Restaurants
- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Ame Wa Yasashiku (雨は、やさしく) at Ame Wa Yasashiku (雨は、やさしく)
Recommended bowl: Super unique bowls
This shop is beloved by ramen heads and regularly draws a line. The soup is a niboshi base made with Japanese-style wafu dashi, served in both shoyu and miso versions. The unique toppings really set this shop apart — they include four kinds of chashu (two chicken, two pork), burdock root tempura, minced konbu... More
Recommended bowl: Super unique bowls
This shop is beloved by ramen heads and regularly draws a line. The soup is a niboshi base made with Japanese-style wafu dashi, served in both shoyu and miso versions. The unique toppings really set this shop apart — they include four kinds of chashu (two chicken, two pork), burdock root tempura, minced konbu and a white chicken-liver paste, all of which you mix into the soup as you eat. Ame Wa Yasashiku now has a second shop, with a slightly different menu, located closer to Sapporo station. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Akaishi Shokudō (明石食堂) at Akaishi Shokudō (明石食堂)
Recommended bowl: Monster spareribs
One of the highest ranked and most popular noodle shops in the Yaeyama archipelago, this local soki soba spot on the north end of Ishigaki can get crowded during peak hours. Customers patiently wait to get served up a cloudy but light pork and katsuo-based noodle soup, with a topping option of monster pieces of... More
Recommended bowl: Monster spareribs
One of the highest ranked and most popular noodle shops in the Yaeyama archipelago, this local soki soba spot on the north end of Ishigaki can get crowded during peak hours. Customers patiently wait to get served up a cloudy but light pork and katsuo-based noodle soup, with a topping option of monster pieces of sparerib meat, often times with tendon and/or cartilage still attached. The classic Yaeyama soba noodles are still made on the island. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at むぎとオリーブ at Mugi To Olive (むぎとオリーブ)
白美卵まぜ SOBA / Hakubi Tamago Maze Soba / Mugi to Olive — Ginza, Tokyo
Rich egg mazesoba consists of noodles tossed with tare sauce and topped with a white egg yolk. The noodles are developed jointly with the Kyoto based Menya Teigaku. Other toppings include pork chashu, negi, pickles, fried tofu, fish cake, mitsuba and nori. Parmesan cheese... More
白美卵まぜ SOBA / Hakubi Tamago Maze Soba / Mugi to Olive — Ginza, Tokyo
Rich egg mazesoba consists of noodles tossed with tare sauce and topped with a white egg yolk. The noodles are developed jointly with the Kyoto based Menya Teigaku. Other toppings include pork chashu, negi, pickles, fried tofu, fish cake, mitsuba and nori. Parmesan cheese can be added as a free condiment. The standard ramen menu features bowls containing a shoyu triple soup of chicken, niboshi and hamaguri clams.
The name 'Mugi to Olive' refers to wheat and olive oil. When the shop first opened they encouraged customers to add olive oil to your ramen midway through your bowl. A second branch is located in Kanda, 15 seats at the Ginza flagship. Open since February 2014, renewal opening on May 27th, 2023. @mugiolive Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Ajitoku (ラーメン専門 味特本店) at Ajitoku (ラーメン専門 味特本店)
Recommended bowl: Local favorite
Ajitoku doesn't get as much fanfare as other famous Asahikawa shops, but some locals consider it to be just as good as any shop in the city. The original shop opened over 40 years ago, but later relocated closer to Asahikawa station. They now have a second branch as well. The soup here is 100 percent pork-based with... More
Recommended bowl: Local favorite
Ajitoku doesn't get as much fanfare as other famous Asahikawa shops, but some locals consider it to be just as good as any shop in the city. The original shop opened over 40 years ago, but later relocated closer to Asahikawa station. They now have a second branch as well. The soup here is 100 percent pork-based with a shoyu tare blended in. The key though is the noodles, still handmade each day by the original founder's grandson at an offsite location. The shop closes when the soup runs out — usually around 2am. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at 新橋 (Shinbashi) at Yakiniku LIKE Shimbashi
特製つけ麺 / Tokusei Tsukemen / Menya Sugo — Shimbashi, Tokyo
Rich tonkotsu-gyokai dipping soup is boiled at 136 °C and contains pork, chicken and five types of gyokai. The tare sauce uses shoyu from Akita Prefecture. Kanno Seimen noodles are made with a custom recipe and only available at this shop. The noodles contain one type of domestic... More
特製つけ麺 / Tokusei Tsukemen / Menya Sugo — Shimbashi, Tokyo
Rich tonkotsu-gyokai dipping soup is boiled at 136 °C and contains pork, chicken and five types of gyokai. The tare sauce uses shoyu from Akita Prefecture. Kanno Seimen noodles are made with a custom recipe and only available at this shop. The noodles contain one type of domestic flour, sourced from Fukuoka. Three kinds of chashu include special brand pork belly and shoulder, as well as chicken which is seasoned with salt only. Menma is house-made. Nori seaweed is sourced from Chiba and grilled every morning. The soup is topped with red onion, menegi and yuzu. Wari-soup uses shellfish and katsuo dashi.
Master Sugo-san ran Menya Kotobuki in Edogawa-ku for seven years, then studied Japanese cuisine at the Tsuji Culinary Institute. He researched ramen for another year on his own before opening Menya Sugo in Shimbashi. Five seats. Since June 18th, 2021 @menya_sugo Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Ajito Ism (アジトイズム) at Ajito Ism (アジトイズム)
Recommended bowl: Pizza mazesoba?
