麺場 ハマトラ

You might be thinking (if you have read the blog so far), didn't Natalie already go to a  ハマトラ (Hamatora)? The answer is yes, but most Japanese people will tell you that food, even basic foods like gyoza or onigiri are different in every location! Which is quite true. This location is in Hiyoshi, the place of my future apartment. Hiyoshi is a cute area near Keio University with a ton of ramen shops and other restaurants. Expect a grand tour of Hiyoshi ramen shops in the future! On to the noodles and shop. When we came across the location after studying our map we thought, is this place still under construction??

There is a lot of exposed concrete and what look to be large bags of concrete which (we think) is actually flour for the noodles. I think that they make their noodles at this location, and it is partially the reason I insisted on going here instead of one of the other myriad of shops in Hiyoshi. Because this particular location of ハマトラ serves ramen noodles that are black!

As you can see from the left picture, my ramen was topped with natto. For those of you unfamiliar with Japan, natto is a fermented soy bean product that many people like to eat with rice or alone or topped on various things. I don't really like natto, but it is because of the slimy texture that natto has, not the taste. At least it got mixed into the soup and the texture was masked so I wasn't too unhappy. My friend, who accompanied me on my visit to their Yokohama shop, discussed the flavor of the broth itself. We both agreed that this broth was not as delicious. Perhaps they focus more on noodle production here, but we remain unsure. I did like the novelty of the black noodles though and their business cards!

For some reason my friend and I are unsure of, Hiyoshi is obsessed with tigers. The real kicker is that this shop has a cotton candy machine! So if you feel like getting a diabetic head rush you can help yourself to free cotton candy. Overall this shop was quite nice. I liked the atmosphere (free tea and cotton candy, spacious interior, and FREE WIFI!). Their ramen was also good, but because we had been to the other location we were expecting a little bit more. So this place gets 4/5 bowls.

Here is a link to their tabelog, thier own site and as always a map:



Chun Shui Tang

This week there will probably be two posts because they are taking tests at my school and I am very bored sitting at my desk! My first post is about Chun Shui Tang, the originator of Taiwanese bubble tea! My friend and I were cheering each other up on Valentine's day last week by going to a bunny cafe in Harajuku together:

 She had visited Chun Shui Tang before with a friend and who doesn't want to try a place that is famous for inventing bubble tea?! I ordered the 五香湯麺(ｳｰｼｬﾝﾀﾝﾒﾝ) 五香湯麵 -- Taiwanese Five spice Soup Noodles:

I thought they looked the best, even though, as established thin noodles are not my jam. But these were very similar to rice noodles found in Vietnamese Pho (which I am still in need of here in Japan). The taste was also very similar to Pho; a lot of cilantro and maybe some lemon grass. The broth was very mild but delicious and balanced. The only criticism I have is that there were no condiments on the tables. I don't know if it's the specific location, or if they are all like that, but personally I like the option for pepper. Oh maybe today is a good day to work on a picture for my rating system (edit, I did, you can now see the ratings at the bottom of every post)! Anyway, Chun Shui Tang, gets 4 out of 5 noodle bowls and that's just because there was no pepper on the table. They probably think their noodles are perfect as they are, and it's almost true! It's a nice spot in Harajuku or Omotesando  (technically in Omotesando) for a lunch date in between shopping or sightseeing. Here is a link to their Japan website <click click>, and as always a map:

4/5

四川麺条 香氣

This was a while ago ramen. Back on a chilly November afternoon I was feeling sick. I even skipped a hair appointment, but that didn't stop me from seeking out some of the spiciest ramen I have had to date. The friends whose neighborhood I was visitng suggested their favorite; "Cou-Ki". This shop had a few options for the level of spice, and like a dummy I chose the two chili option:

 

It certainly cleared out my sinuses and I felt as if the heat was actually helping me fight my cold. I do not recommend this option for the faint of tongue. They do offer a mild option, which I had when I returned and I thought it was much better. It is topped with a pinch of saffron and a really nice tahini. Their ramen is "tan tan" style, which is the Japanese interpretation of Szechuan style noodles (usually served with thinner noodles, chili, and ground pork). In fact, if you ask most Japanese people they will tell you that ramen is not a Japanese food, but rather it is Chinese. I think that the Japanese have done a great job reinventing ramen though! If I were to rate Cou-Ki I think I would give it 3.5 out of 5 bowls and that's mostly based on my noodle thickness bias. I prefer thicker noodles! However, the broth was flavorful and if you want a kick in the mouth you can order some spicy ramen here! The location I visited was in Gakugeidaigaku, but they have several other locations according to their website.

As promised here is a map to the location I visited:

3.5/5

ひょうり

This week's post is about Hyouri. I visited this location because I was at Tokyo Dome City's lights illumination:

It was magical. When researching this event I came across Hiyouri on Time Out Tokyo's website. It looked amazing so I decided to go. According to Time Out Tokyo this is an off shoot of a famous ramen shop in Ikebukuro. It did not disappoint and like most awesome ramen shops there was a slight line. My friend and I patiently waited with our tickets. A very enthusiastic ramen man came to show us to our table and seemed excited to practice his English with us. He wanted to make sure that I, the lady, had ordered the crazy large size. OF COURSE I DID!! And when it came out it was magnificent. Giant pieces of karaage (fried) chicken were piled along with grilled eggplant and beansprouts in a neat heap on top the ramen:

There was an option for super spicy, but I declined because sometimes I just want to taste the ramen and the broth instead of experiencing fire mouth. We were thrilled about the grilled eggplant, which is rarely to never seen in ramen. The broth itself was a mixture of regular ramen broth and a sauce (you can see it under the eggplant) which according to their site has "mega tang". A friend mentioned that I make a rating system and I think I will when I have time but this would definitely get 5/5 ramen bowls!

As promised here is a map of their location and a link <click click> their site:



5/5