塩つけそば / Shio Tsukesoba / Motenashi Kuroki — Asakusabashi, Tokyo

Tanrei soup uses two types of chicken (Koshu and Tamba Black), Iwate duck, pork back bones, kombu, shiitake, daikon, tomatoes and vegetables. Each ingredient is simmered for the appropriate amount of time to maximize its flavor. The soup is combined with a super concentrated dashi extracted from niboshi, asari clams, chicken-bushi, kombu, shiro shoyu, gyokai and honey. The shio tare blends five varieties of salt, including sun-dried salt, Japanese sea salt (made by hand), seaweed salt, rock salt and lake salt. Noodles are house-made, no msg or chemical additives. Toppings utilize premium ingredients such as oven-roasted Spanish Galician chestnut pork belly, straw-grilled and smoked Japanese pork thigh and domestic chicken breast. Chicken meatballs are made from a mix of young and old chickens, menma is rehydrated for one week with dashi before being used. Finished with kujo negi and garlic chives.

Master Naoto Kuroki-san was born in Tokyo, the son of a fishmonger. Determined to pursue a career in cooking, he graduated from the Hattori Nutrition College and worked at a Japanese restaurant for five years. Following that he worked briefly at an Italian restaurant, before joining a major Japanese restaurant company. It was then that he discovered his love for ramen, quitting his job suddenly to train himself so he could open his own shop. Motenashi Kuroki opened in Akihabara in 2011, operating for 12 years before eventually moving to a larger, more modern space in Asakusabashi. 13 seats. New location open since October 29th, 2023 @motenashi.kuroki