As I am constantly discovering, Japan has what seems to be endless possibilities in regional cuisine. Of course this is applied to everything, from onigiri to ramen, and Yokohama is no exception. When I was told about "Yokohama style" ramen my interest was immediately piqued. What was it like? What sets it apart from other ramen. My friend described it as a cross between Jiro style (many toppings) and tsukemen (a thicker broth and noodle). He also warned me that not all Yokohama style ramen shops are created equal and gave me a tip to try 吉村家 (Yoshimura).
On a rainy day, before going to the art museum in Yokohama, I decided to swing by and check it out. He warned me that there would probably be a line, but not to be intimidated by it. I have had to wait for things here before, in fact the Japanese seem to be pros at queuing. As predicted there was a line. But my friend and I got our tickets and sat on their rather nice benches outside. I was grateful that this area was somewhat enclosed and we were safe from the rain. What makes this line different from others I experienced in various other shops was that they have a system to let about 10 people at a time come in and sit in the empty half of the restaurant. Ingenious!! We sat and observed a flurry of white T shirts and galoshes from our seats. Because the shop is so open, you are able to watch them make everything and it's quite a show!
Our bowls were served quickly and I was excited to try out the condiments you see above. We had to do a sniff test for the garlic because it was totally green! As you may know already, I value a good assortment of condiments and Yoshimura does not disappoint. Now let's get to the bowl:
As you can see the garlic was green, but already pureed. I ordered mine with egg and extra onion topping. That's probably one of my favorite parts of this shop; all of the toppings are listed on the machine and are very cheap. It also came with pork, spinach, and the obligatory nori. The base is wonderfully meaty, and slightly thick, closer to a tsukemen base. I was only slightly disappointed that my egg wasn't sliced in half because it was seasoned perfectly. The spinach was a nice addition and I used most of my minced onion. Fantastic!! I think Yoshimura has a great system for seating people and the openness of the dining area makes for great entertainment. 5/5
While researching Yoshimura I came across their Wikipedia (for those savvy in Japanese), tabelog, official website, and of course the map:
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