Shirokiya's Black Gyoza

Just something I had to share. Black gyoza from the izakaya Shirokiya. I was heavily intoxicated when I ordered them, but they actually tasted really good. They still creep me out though. Just looking at them makes me think the grudge will pop out.

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 8 (The Last Slurp)

The day has finally come for me to leave Tokyo--quite possibly the worst day of my ramen life. But after slurping 14 amazing ramen bowls in just 8 days, I've been inspired and I'll never look at LA ramen the same. I still can't believe how much ramen has evolved in just a few years. This simple noodle soup is simple no more. There's even a new type of ramen that doesn't even involve soup. I didn't have a chance to try it, but you can check out fellow ramen blogger Ramen Tokyo's review of Junk Garage to get an idea of what it's like. The future of ramen is indeed bright. I just hope I can be a part of it for years to come! The road to the perfect bowl may be cold, narrow, and seemingly without an end, but it is out there. You just have to believe...


My last and worst bowl of ramen in Japan was at Narita airport. I won't even mention the shop name, but the only thing it did well was remind me of what would be awaiting in LA.


The best sushi in the world can be found at the largest fish market in the world, Tsukiji. They wouldn't let me take pictures of the actual sushi, apparently it's top secret, but if you're planning a trip to Tokyo and have never been there, you must give this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity a try.


Another favorite food of mine that you won't find in LA (at least I've never found it)--monjya. Similar to okonomiyaki, but a lot more fun to make and eat.


Japan's always been known for having the coolest technology gadgets before anywhere else in the world. Like this new flip phone that rotates 90 degrees and broadcasts live TV in widescreen. We'll probably see this in the US about 5 years from now.


It may be hard to believe, but the best part of my trip was not the ramen. It was being able to spend time and eat ramen with my two nieces. The oldest one (almost 3) is seen below not wasting a single drop of soup. She's already learned the correct way to finish off a bowl of ramen.


Good old Southern California. I'll miss Tokyo and be waiting anxiously to return, but it always feels good to come home. I hope you enjoyed my posts as much as I enjoyed the trip. Thanks for tuning in!

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 7

MENYA MUSASHI KODOU

Musashino-shi, Kichijoji Honmachi 1-1-7
Harmonica Yokocho

Kotteri ramen: Just being able to experience ramen in Japan makes every bowl feel perfect. This kotteri ramen from Musashi Kudou was no exception. It's rich tonkotsu soup was heaven in a bowl. The noodles were slightly thicker than average and cooked just the way I like. The chashu was very tender and moist. LA needs more ramen like this!

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 6 (Part 2)

RAMEN KOKUGIKAN (cont'd)

Jyoushouken: Chef Testuya Tomiyama received training from the master himself, Taishoken's Kazuo Yamagashi. This enabled Tomiyama to create his own version that has gained a loyal following in Gunma.

This mini tonkotsu-ramen was better than any words can describe. The chashu is slightly grilled and that grilled flavor translates over to the soup. Mmmm...


Doesn't that look good?


Menya Iroha: Chef Kiyoshi Kurihara used to be a salary man with his own business. After his business failed he ended up using his love of ramen to form his own shop. From knowing nothing about how to make ramen when he first started, his Toyama Black has become a huge success.


The shoyu-ramen was very strong, almost too strong, but still very good. The chashu was melt-in-your-mouth amazing.


The shio version of the ramen above was a lot more refreshing. There was even a little white shrimp just hanging out.


The one-bite gyoza was a perfect companion. Rather than dip it into the shoyu, it is recommended that you pour the shoyu on top and toss them straight into your mouth.

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 6 (Part 1)

RAMEN KOKUGIKAN

Aqua City Mall - Odaiba
website

Thanks go out to fellow ramen blogger edjusted for letting me know about this limited time ramen park in Odaiba. Be sure to check out his newly remodeled site at ramenramenramen.net.

Over the past several months, the Aqua City mall has rotated six groups of ramen shops six at a time and this is the last group to be featured. This ramen kokugikan is set to end in August so make sure you get there by then. The best part of these ramen parks is that you can order mini versions of their famous ramen, allowing every ramen fanatic to try more than just one. After eating a flurry of ramen the day before, I was only able to try two today. You'll see them in part 2.


More pics:

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 5 (Part 3)

Kawasaki BE Mall - Ramen Symphony

www.kawasaki-be.ne.jp

I decided to stop by another ramen park in Kawasaki on my way back from the ShinYokohama Museum. Even though I was so full, I thought "what the heck, I can always just take pictures."

The lineup:

1. Kunigamiya
2. Nantsutte
3. Ramen Oyama
4. Honmarutei
5. Imamura
6. Mejiro

Ramen Oyama: If you thought I couldn't be satisfied just by taking pictures, then you know me all too well. After reading all the explanations, I was intrigued by this shrimp flavored ramen I couldn't pass up. But the real question was, could my stomach also make the pass?


