丿貫 （ヘチカン ） (Hechikan Kannai)

Kannai is an area that I have written about many times because it is saturated with ramen shops. Both chains and independent shops can be found in every nook of Kannai. Hechikan is a popular independent shop only open for lunch. On a rainy weekday holiday I stood in line to try Hechikan's famed anchovy ramen. It's good that there was a line, because across from a soapland, Hechikan looks like someone's home. There is nothing but a wood slab sign, propping open the door, to indicate its existence:

After entering a dimly lit counter seating area you may order from the limited menu. Limited menus are great because it shows that a shop specializes in one or two flavors. I ordered the anchovy ramen with seasoned quail eggs as an additional topping:

Hechikan's soup is a briny mouth of anchovy flavor and a tad too alkaline. The best of the bowl are their deli sliced rare pork, and firm delicious noodles. Pepper would have been a nice addition, but sadly it was missing from the counter. For a brackish broth, but nice noodles Hechikan gets a 3.5/5.

Map and, the shop's personal blog, tabelog, and fb page ;)

地球の中華そば (Hoshino Chuukasoba Isezaki Chojamachi)

This summer I am determined to try the top 10 ramen shops of Kanagawa as listed by tabelog. I have been to number 1 and number 4, but now it's time for number...5. 地球の中華そば  (Hoshino Chuukasoba) in Isezaki Chojamachi roughly translates to Earth of China. My thoughts are that soba is a noodle made of buckwheat and buckwheat comes from the ground. Regardless of the meaning it is number 5 and a must visit for me. If you go be prepared to wait in line. There was already one formed at 11:45 and they open for lunch at 11:30:

However the woman that helps manage the flow of the line is quite friendly and helped me navigate their machine to make sure I got what I really wanted: Tan Tan Men. I waited for my bowl while observing two quiet chefs in a relaxing atmosphere. Soothing music and slurping customers were the only sounds heard at Hoshino Chuukasoba. With a smile from the waitress my bowl was served:

The bowl itself is full of complex flavors starting with black and red pepper and ending in what I believe to be star anise. Not only was the broth a knockout, but so were the noodles, a thin buckwheat perfectly holding the ground meat and spices classic to Tan Tan Men. I have experienced mouth on fire Tan Tan and this is not one of them. It has a high level of spice but there is no numbness or dulling of the flavor due to heat. Finishing an excellent experience was a perfectly gelled and seasoned egg! I would like to return and try their take on shio, which looked equally as delicious. 5/5 

Tabelog and a map :D

くり山 (Kuriyama Hakuraku)

Summer time in the Kanto region is rainy, hot, humid, and a perfect time for tsukemen (dipping noodles). The noodles are served cold with a small bowl of dipping soup. There are many shops that serve ramen and tuskemen, but only a few that specialize in tsukemen. くり山 (Kuriyama) in Hakuraku is one such shop. In recent entries I have been visiting places just before they reopen for dinner. I would suggest you try to do that if you want to avoid a long line at Kuriyama. There is something magical about watching a shop open up for dinner. After the lifting of a rolling metal gate and the placement of a rod adorned with tattered flags a ramen shop appears. The shop itself looked like an izakaya turned ramen shop, meaning that the wall between the counter and the kitchen was so high that I was unable to get a great view of the action.

But behind the scenes there is so much happening to make all the bowls of tsukemen!

Over the tall counter came my tsukemen. I ordered extra chashu and an egg from the man that takes the orders outside, which for more popular shops is a really great system. Their menu is minimal between tsukemen or ramen and a few standard additional toppings like menma, chashu, or an egg.

A generous dash of dashi topped my tsukemen soup which I immediately tried. It was rich and porky highlighted by the dashi and is Kuriyama's true hero. The bits of pork cooked with the soup were perfectly tender, but the extra pieces that I had ordered were a little dry. I cracked open the egg which was only slightly overcooked. The finest part of my meal came at the end when you return your soup bowl to the high counter and the chef adds yuzu seasoning and a thin broth. What a delight! For slightly dry pork and an overcooked egg Kuriyama gets a 4.5/5. If I return I will order just tsukemen with no extra chashu or egg because their soup is fantastic all on its own!

