fragrant with a light さっぱり (sappari) flavor. The braised meat was delicious and the hand-kneaded noodles rocked!
For round two I chose Tsujita and I'm so effing glad I did. From the first sip it was so effing amazing.
The dudes working there weren't as cool as Shichisai, but they were also busier.
Seriously, I think both Nate and I were both blown away by Tsujita's Miso Ramen.
Even their noodles really represented the classic Sapporo chew quite well. This definitely calls for a trip to their honten!
Round two for Nate was Menya Ueda and Psylocke Gundan collabo. Beware of old lady with blowtorch! Haha. She's the owner of Menya Ueda.
The Kogashi Shoyu Ramen was intriguingly interesting. The shoyu flavor was mildly deep with that obvious burnt taste, but I also felt it was lacking something. I'm not saying that it was bad, but it definitely could've been better. I expect a little more from a mama holding two blow torches!
The third round for the both of us decided to be BeeHive's Shio Ramen. Hands down, BeeHive had the cutest workers. Haha, but you wanted to know about their ramen right?
It was clean and refreshing, but I'm not sure if I'd ever make the trip to Chiba to try it again. I wasn't really diggin' the noodles either.
Nate ordered his with the Roast Tomato topping. It altered the flavor of the soup just a tad in the positive direction. I'd definitely go with the tomato topping next time.
After three bowls each, it was time to rest and take a nice stroll around the area. Nate pointed this out, but if you look closely at the picture below, it contains the fake liberty bell, the fake statue of liberty, the fake brooklyn bridge, and the fake eiffel tower all in one shot. Haha.
Regardless, it was a great view.
Inside Aqua City mall we came across this great store. I went to the museum on the right and Nate went to the one on the left. Somehow we ended up in the same darn spot.
Then we decided to chill on the cush couches of Starbucks. Dang we were full!
After an hour or so, we were staring at numerous disco balls and wondering what the...
Then we somehow managed to make it up to Saikyo Raakoku, the ramen park within the Aqua City Mall, for some more ramen.
Werd...
We weren't sure which one to try so we just went for a mini bowl at the leftmost shop, Gokuichi. Apparently the dude who owns this place has been gaining popularity in recent months.
Black Tonkotsu Ramen is their claim to fame. It looks good but can it live up to the hype?
Reluctantly, that would be a no. I wanted this ramen to be good but unfortunately it was the biggest disappointment of the day. Oh well, there's always next time.
Nate was so distraught that he kept playing this game over and over again wondering why he couldn't win anything. Haha j/k.
What a day...please don't wake me...
