らぁ麺やまぐち (Ramen Yamaguchi Takadanobaba/Waseda)

This week I was still questing after the top ramen shops listed by Tabelog and I ended up at a shop near Takadanobaba, らぁ麺やまぐち (Ramen Yamaguchi). They have made it to the top a couple years running and of course proudly display their awards. Their minimalistic shop has no condiments and a kitchen tucked away in the back. I actually really enjoy watching ramen chefs at work, so this was a slight disappointment. I managed to sneak a peek from my vantage point:

It seemed to take longer than usual for a simple shio, but out came my bowl complete with 2 slices of chicken, a sparse gathering of baby greens, thinly sliced negi, menma, and an egg:

OK, sometimes I forgive a lack of condiments if the bowl is truly deserving of no alterations, but I would have been happy to add some pepper. What Yamaguchi really has going for it is the base. A bountiful banty flavor that was both complex and light. Thin buckwheat style noodles were slightly overcooked for my liking, but the additional bowl of egg noodles was spot on. However I was unimpressed by the cook on both slices of meat. The white meat had a gummy feel and the other slice lacked any flavor at all. Sadly, the egg was also overcooked. I felt a little disappointed as I finished and wondered how Yamaguchi made it into the top 50 twice. Not my cup of tea, but perhaps someone else's? 3.5/5

Tabelog, their official blog, and a map!

鶏そば 三歩一 (Torisoba Sanpoichi)

Takadanobaba (Baba for short) is a ramen hub written about many times on many other ramen blogs, but I still haven't been able to explore the area properly. I was visiting a friend who attends Waseda this week and knew it was my perfect chance to try some of the ramen that Baba had to offer. But where to start?! There are an abundance of shops. However we were quite famished so the closer to the station the better and decided on 鶏そば 三歩一. Ok, so my Japanese, especially kanji reading skills are not the best so the rough translation for 鶏そば 三歩一 is Torisoba Sanpoichi If anyone has a better suggestion please let me know! As we were ordering a friendly staff member asked us if we needed any help. But we said we were OK and took a seat.

After we took our seats we noticed that this shop makes its own noodles. This is impressive, as I have been told that most shops order their noodles directly from companies after specifying the size and shape. It is indeed soba, but a soba that's so fine! The noodles really are a very good delicate buckwheat, techinically soba, but served ramen style. We watched the noodle making process while we waited for our bowls.

I ordered thick cut chicken with negi and green onion toppings as well as a side of egg noodles. I had to wait for my extra egg noodles to arrive, but it was totally worth it because I was able to dump them into my left over stock. I found that they had a richer flavor than the regular noodles and believe them to be the highlight at Chicken Soba. The base was light but not complex and slightly on the bland side, but I did really enjoy their thick chicken slices which were juicy, tender, and plentiful. I added some spice and felt a little more satisfied with the base. They certainly had a lot of fans waiting outside and so this kind of delicate stock must be a hit. But I think it's probably the egg noodles because I saw more than one serving go out! Torisoba gets a 4/5 because of a bland base balanced out by great chicken and a friendly atmosphere. I can't wait to visit more shops in the Baba area!

Tabelog and Map!