Tabelog, twitter, and map ;)

SHIN Tammachi

If last week was the height in sophistication at Ginza, this week was the height of comfort in Tammachi. Though this area is small, it packs a punch with 4 shops in the top 5000 across Japan according to Tabelog. Well now I have eaten at 3 of them! A few doors down from Ramen Stars, SHIN was the shop I wanted to visit, but was out of what I wanted, and I wanted their famous fried chicken ramen. Their shop also has a tantanmen and a menu constantly changing with new specials. I over heard some regulars talking about a keema curry mazesoba that was supposed to be unveiled this weekend. It seems that SHIN is a local favorite and right before they reopened for dinner there was a line.

I ordered fried chicken ramen and took a seat. Because SHIN makes everything to order there is about a 10 minute wait. Fortunately there is a lot to look at like red and black accessories, framed thank you notes from customers, and a busy chef in their open kitchen.

Watching the preperation of ramen is almost as good as eating it! At SHIN their shoyu consists of oil, shoyu, and stock all made to order with huge hunks of fried chicken or chashu if you want to go that way. The secret to their stock is freshly peeled yuzu, which I noticed being added with the other key ingredients. After watching and waiting I was served:

Freshly fried chicken, an egg, menma, a buried peice of naruto, green onions, and yuzu topped the bowl at SHIN. The cook on their chicken is fantastic, crispy and juicy with well seasoned breading slightly melting into the  base. Their egg was cold, but pre sliced and delicous. Standing out was their stock, highlighted with yuzu to give it a bump of suprising citrus. Their noodles, which I believe to be home made, are a flawless firmness. You can't compare SHIN with Ramen Dream because SHIN is a completely different animal. They are both fantastic and better than Ramen Stars. If pressed to choose I might return to SHIN to check out their ever changing specials. 5/5

Tabelog, Twitter (check to see their specials!), and a map

ラーメン星印 (Ramen Stars Tammachi)

Luck is not always on my side as I have discovered with certain ramen shops. Twice in the past month I have had to adjust my plans and go to other shops because I did not arrive before their soup ran out. This happened to me in Tammachi recently when I was trying to go to SHIN. Alas, I had to walk down the street to my 2nd option ラーメン星印 (Ramen Stars). I entered to an interior completely covered in Eikichi Yazawa memorabilia. I was informed that he is the "Bruce Springsteen" of Japan:

While being serenaded I chose the Shio (salt flavor) from the menu on the counter and added an egg. From my vantage point I could watch the chef in action:

A minimal bowl topped with chashu, menma, thinly sliced negi, and a tastless green sprig (probably parsley). As you can see, for a shio it is quite oily. The stars of Ramen Stars were the chashu, which was a perfect soft fatty bite, and their noodles:

The egg, though warm, was slightly undercooked and for a shio it was far too oily. 3/5 Next time I return to Tammachi I am determined to try SHIN. So far this area’s true star is Ramen Dream!!

Tabelog, twitter, and a map!

もりの中華そば (Morinosoba Tsunashima)

This past week was Golden Week. For my friends unfamiliar with Japan, this is a few days in the beginning of May where everyone has off. Well, not quite everyone...hello ramen shops! This gave me a perfect opportunity to check out a place that is only open during lunch hours or until the soup runs out. Sure, I could go on the weekend, but the line was bad enough on a Thursday afternoon during Golden Week:

I had a lot of time to think about what to order, but decided on the 中華そば with an egg. This is just their special bowl of "Chinese Soba".