This ebi tonkotsu ramen was very different. Its shrimp and scallop based tonkotsu soup was overwhelmingly delicious. Topped with extra garlic, this ramen was a definite show stopper.


This was by far the most ramen I've eaten in one day--5 bowls. And I still have 2 more days!!! Hahaha.

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 5 (Part 2)

SHINYOKOHAMA RAUMEN MUSEUM

Back again!

I'm running out of time so I'll have to be brief. The museum was definitely less crowded during the week. Almost empty. Every shop only had a few customers so I recommend that you go on a weekday and take your time enjoying the town.

Shinasobaya: I regretted not being able to try this so it's one of the main reasons I'm back again.

The "demon" himself, Chef Minoru Sano.


This shoyu-ramen was very assari. A great way to start off the night. The noodles were straight and chewy and the toppings (chashu, menma, negi, and nori) obeyed nicely.


This Ukokkei yude-tamago is an egg from a special chicken that only lays eggs once-a-week as opposed to daily for a regular chicken. This egg cost an additional 300 yen (about 3 dollars) and was well worth it!


The yoke just melted in my mouth with a distinct shoyu flavor.


Keyaki: My choices of ramen have been lacking vegetables lately, so I thought Keyaki's miso ramen would be a perfect fit.


Deemed a ramen that "appeals to five senses," it felt like it appealed to a few more that I never knew I had. The soup had a sweet miso taste with a little spice from the togarashi. The vegetables were delicious and just what I needed.


The noodles were curly and slurptastic!


Ryushanhai: Being so full after the first two, I didn't think my stomach could take anymore. But I was determined to try another that I missed in round 1. I've had my eye on Ryushanhai's karamiso topping since I first walked in.


I really wish there were more of me. This karamiso was an interesting combination of sweet and spicy. Sweet from the miso base and spicy from the karamiso topping. After one sip, I instantly understood its popularity.


To be continued...

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 5 (Part 1)

GARYU UMAMI SOBA JIRAIGEN

Tokyo Suginami-ku, Izumi 1-39-10
Sakamoto Building 1F 168-0063
TEL: 03-3325-1287
www.jiraigen.com

It started to snow today. I woke up feeling so cold and yearned for a super hot bowl of ramen. Luckily, as I was walking to the bus station, I happened to stumble upon Jiraigen. A well known soul food "noodle."


Being the first one there, I was able to grab a seat immediately, but with only a seat capacity of 8, the place filled up within minutes. There's nothing like eating a hot bowl of ramen on a cold snowy day.


Garyu Umami Soba - Shoyu: I must say this is the best shoyu ramen I've ever had. The soup is very light with several flavors attacking your soul. Its complexity includes three types of soups blended together: Tonkotsu, Chicken, and Fish. You can read more about it on their website. The most amazing part about this ramen is that they get all this flavor without a single sprinkle of MSG. I am impressed. The noodles were very thin and straight with an option to choose a slightly thicker one. These are also original and made from buckwheat. The toppings (chashu, menma, mizuna, negi, and a piece of nori) were simple and perfect.


Shio Umami Soba - Shio: This shio ramen made with sea salt was also amazing. They only make 10/day so get their fast if your a fan of shio. Only one choice of very thin noodles, but who needs choices when it's so damn good.


Menma: For only 100 yen (about one dollar), you get this huge pile of mmm...menma.


To be continued...

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 4 (Part 2)

SHINATATSU - Shinagawa

7 Famous Ramen Shops
Tokyo Ramen Park
www.shinatatsu.com

The lineup:

1. Nantsutte
2. Higomonzu (Kumamoto Ramen)
3. Setagaya
4. Shinasoba Kibi
5. Saijo (Asahikawa Ramen)
6. Tsukemen Tetsu
7. Shodai Keisuke

With so much to choose from and wanting to try everything, I spent 30 minutes deciding which shop to walk into. I thought about ordering from all and sampling each specialty ramen, but that would mean valuable ramen going to waste. So in the end, I decided on Setagaya. It wasn't crowded, but still busy enough to attract others and the tsukemen looked damn good.


Chef Maijima Tsukasa. A ramen G.


Hira Tsuke-men: I ordered the tsuke-men because my blog has never featured it. I would normally only prefer tsuke-men during the summer (since I like my ramen really hot in the winter), but it's good to shake-it-up once in a while. The soup was fish based and contained many pieces of pork. It had a great aroma and attached to the noodles like a needy significant other.


Other toppings included a piece of nori, negi, and menma.


The noodles were tsuke-men style--flat and thicker than your usual ramen noodle. These noodles were, for the lack of a better word, awesome! And look at that portion! How could I even think about wasting something so good?


