OH NO

Hello to anyone that enjoys my blog. I accidentally erased a lot of pictures and so I have to spend some time to recover them from the various places I have them saved. I didn't know my phone was linked to my blog. I think the cloud screwed me. Please bear with me while I try to recover the pictures for the blog.

Thanks!

Natalie

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!

つけめん むらさきたくみの (Tsukemen Murasaki Takumi Monzen nakacho)

Recently I have picked up some more part time hours, but more importantly, it was my birthday last week. Though I was working I managed to snag some noodles at a shop close to where I am working. Generally I like to save tsukemen (dipping noodles) for summer, but I noticed that these were curry noodles. Because of my new found lust for noodles combined with curry I decided to check out Tsukemen Murasaki Takumi in Monzen nakacho.

This shop has a well worn atmosphere with counter seating only. On a cold January evening I felt cozy while I waited for my curry tsukemen to be served. The staff member working was very friendly and tried his best to speak English. Of course I wanted the large noodles. Of course I wanted it hot! Because these noodles are super thick it took a little longer than I am used to for me to get my dish, so while I waited I took an inventory of the condiments: bonito, yuzu powder, hot chili pepper, regular pepper, and some kind of special tsukemen topping. Fantastic!

I was not disappointed. A beautiful thick curry was served topped with saffron and loaded with hokusai (napa cabbage) along with a separate bowl of Parmesan. Thick chewy tsukemen noodles complete with chashu, egg, and nori completed this round of a sublime noodle endeavor. I say sublime because no condiments were necessary and everything was cooked to perfection. I mean everything. Chasu practically fell apart in my mouth and check out this amazing egg:

5/5! Go to warm yourself up. I noticed this neighborhood also had a lot of cool looking places to drink, so it might be the perfect spot for a drunk noodle binge.

Map and link!

Curry Festival @UNU

Long time, no noodle. I was on holiday during the end of December and the beginning of January. When on Holiday I find it hard to blog. I was also in the US, and my main culinary conquests were pizza, Jewish deli food, and Mexican. All three things are difficult to locate in Japan, and I was into satisfying my homesick palate. On my return I really wanted ramen. I stopped at a favorite local shop. But what to do about a new review? Every weekend the Aoyama area has a farmer's market. If you like trying samples of fresh vegetables and other treats I suggest you go! They often have special food based events and this past weekend was the curry festival. I scoped it out and after sharing some cheesy nan and curry with my friends I landed at the "curry ramen" stall:

This was offered by Ikiba, a very cute and cozy cafe nestled in the hustle and bustle of Harajuku. Generally Ikiba does not have ramen, but I have been there before and their food is quite delicious. Being the only ramen offered at the curry festival I went for it. It was a cook your own adventure, meaning you put the noodles into the steaming hot water yourself and then with the aid of their chef finished a lovely bowl of ramen.

The noodles were a flat wavy type I associate with Chinese dishes. Cilantro and a little chili oil was added to round out the flavor of a robust pork curry. Amazing! I am sad that this was a one time offer during a special event and now I might be in search of more curry ramen dishes. If you haven't been to Ikiba and you need a break while in the Harajuku area I highly recommend it! 5/5

Here are maps to both the farmer's market and Ikiba!

Farmer's market



Ikiba

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.

節骨麺たいぞう 池袋東口店 (Bushikotsumen Taizo Ikebukuro)

Ikebukuro is a strange, but interesting place within the metropolitan Tokyo area. It has been hailed as the female otaku alternative to Akihabara because there are several shops that specialize in Yaoi manga. If you are unfamiliar, click the link. I like Ikebukuro for its strange charms and the lesser visited "other side of the tracks" west exit. Usually I try to avoid chains, but Bushikotsumen Taizo is a relatively small one, with only 3 shops, one of them being near the west exit.

Japanese ramen bloggers also seem to really enjoy this shop. Right away I enjoyed the busy and excited atmosphere. The shop staff at Taizo is super genki. I went with a friend so I could have a chance to do a double review. He chose the pork and chicken base and I chose the seafood because I can't seem to get enough of that deep salty fish flavor.

The noodles and toppings are basically the same for both bowls: negi, chashu, nori, bamboo shoots, and egg. Standard and classic. However the pork/chicken bowl had minced garlic and a complex meaty flavor. The seafood bowl was an excellent strong bonito. True standouts here for me are their noodles and chashu.

The noodles come from Hokkaido and are a perfect texture between soft and firm. I can not stress how much I liked Taizo's noodles. Some of the best to date! Their fatty chashu basically melts in your mouth and made me wish that I had selected the chashu ramen. How about condiments? I am happy to report that Taizo fresh garlic that you can press yourself, hot sesame oil, pepper, and condiments for the gyoza that you can order. The gyoza was fairly standard and I recommend going for their ramen alone. I can't seem to find anything bad about Taizo so it's going to get a 5/5 for a genki staff and delicious chashu.

Map and links: official site, tabelog

みそや林檎堂/アップルベーシック (Misoya Ringo/Apple Basic Higashi Nakano)

So nice they had to name it twice? Let's find out! Misoya Ringo or Apple Basic in Higashi Nakano offers up a miso ramen with style. This is another shop that I found to be on the boutique end of the ramen shop spectrum. It presents a cozy atmosphere with magazines and stylish, but basic bar seating:

The staff there was also really friendly and asked me about why I was taking pictures. Of course I had to admit that eating ramen is a hobby, but I suppose I am still a little too shy to mention that I also write about it. Higashi Nakano is not such a busy or famous neighborhood, but Apple Basic just may be worth the trip. This shop has seen 2 overhauls, and I think the 3rd time is the charm.

I ordered miso ramen with an egg. This shop did not skimp on detail or noodles. I really appreciated the presentation, noodles buried under toppings of egg, chashu, thinly sliced negi, mizuna, bean sprouts, and ground pork.

The egg was also a lovely deep red orange color, and I haven't seen one quite like it.

Apple Basic's noodles are on the slightly thick and soft side, which I think went well with the miso base because they held it quite well. After all, part of the reason for choosing noodles is to best capture the base of your ramen. Some shops do this more successfully than others and Apple Basic is one of them. The base itself had a nice light miso flavor and mixed really well with the toppings. Their chashu, which they also sell separately, is soft, juicy, but not served warm. Same goes for the egg. Not my preference, but the cook on both is sublime. Condiments were slightly lacking, there was hot oil and pepper, but this might be another bowl that is quite perfect on its very own merits. 4.5/5 for Apple Basic, and worth the trip if it's a cold winter day!

Tabelog page and a Map: