Ichibanken Ramen - Imaike

Ramen For Night Owls

Imaike Shop - Opens at 5:30PM. No Lunch Hours

 Greetings Ramenators,

This time around, we take a look at a chain of shops that started in Owari Asahi, one of the suburbs of Nagoya. It has since spread around Aichi Prefecture, and has several brances, including this branch in Imaike, the night life district of Nagoya. Just the place for night-owls feeling a bit peckish after leaving the pub.

 Tonkotsu Ramen - As simple as Black and White

The featured dish at Ichibanken Ramen is a choice in black and white, literally. There is a "White" ramen and a "Black" ramen, among others, for the diner to choose from.

Ichibanken offers a "White" tonkotsu ramen, which is a pure, no-frills tonkotsu. It tastes strongly of pork, pork and nothing but pork. After a spoonful of this soup, you'll be convinced that you've just bitten a pig. I am not saying that this is a bad thing.

The "Black" tonkotsu ramen, on the other hand, is spiced with a dark, rich oil infused with toasted garlic and other flavors. It has a slightly more complex flavor than the "white", but the pork broth flavor still features strongly in the overall taste.

Both soups are a complimented well by a standard set of toppings. They feature: negi, boiled egg, charshu pork, and nori seaweed as pictured below.

Choose Wisely...

Black Ramen - Sorry, gyoza are extra.

White Ramen - Sorry, karaage is extra.

You can, "Feel the power of the Dark Side", by choosing the ramen to the left.

or...

 "Always look on the bright side of life", by choosing the ramen to your right.

 

 

 Now, That's using your noodle!

 With all of the talk about the "Black" and "White" soup options, it's easy to forget about all of the different ways, (eight, to be precise) you can enjoy noodles at Ichibanken Ramen.

One can choose Hakata-style ramen, which is lighter and has a paler color. You can choose to have the Hakata-style noodles cooked to five levels of hardness, from harder than applied mathematics to soft and mushy as a teenage vampire novel.

The other choice on the table, and the one recommended by the shop staff I might add, is the Chuuka-style noodle. These noodles are heavier and have a yellowish tint. One can choose to have them prepared to three levels of hardness: al dente, regular or soft.

The Chart of available noodles and a gauge of hardness-softness.

 Choose Wisely...Again...

On the left is the heavier, yellowish Chuuka-soba noodle.

On the right is the thinner, paler Hakata-soba noodle.

This shop lets you choose which suits your tastes.

The Whole Sha-bang.

Ichibanken Ramen is a good tonkotsu ramen with a lot of choices to please a wide range of tastes. That being said, the soups are not strongly spiced and if you prefer a more complex range of flavors, it might not be what you're looking for. However, if you like to have a lot of brothy goodness to your soup and are particular about how your like your noodles, Ichibanken Ramen may be right up your alley. Check out more here.

Happy Ramening!