Kumo Ramen: This soup was very thick with a high level of viscosity, hence its cloudy name. It was like eating gravy ramen. Rescuing the noodles out of the bowl almost broke my chopsticks. It was very delicious, but a few bites left me dying of thirst.


Negi Gyoza: To be honest, I can't even remember what these tasted like because I was popping them in my mouth so fast. All I remember is that they were crazy good.


Other pics:

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 4 (Part 1)

NISHIAZABU GOGYO

Rojiman Nishiazabu 1F
1-4-36, Nishiazabu, Minato ward, Tokyo
Tel:03-5775-5566
Fax:03-5775-5566
www.chikaranomoto.com

From the company that brought us Hakata Ippudo and the Shinyokohama Raumen Museum, Gogyo is a modern version of the ramen-ya, incorporating a full bar and a trendy relaxing atmosphere. It's a great place to enjoy ramen after a few drinks or with a few drinks. The fireball in the picture below is the ramen's secret ingredient.


Kogashi Miso-ramen: The blackest ramen I've ever seen! It's as if someone just threw noodles in mud. Apparently they char the miso, creating dirt-like particles, before mixing it into the soup. A truly unique ramen! The soup had a strong onion miso flavor that did not disappoint. The toppings (egg, chashu, negi, and naruto) marinated with the soup perfectly.


The noodles were thin and straight, with a slight crunch. Very close to the perfect slurp.


An up close look at the dirt-like particles. The black bowl makes the soup look blacker than it actually is.


The gyoza were surprisingly fried and popcorn-like. They were very tasty but just average overall. I think they should stick with the theme and make them look dirty like the ramen.


The teba-saki is just one of their many non-ramen dishes (izakaya-style) to order while drinking.


To be continued...

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 3

Kobe Ramen Dai-ichi Asahi - Hoonancho (Suginama-ku): What I am about to show you is something so outrageous that you'll never see anything like it in the states. Its alien appearance may be frightening for some so consider yourself forewarned. Are you ready?

Advertised as the "Megasize Tokusei (Special) C-Ramen," I was literally shivering as I ordered. What was I getting myself into to? This ramen must have had at least 25 pieces of thinly sliced chashu (I stopped counting after my stomach couldn't take anymore), and not to mention a gazillion calories. This ramen also contained 1.5 portions of straight, chewy noodles. And that's not even the largest size!! Definitely a daunting task for all ramen afficionados. The soup was very koi (strong) and contained an overwhelming sense of pepper and shoyu in a "very rich pork broth." There's only one thought that crosses my mind as I write this--whew, I'm still alive!


The Tokusei A-Ramen was more on the normal side of things. A more humane portion of everything including a boiled egg and menma.


The ticket machine:


The gyoza: Yum! I'm almost speechless!


I bought this magazine the other day that lists 1,100 ramen-ya's in the Tokyo area. 1,100!!! And they all look so good. How will ever find the time to try them all?!!

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 2 (Part 3)

SHINYOKOHAMA RAUMEN MUSEUM (Part 3)

The gift shop offers plenty of instant ramen packages of your favorite ramen to take home. I couldn't resist buying almost every kind they had, but since they all probably wouldn't fit in my suitcase, I only bought the ones pictured here.


Here's some varieties of canned ramen and udon that I've found along the way. I have yet to try them, but I can tell you that the noodles are made out of konyaku--a jellylike potato flour that doesn't expand.


Instant Santouka, Rameniac's favorite ramen in a box.


Credits go out to all the people we talked with and all the people who wrote the various brochures we read at the ShinYokohama Raumen Museum. I can't wait to return.

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 2 (Part 2)

SHINYOKOHAMA RAUMEN MUSEUM (Part 2)

Hachiya - Asahikawa City: The story behind this ramen-ya is a very interesting one. Originally an ice cream shop, Kato-san was so impressed when trying ramen for the first time, he made a heroic attempt at creating a version of his own. With a bit of luck and perserverance, this original ramen became an instant hit. Then, in 1964, Kato-san was involved in a car accident and experienced a severe case of amnesia. He never regained his memory and it was thought that his exquisit ramen recipe would be lost forever. That is when his son, Naozumi, and grandson, Nobumasa (who is also the head of the museum), gathered the memories of all their relatives and townspeople and began to recreate this famous soup. And finally just last year, 60 years after this tragic accident, it is believed that this recreation was painstakingly attained.


The shoyu ramen is flat out the best I've ever had. The very first thing I noticed when trying the soup was an unnatural burnt taste that left my taste buds spinning. It turns out that the lard is charred before being inserted to the broth. Wow! This cloudy soup does not disappoint. The toppings (chashu, menma, negi) were great as well. You can also add raw garlic if you like. There's plenty of it in a jar on the table. The noodles were also outstanding. I must be living a dream.