Pictured after I had taken a few tastes and opened the egg, this is Morinosoba's bowl of shoyu ramen. Topped with egg, negi, chashu, naruto, menma, and nori. Their highlight: the noodles which were the perfect balance between hard and soft while being wonderfully wavy. Morinodoba's chashu is fatty and tender and the egg was almost perfect, but nothing special. Their base is light, but also complex. I finished it all! This is a really nice bowl, but average. 4/5

Links to tabelog and their official site as well as the maaaaap!

流星軒 リュウセイケン (Ryuseutai Yoshinocho)

The blue line of Yokohama city has numerous ramen shops, and Yoshinocho station has two top rated shops nearby. I already visited Trick, so my next stop in this area was 流星軒 リュウセイケン (Ryuseutai). I was pleased to see shoyu offered so that I could continue my recent binge. I ordered the chashu premium and my friend ordered the shoyu premium. As was sat inside the cozy interior we were serenaded by some awesome old man rock. We had an open view to the kitchen so we watched our bowls being made:

Chashu roasted over an open flame is a first for me! Out came our bowls. Here's mine:

Topped with 2 kinds of chashu (one of which was roasted), an egg (ordered extra), negi, and nori. This is a fairly basic bowl of ramen, no bells or whistles here. The noodles stood out as a nice medium between thick and thin, soft and hard. Everything else was fairly basic. Not excellent, but not bad. After adding pepper the base was slightly elevated. I have had better eggs. Though it had a great smokey flavor from being roasted, I found the chashu to be slightly overcooked. Again, I have had better. So far the best shoyu ramen around Yokohama has been Raamen Dream! Ryuseutai gets a solid 4 for being good, but not great. 4/5

Map, twitter, annnnnnd tabelog!

らぁめん夢 (Raamen Dream Higashi-Kanagawa)

Is it real or is it a dream? My ongoing quest to uncover the best of the best in Yokohama revealed Raamen Dream near Higashi-Kanagawa station. I have also been on the lookout for shoyu flavors and though Ramen Naka Naka was good, I thought there must be better shoyu in the Yokohama area. Located near a park on a busy main road, Raamen Dream is not immediately impressive or noticeable. It isn't boutique for sure, and probably already had my heart from its very basic setting. Counter only seating and not many at that, but with a great view to all the action in the kitchen. I ordered the special which comes with nori, an egg, three slices of chashu, spinach, negi, 3 wontons, and a syringe of smoked dashi!

Without adding anything I tried the base, which my friend and I observed was made by combining the obligatory shoyu, oil, and a stock from the stove, and then more oil. It was absolutely superb. Our ramen chef moved with an impressive amount of attention to deatil.  My friend also asked for no pork and he refunded us for the missing pork. How kind! This is what I really love about independent shops, kindness and attention to detail. We both agreed that there must have been something to the oil. A deep flavor, but without being too heavy. Best shoyu I have had to date (though it is a flavor I need to explore more). Other standouts? A perfectly seasoned egg, which was heated for our consumption and very smokey thick chashu. I tried the dashi on the spinach because that was the only element lacking flavor, but I don't think it was needed overall. This is a standout bowl all on its own. 5/5

Their twitter, tablelog link, and a map!

らーめん中々 (Ramen Naka Naka Hakuraku)

Lately I realized that I have overlooked a very popular flavor of ramen: Shoyu. Shoyu is a soy sauce broth that's usually on the lighter side. It was just what I was after during my most recent ramen research. Enter らーめん中々 (Ramen Naka Naka), famous for both its shio and shoyu flavors! This is a shop located in a small alleyway in Hakuraku. I have written about this area before, but it bears repeating that Hakuraku is an interesting area that harks back to 1970's/80's Japan. Think Formica counter tops, nicotine stained ceilings, small dimly lit yakitori and oden shops, and vintage posters. Hakuraku appeals to a strange nostalgia I have for all things decades old.

Ramen Naka Naka is no exception to the alleyway aesthetic that I so enjoy. Sliding doors open to a cozy, small, counter only shop. 

Their simple menu only has a few options, a welcome site in an age with too many options. Can you tell I've been warped by nostalgia? I went with my friend. I ordered wonton ramen and he ordered negi ramen. We were able to watch as our bowls were composed of soysauce and all the toppings.

As you can see there are few variations to both bowls: negi cooked with pork vs wonton, chashu, and bok choy. Each had very thin sliced negi and garlic. Highlights inlcude a perfectly seasoned egg, very nicely cooked chashu, and delicious gummy wontons. The noodles were also thin, but crinkly, which we both thought were cooked perfectly. We agreed that the addition of pepper (the only condiment offered) helped bring out more flavor. The base was nothing special, but overall not a detractor because towards the end of our bowls we felt the flavor mixed well with all the bits of negi and garlic left over. Naka Naka has a solid shoyu bowl of ramen: 4/5.

Map and a link to tabelog!

鶏喰 （～TRICK～）(Niwatori Trick Yokohama)

Recently Tabelog (kind of like the Yelp of Japan) announced its top 50 selection of ramen shops. One stood out right away because of an English word: Trick. Was it a trick? What did this mean? There were too many questions for me to answer. On the very next day,m after reading the list, I noticed an instant ramen in the local Family Mart of the same name! Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I hastily bought the instant ramen and thought that it was pretty good. This experience intrigued me. I made my mind up to visit Trick as soon as possible.

Open from 11-2 and then again for dinner at 6, I thought my best bet was to try to go on a weekday during lunch. There was still a line of people waiting outside on a rather chilly February day, but I diligently waited to try Trick's ramen. They have been in the top 50 for a few years and proudly display their awards in the window for the waiting patrons to see:

How exciting! Offering both shio and shoyu flavors with their signature chicken meatball and 3 kinds of meat, Trick is certainly a unique shop. It is also quite small with a hightop counter and one table that was most likely an after thought due to their popularity. I ordered the shio and sat watching chef Noboru Nishigaki work his magic. In fluid movements olive oil was placed in bowls, meatballs and dumplings were transformed into toppings, eggs were cut with string, and just like that it was over. A tall bowl of shio ramen was placed in front of me:

Topped with one slice of red onion, thinly sliced negi, nori, roast beef, pork, chicken, a chicken meatball, a wonton, an egg, and baby greens, Trick's bowl is no joke. It is a bowl bustling with flavors. Is that rosemary on the chicken? Yes. Is there olive oil in the wonton? Yes. Each element brought its own flavor. The noodles were also a standout here.

A light and thin buck wheat cooked on the softer side really held the shio for a satisfying slurp. I confirmed with Chef Noboru Nishigaki that what I had tasted was correct and he was all too happy to answer me. He also complimented me on my slurping skills. Trick serves up a friendly atmosphere and a truly unique bowl of ramen. If you ever find yourself in Kannai take a walk down the road and visit Trick. 5/5 

Twitter, facebook, tabelog, a link to the top 50 Ramen Shops, and as always the map!

柴田商店 (Shibata Shouten Hiyoshi)

I have been feeling under the weather and a great way to thwart the evils of congestion is to eat some spicy ramen. I really really wanted tantanmen, however, I didn't want to go far so I stayed in Hiyoshi and found Shibata Shouten.

After a peek inside from the window I determined that there was enough hot chili oil and pepper to loosen up my uhm...passage ways. Shibata Shouten is a fairly new shop to Hiyoshi (as of March 2015) and it lasted longer than another chain shop that also opened in Hiyoshi this year. It can be hard to compete with Musashiya and Tsukemen Abisuke. Shibata Shouten is doing quite well from the looks of it, being super crowded around its small bar at the dinner hour. I managed to snag a nice shot of the interior after everyone cleared out though. I chose the miso ramen and as always an egg. The bowl came topped with raw onion, woodear mushrooms, nori and chashu.

