Blogspot - Ramenz Kitchen

ラーメン無法松 Another one off my 2016 行きたい list! Muhomatsu is in Kokura, a city in the north of Kyushu. An industrial city that few tourists really need to visit. Negikara , standard, and a limited bowl with thick cut pork are the three to try. I went with the standard, called fittingly muhomatsu ramen. Even though the shop was relatively empty when I came, I have heard that they often run out of soup early on in the day. Please keep that in mind. The soup is more of a clear tonkotsu broth. Made with three kinds of pork, it is full of flavor, but a bit easier to crush than a thicker, stinkier bowl that you usually find in the area. It's also topped with both pork belly and shoulder, for both fatty and lean cuts of chashu. The freshly sliced stalks of spring onion and a little spicy sauce balance the whole thing out. I didn't want to waste any of this unique soup. Kaedama, of course. I usually avoid the extra serving of noodles, as there is probably another shop in the area to go to, ...

アオリの神隠し Bear with me here. This is Seungri, a member of Korean mega k-pop group Big Bang. I know of this band, as I live in Asia and do not live under a rock. Ask me to name one of their songs? Can't do it. Ask me to name one of their members? Couldn't do it until 3 minutes ago, when I started research for this ramen review. Seungri is the youngest member of the group, at 26 years old. In December of 2016, he opened a ramen shop in Seoul, and in the following year, 14 other shops from the chain around Asia. Yes, that is 15 shops in less than a year. Aori-chan is the shop's official mascot. A quick internet search revealed nothing about who, what, or why. I guess it is for marketing. It is strange, actually, that Seungri's face isn't all over this spot. All of the customers were female fans who were probably fans of Big Bang. The shop takes (steals?) the Ichiran idea of isolation booths for solo eating. Lighter tonoktsu ramen, supposedly easier for the ladies, is on ...

みつか坊主 本店 Osaka is such a strange, fun city. You never really know what you are going to get. This time around, it was excellent miso ramen with local craft beers. My first time to this part of town. Hotarugaike Station is way up on the north side of Osaka. It might even be in Hyogo Prefecture. Regardless, the Osaka train system is legit, and you can be here in no time. Are you lying? It's miso! In a pudding! Yeah, they have their own free paper. The cover of this one is advertising a miso pudding that the shop sells. Miso and soy sauce are sometimes used in desserts. Draft beer from Minoh, Osaka's most famous craft beer maker. Let's go for the pint. That pint is massive! Or is her head small? Regardless, this is a spot to come, drink, and take your slurping a bit slower. The ramen menu has a few choices. It was my first time, but some regulars told me that it is always changing. This time, it was between the white, red, or spicy miso. The white was pretty good. Not as refin...

VEGE CHINA Fancy department store Chinese noodles? Most upscale department stores in Japan have a restaurant floor up high. The food ranges from upper-end casual to lower-end gourmet, and I am sure there are some gems out there. To be honest, I don't spend much time shopping at the likes of Isetan, Matsuyama, and Mitsukoshi. On the off chance I find some fashion I am in to, the price is never something I would spend. Six hundred dollars for that fashion t-shirt, I just can't do it. The reason I was up in Shinjuku Isetan this day, though, was for a popup kakigori shop. Kakigori is Japanese shaved ice, and I've been trying to figure out why people are so obsessed with it. This one was topped with mango, an earl grey spumante (the popup was from a famous tea supplier), and fresh passion fruit. Did we really need the gold leaf? I guess that's why this cost over $20. Scratch what I said about blowing large amounts of cash. Kakigori alone doesn't really fill you up, so I ...

アートマサシヤ This one comes as a recommendation from a sushi shop that was a recommendation from a ramen shop. Funny how these things work. Located just up the hill from Shibuya Station, the location is prime. It seems like there has been a shop here for some time. Before being a ramen shop, this was an old school Japanese kisaten , or coffee shop. Think coffee and cigarettes. This ramen shop's mantra has to do with minerals. For a healthy diet, we should be consuming quality food that is high in minerals. While many chain shops and convenience stores stock food low in minerals, Art Masashiya prides themselves on a mineral-rich bowl of ramen. 旨口 - a balanced soup 濃口 - a bolder soup Your choice. All natural ingredients, including some deep shoyu  from Shodoshima, one of Japan's most famous (and remote) soy sauce producing regions. The fried egg triangle makes this photo instantly recognizable to this shop. And keep in mind this is a lunch only spot. 東京都渋谷区南平台町2-8 Tokyo, Shibuya-ku, N...

箸とレンゲ Another new shop from Shono-san, the master behind seven shops (as of 2017). Like all of his ventures, each one is a different concept. But first, we have to look at the location. Right under the tracks of the Chuo Line in Asagaya, just west of Shinjuku. There is a new construction trend around Tokyo to build stylish mini-malls under the tracks next to minor stations, and fill the shops with good restaurants and stores. You mostly find bistros and western cuisine, so it is nice to see a great ramen shop at this one. Being a Mensho Group shop, noodles are very important. This automatic stone grinder helps make some of the fresh ground flour that is mixed into the noodles. Wheat, like coffee, has a much more vivid aroma when it is freshly ground. Shono-san has been pushing the farm-to-bowl concept at all of his new shops. I got some backlash when I made a YouTube video (see it here ) and referred to the this buzzword. Sure, it has become a bit pretentious in America, but out here i...