Back to back bounenkai!...

Day 1153:

It's official. Kusamura (草むら) has been my favorite shop of 2012.

Now this is one bowl I wouldn't mind eating every single day.

Maybe even twice a day.

Bounenkai round 1!

Hosted by Jiraigen!!

This year has been a dream...

Boom's face explains it all!

After party!!

Bounenkai round 2! Shindaita rocks!!

And we survived!!!

No mo nandenkanden...

Day 1097:

25 years ago, when ramen began it's notorious boom, Nandenkanden introduced the first stinky Hakata-style Tonkotsu Ramen to Tokyo.

And back in the day, people would line up for miles just to get a taste of this milky ramen from the south.

But as of tomorrow, the original honten will be closing its doors forever.

Nandenkanden Song

So of course I had to pay my respects.

Chashu Ramen.

I pass by Nandenkanden almost everyday after work and I probably should have stopped by more, but I could never get used to that stink. On a good day, it would venture all the way to Bassanova and beyond.

Kaedama kudasai!!!

If this is my last bowl of Nandenkanden, then kaedama was a must.

Supposedly, the shop will be moving to Hatagaya next year, but there have been rumors that that just may be a rumor.

Regardless, I'm gonna miss running into Kawahara-san every night.

And yes, I will miss that stink.

Mentsuu boss...

Day 1028:

During break I went across the street to slurp at Mentsuu and have a chat with their boss. Kenji-san is a really cool guy. He threw away his office job and started by opening a yatai in Shibuya. He had no real training in ramen and taught himself practically everything he knows. After ten years doing the yatai he finally shut it down and opened a shop in Shindaita. 20 or so years later it is still going strong.

Great guy with lots of knowledge about ramen. His dream is to someday open a ramen shop in America. I think I may know someone who can help with that...

Hurricane fever...

Day 829:

I have a feeling today will be great. A couple weeks ago I received an email from the one and only Chris Davies saying that he would be back in Tokyo with another band. And this time the band is none other than HURRICANE BELLS!! Okay, we'll get to them soon but first I needed to start my day properly.

Kai (甲斐) has always been one of my better-liked ramen shops, but oddly enough I had never tried their more popular tsukemen. Hmm..there is something eerily familiar about this tsukemen. Right away I can tell it's got the HIT influence, but I also sense a similarity to another shop--Jiraigen maybe? And perhaps even Bassanova?

After all just look at the bowls. We all use the same ones! I think I need to get to the bottom of this. Anyway, the tsukemen was good but I prefer their ramen.

Back at basa I had an appointment with the writer and photographer of a local magazine. Apparently we will be featured in this months issue. The meeting was quick and I only had to make two bowls, but there was just one problem. They didn't even eat them!!! How can you write about something you haven't even tried??! Haha, oh well. It should be a nice article.

To my surprise, look who stopped by before their show! Hurricane Bells!!!

By pure coincidence, their show happened to be at FEVER, the club down the street from basa.

Let's do this!

The opening act was 8otto. These guys are pretty damn good too.

But Hurricane Bells rocked it!

With Ramen Power!

And it was great to hang out with the band afterwards. Definitely cool peoples! Thank you Steve, Ash, Christian, and Colin!!!

Thank you Chris for another amazing night!

And thanks again Hurricane Bells!!!

I live a fu**ing cool life!

Jackpot...

Day 777:

A couple weeks ago, I read a comment from Tom saying that he'll be starting his new job at Nagi  (特級中華そば 凪西新宿店) in Nishi-Shinjuku. And then just the other day he came into basa to pay me a visit.

So I repaid the favor. Hey everyone, meet Tom! Mad props! Way to live the dream!!

Interestingly enough, I had never been to this branch of Nagi before. And you know what? I actually like this one the best.

The niboshi here is not as strong as Golden Gai and  it's clearly my type of shoyu ramen. Thanks Tom!

What day is it again?

Oh right, Taco Tuesday!!!

Tequila Tuesday!!!

Salud!!!

More???!!!

No more!!!

Bad Santaroshi!

And his little helper.

A night like this could only end one way...

Thank you.

And goodnight...

Basa bounenkai 2011!...

Day 776:

It's that time again. But first, let's go eat some ramen.

Banana was heading back to NY today so I wanted to meet her for lunch before she left. Without much time and without much thought we hopped into a local chuuka shop cuz their plastic ramen in the window looked pretty darn good.

You won't find shops like Shu-En (秀苑) listed in the ramen database, but it's shops like these that actually made ramen what it is today. And I give them all much respect.

Shu-En's most popular ramen is the Sanmaa-men (サンマー麺).

Banana approves.

As do I. Ain't it beautiful...

Old school toy shop!

I can't believe I woke up so early. Especially since I know it's gonna be one of those nights.

After prepping basa for the night, I went to take care of some biz in bunkyo-ku.

Then grabbed another bowl at Gyorai (魚雷) in Kasuga. The last time I was here was almost two years ago when it first opened.

It tasted the same, maybe even a little better.

The katsuobushi flavor is intense, in a good way. And I swear they put some in the noodles.

Egg shot!

Party time!!!

It just so happened that our bounenkai coincided with Katsu's one-year anniversary party. And it was a lot tamer than last year...our bounenkai that is. But Katsu's party was crazy!

From what I remember...