Sogo sumo...

Day 1263:

Day 4, the last day, here we go!

Since day 1 I've been wanting to try Iida Shoten's special tsukemen. I guess they read my mind. あざーす！

What? Konishiki is in da house? I gotta go say hi. What up bruddah!

And one last ramen for the road. Thanks Yokohama Sogo!! Otsukare!

After Yokohama it was back to Tokyo for a very special meeting at a very special bar.

With the one and only Lee Anne Wong!!!

Love this life.

Da cafe...

Day 1262:

Day 3 here we go.

I thought you'd want a closeup.

I got a special visit today so it was time for a special lunch at the most popular booth--DaCafe.

Amazing pancakes!

Tasty garlic shrimp.

Thank you for the special visit!

Sweet sogo...

Day 1261:

Day 2 here we go.

Being that this is my third year, it's like riding a bicycle. Have you seen my tenkuu otoshi? haha.

For lunch I stopped by the Chibakiya (ちばき屋横浜ポルタ店) branch in Porta Yokohama station.

Good ole wontonmen.

I wouldn't mind seeing this chain in the states.

Anyway, this is what happens when you become friends with the girls in the sweets booth.

And then the girls in the other sweets booth. haha.

Okay, enough with the sweets.

Time for some teba!

Yokohama SOGO 2013...

Day 1260:

For the third year in a row, I'll be helping out at the Yokohama SOGO gourmet fair for Nakamuraya.

This year we'll be serving along side Iida Shoten (飯田商店).

And this year's special ramen limited to 30 servings per day will be this Tokusei Shio Paitan. It doesn't look very pretty here but it's dam good when it's all dressed up!

Iida Shoten's Shoyu Ramen isn't bad either.

But if you want something that'll punch you in the face, the Tan Tan Men (Ｗａｋｉｙａ流辣香担々麺) from Turandot will definitely leave a contusion.

And these wontons dipped in a creamy sesame sauce will help you lick the wounds.

For lunch I ventured out to Hamatora (麺場 浜虎) on the north side of Yokohama Station.

I thought I had ordered the regular shoyu ramen but I guess I pushed the button for the Black Bean Natto Ramen. lol. My mistake. I won't be doing that again. haha.

Sweets!! They just keep coming!

And now for the real sweets. These teba-saki are bomb!

See you tomorrow! Unlike last year, I'll be helping out all week!

Yokohama SOGO 2012...

Day 883:

I can't believe it's already been a year. SO, here we GO again...

My friends over at Nakamuraya were once again part of Yokohama Sogo's Gourmet Fair and although I'm no longer working for them, they still let me be a part of it.

Man, this brings back some memories. Peace, Martin!

New for this year's menu is this Miso Horumon Ramen (上シロホルモンらーめん).

With only 20 bowls per day, it sold out in less than 5 minutes. Damn, that was good.

Also new for this year is another ramen shop in the booth next to us. We're all familiar with Nantsuttei right?

ぷ~!

And now for my reward. It's been awhile...

Sadly, I won't be able to join my friends for the whole week, but I'm glad I got to hang at least for one day. Thanks Martin!! Thanks Taichi!!

Soft serve...

Served soft. I hope to see you again next year!

Thank you Sogo!

Day 539:

The last day of an awesome week. Thanks to everyone who came out to try our ramen. We had a blast serving everyone.

And a blast trying all the different foods.

Gyubara-men!

I wasn't about to leave without eating another Gyubara-han. I'm addicted.

Group picture! Thanks go out to the entire Sogo staff for helping us serve so many bowls. お疲れ様でした！

Day 8: Event over! Time to get krunk!

Maruyama...

Day 538:

After yesterday's onslaught, today was looking like it'd be a breeze. We got these fruit cups from a friend of Chef yesterday and forgot all about them. So we ate them for breakfast.

And had ramen for dessert.

Then the shop that had brought us the shave ice brought us some taiyaki.

They didn't last very long. I liked the Sakura one the best.

Pasta time!

Fried chicken and croquettes.

From Torinaka.

おつかれ。

Thank you Maruyama-san (middle)! He was in charge of the Sogo staff that was helping us and he really lightened up the event.

Time for dinner.

Ramen takeout.

Day 7: 600 bowls served.