Komurasaki - Kumamoto City: While others were inserting raw garlic to their ramen, Komurasaki had the delightful idea of grilling it to emphasize its spice. Its mild tonkotsu nature blended with chicken bones are further enhanced with this grilling technique.


I ordered the Oosama-ramen, their most popular one. The soup reminded me a lot like Shinsengumi back home, but with a lot more to offer. The toppings (chashu, menma, moyashi, negi, mushrooms, and charred garlic) were plentiful and overwhelming. The thin hakata-style noodles were also a hit. I thought about only taking a few sips to save room for others, but I ended up finishing the entire bowl. It was too good to let waste.


To be continued...

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 2 (Part 1)

SHINYOKOHAMA RAUMEN MUSEUM (Part 1)

Someone once told me that the ShinYokohama Raumen Museum was tsumannai (boring). They obviously weren't a fan of ramen! This museum is great! Only us ramen crazies can truly appreciate an establishment like this. I'll try to do my best to bring the museum to you in the pics and paragraphs that follow. I might also be going back during the week, since it was just way too crowded on this Sunday. Plus, they only serve gyoza during the week. (Forgive me if the pics don't look very good. I don't have any editing software on this computer since it's not mine.) Also, ShinYokohama is about an hour outside of Tokyo so don't let my title mislead you.


Featuring 8 different ramen shops from around Japan labeled as the "new generation of ramen," the ShinYokohama Ramen Museum has something every ramen fan can enjoy. Too crowded and too enamored to try them all, I did manage to wait in 30-minute lines for 2 of the 8 ramen shops. All of the shops serve "mini-ramen" so don't worry about wasting any if you feel like trying them all.


Here is the lineup:

1. Ido Shoten - A unique mild tonkotsu shoyu broth from Wakayama.


2. Shinasobaya - Considered "the Demon of ingredients," owner-chef Minoru Sano is notorious for being a devil on all fronts. He'll even kick you out of his shop if you're cell phone rings while you're in there. His mild broth is prepared with several kinds of chicken and tonkotsu.


3. Keyaki - A miso flavored soup from Sapporo prepared by chef Hideki Nitori, who has a mission of creating a dish which appeals to all five senses.


4. Ryushanhai - Features the unique "karamiso ramen" invented in 1960 from Yamagata.


5. Hachiya - Grilled lard never sounded so good. From Asahikawa city.


6. Harukiya - Founded in 1949 after WWII, this is the oldest ramen shop in Tokyo. Featuring a home made hand-kneaded noodle in a shoyu-based fish broth.


7. Fukuchan - Hakata-style ramen with a sharp, rich taste. They invented the tradition of adding raw garlic to your ramen.


8. Komurasaki - A mild tonkotsu-based soup with grilled garlic chips, originating from Kumamoto.

To be continued...

Tokyo Ramen Trip 2008 - Day 1

After 11 hours on the plane to Narita, 2 hours on the Bus to Tokyo, and a 20 minute taxi ride to my brothers house in Shinjuku (all without a single wink of sleep), I finally arrived. Wanting desperately to pass out, we decided to go eat yakitori and skip ramen for the night. But as I sat at the restaurant eating tebasaki, nankotsu, tsukune, shishito, etc., and drinking 3 beers, I finally woke up and came to my senses. Maybe it was the freezing temperature that caused this yearning, but I needed to have some ramen. So we dropped off the kids and hopped on the Marunouchi line to Ogikubo.

Tonkotsu Ramen Chabuton - Ogikubo: Remember Chabuton in the Costa Mesa Marukai? I always wondered if that was related to Chabuya and I finally found the answer. I didn't stop to try the ramen here because I had another place in mind, but I still wanted to take a picture of the place. Chef Morizumi is the TV Champion!

Chuuka Soba Harukiya - Ogikubo: Just a few shops down from Chabuton, Harukiya specializes in Chuuka Soba. Supposedly the most popular ramen-ya in the area right now (ramen popularity can change with the seasons) I had to give it a try. And it seems I wasn't the only one. The line was out the door but moving fast--always a good sign.


This Chuuka Soba was different from any other ramen I've tasted in the states. The soup was unusual at first (because its strange tanginess caught me by surprise), but I couldn't believe how it amazingly incorporated 100 percent effort from all my tastebuds. The only way I can really describe this ramen is by comparing it to japanese electronics. You know how Japan always has the coolest cell phones and gadgets years before we start to see them in the states? Well it might be the same with ramen. This could be the ramen of the future... The noodles were extremely fresh and by their texture you could tell right away that they were original. You won't be finding these at any factory. The toppings (chashu, menma, negi, and nori) were better than average, but the soup was the overall winner here.

UPDATE: Word is is that this is the ramen that started it all in Tokyo so forget all that ramen of the future stuff I said above. Haha.