The noodles themselves were the thinner style I associate with regular (not Yokohama style) tonkotsu. Raw onion is an interesting touch because I am used to seeing negi, and it added a nice bite to the bowl. As you can see the egg is ever so slightly undercooked, not the perfect jelled yolk that it should be. There were a full range of condiments and I was able to adjust the spice level accordingly. Before adjusting the heat I tried the base, the real highlight at Shibata Shouten. Very smooth, subtle, and savory. Though the chashu had a nice smokey flavor, I found it to be a little overcooked. Undercooked egg and overcooked pork give Shibata Shouten a solid 4.

Map and a link to their tabelog.

ら～めん鈴 (Ramen Suzu Motosumiyoshi)

Ramen is so popular that there are publications devoted to it. Some time ago I purchased the Ramen Walker for the Kanagawa area and since then have been itching to use it. I plan to visit more shops contained within its pages to farther reaches of Kanagawa, however this past Saturday was quite rainy and miserable. So, a local shop was more desirable and my trusty Ramen Walker did not disappoint:

Who can resist such an enthusiastic crane pose? I invited a friend so that I could write twice the review, for you see, not only does one of their chefs have an awesome crane pose, but Ramen Suzu also offers a fish base stock as well as a deep fatty tonkotsu. Why choose when I can have a good friend help? So here we have, that’s right, a double review! Fish first:

My friend is a pescatarian so we get excited to find fish based ramen. He also always gives me his pork. Ahhh, friendship! We both really enjoyed the flavor of this bowl and extra fish powder helped deliver an extra punch. We both agreed that it could use a little garlic, but there was none to be found. Garlic aside, the flavor was an absolutely divine bonito and I want to return to get my very own bowl. Now onto the deep fatty tonkotsu, their signature featured in Ramen Walker:

How rich and fatty it was! Wow. There were tiny bits of pork populating a deep, viscous broth. It was absolutely delicious. The chashu itself was also a highlight, being slow cooked, thick, fatty and practically falling apart in my mouth. With so many subpar pork encounters in my ramen saga, I was very pleased with Ramen Suzu. Also just look at this egg!

So perfect. This is also one of the many shops in the Yokohama area that offers complimentary rice, which though I don’t need, I love. I agreed with my friend that there should be more condiments available (garlic and sesame), but this may be one shop that really doesn’t need any extra flavor. Condiments are just nice to have. At least there was pepper!  Because of this one minor detail Ramen Suzu gets a 4.5/5. When we were leaving a staff member asked us how we knew about the shop (which is quite new) and we told her about the Ramen Walker. I think they may be open to suggestions, and I do plan on returning. Perhaps I can drop a hint their way.

Here is a map, links to tabelog, and strangely enough a google plus page.

麺や勝治 (Katsuji Kannai)

I returned to Katsuji after loosing my SD card to recapture some pictures and the experience. Kannai is a neighborhood close to Yokohama famous for a "red light" district, but also home to some thrifty shopping, and the office of my current employer! I have to go there for meetings so it is a perfect excuse to check out Katsuji once again. On the other side of the station from Isezaki (the main shopping area) you will find this ramen shop tucked away on a side street. Don't worry about missing it though, they are one of the shops that have an awesome mechanical bowl outside that emulates chopsticks bringing noodles out of an oversized bowl:

As you can see, Katsuji has a bone crossed with a chili pepper as their logo. They also have a point card system, which I used on my 2nd visit to get a free egg! I am a wimp when it comes to very hot spice in my ramen (maybe next time, as it is a convenient shop for me) so I just went with their number one recommended ramen.

The staff here is pretty gaijin friendly and they made sure I was OK with having a soft boiled egg. Of course I was, so out came my ramen with a lovely seasoned egg. A real standout of Katsuji is their use of caramelized onion bits that you can see there hanging out near the nori. They are absolutely fantastic, as is the shio stock. The egg was cooked to perfection as well. It is disappointing to note that their pork was slightly dry and lacking of any character or flavor. This is often the case, where I find most things to be perfect, there is one detraction. Overall Katsuji is delcious and I will report back if I try their signature super spicy ramen. 4/5

Map and link to the tabelog!