Ajito Ism is located down a quiet alleyway in Oimachi. 'Ajito' means 'hideout' in Japanese — if you're not looking carefully, you could easily walk past without even knowing the shop is there. Inside the ceiling is black and the walls are black, red or raw concrete. Dark but slick. There's one long counter with 11... More
Recommended bowl: Pizza mazesoba?
Ajito Ism is located down a quiet alleyway in Oimachi. 'Ajito' means 'hideout' in Japanese — if you're not looking carefully, you could easily walk past without even knowing the shop is there. Inside the ceiling is black and the walls are black, red or raw concrete. Dark but slick. There's one long counter with 11 plush, leather stools — pull up a seat and get to work.
Ajito Ism's master is a guy who goes by the name Mr. M. Trained as a French and Italian chef, Mr. M ran as many as seven restaurants in Tokyo before changing his focus to ramen. He's brought his background in Italian cooking to bear on the bowls at Ajito Ism, creating a weird but compelling Italo-Japanese fusion.
The shop is well regarded for its tsukemen, of which Mr. M serves three varieties: shoyu, rosso (a tomato-based sauce) and pepe rosso (a spicy version of the rosso). The dish that made him famous, however, is even more eccentric: pizza soba.
M's pizza soba is served maze style: high-quality tsukemen noodles from Kanno-Seimen are draped on a bed of tomato sauce made with blended vegetables, se-abura, chicken oil and gyokai dashi. M heaps a pile of classic pizza ingredients on top, including fresh tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, olives, anchovies and garlic. Mix everything up like you're saucing a pasta and dig in. There are a variety of condiments on the counter — salt, pepper, curry powder, Tabasco, garlic chips, etc. Season to taste.
Naturally, this dish calls to mind a hearty plate of pasta, but the chewy tsukemen noodles and mode of presentation are unmistakably of the ramen world. Pizza ramen could easily be some sort of gross chain restaurant novelty item, but Ajito's version is a legit fusion — a well-crafted bowl rooted in knowledge of both cooking traditions. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at 千歳烏山 ちとせからすやま at Karasuyama Shokudo
つけめん / Tsukemen / Ramen Tsukemen Sachika — Chitose-Karasuyama, Tokyo
Tonkotsu-gyokai double soup uses pork bones and chicken combined with multiple types of niboshi (including iriko). Noodles are supplied by Asahiya, toppings feature pork chashu and negi.
Master Fukumori-san previously worked under the Setagaya ramen group and was the... More
つけめん / Tsukemen / Ramen Tsukemen Sachika — Chitose-Karasuyama, Tokyo
Tonkotsu-gyokai double soup uses pork bones and chicken combined with multiple types of niboshi (including iriko). Noodles are supplied by Asahiya, toppings feature pork chashu and negi.
Master Fukumori-san previously worked under the Setagaya ramen group and was the shop manager of Chūka Soba Fukumori in Setagaya (now closed) before going independent. Seven seats. Open since March 4th, 2023. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Ramen at Ajian Shokudō (あじ庵食堂) at Ajian Shokudō (あじ庵食堂)
Recommended bowl: New Kitakata style
Master Ebana-san is a bit different from other old school Kitakata ramen masters, because he is always trying to come up with something new. Customers have the choice between standard Kitakata-style medium-width chijiremen (wavy noodles), and thin straight noodles. Shoyu, Shio, and Miso soups are all on the menu,... More
Recommended bowl: New Kitakata style
Master Ebana-san is a bit different from other old school Kitakata ramen masters, because he is always trying to come up with something new. Customers have the choice between standard Kitakata-style medium-width chijiremen (wavy noodles), and thin straight noodles. Shoyu, Shio, and Miso soups are all on the menu, but the Shoyu is most recommended. The shop also offers gentei (limited edition) bowls, with past specials like tori-paitan and other genres that are otherwise hard to find in Kitakata. The shop is run by Ebana-san and his wife. Less
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Recommended bowl: Appareya Disciple
Open since 2014, Kataguruma is an offshoot of the uber-famous Kyoto shop 'Ore no Ramen Appareya'. The master here trained at Appareya, of course, and the menus are almost identical. The soup is a velvety double-blend of tonkotsu and gyokai, and the pork chashu is served pink and encrusted with black pepper, almost... More
Recommended bowl: Appareya Disciple
Open since 2014, Kataguruma is an offshoot of the uber-famous Kyoto shop 'Ore no Ramen Appareya'. The master here trained at Appareya, of course, and the menus are almost identical. The soup is a velvety double-blend of tonkotsu and gyokai, and the pork chashu is served pink and encrusted with black pepper, almost like ham. It's not quite as highly ranked as the original, but still damn good. Less
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- Abram Plaut added a new meal Dinner at 丸龍 at Chūka Soba Maruryū
つけそば / Tsukesoba / Chūka Soba Maruryū — Sagami-Ono, Kanagawa
Classic Tokyo style tsukemen. Shoyu soup is pork based with a light gyokai touch, the taste a triple threat of sweet, salty and sour. Semi-oily finish with white sesame seeds and a pinch of togarashi. Curly, medium-thin flat noodles are soaked in cold water before being served,... More
つけそば / Tsukesoba / Chūka Soba Maruryū — Sagami-Ono, Kanagawa
Classic Tokyo style tsukemen. Shoyu soup is pork based with a light gyokai touch, the taste a triple threat of sweet, salty and sour. Semi-oily finish with white sesame seeds and a pinch of togarashi. Curly, medium-thin flat noodles are soaked in cold water before being served, giving them a cool, smooth and chewy texture. Toppings include chopped negi and pork chashu cut into bite-sized pieces.
Chūka Soba Maruryū has direct connections to the legendary Maruchō in Ogikubo and is a member of the Maruchō Norenkai. Run by a master and his wife. 12 seats. Open since March 1960. Less