Back From Winter Break! Yadogariya Ramen

Yama-chan throws his hat in the ramen ring!

Greetings Rameniacs!

We're back from Winter Break! It's time to come in from the cold to a nice, hot bowl of noodley deliciousness. Here to provide said deliciousness this time around is Yadogariya Ramen in Sakae, just a short walk southeast from the TV tower. Yadogariya Ramen is a subsidiary of Yamachan's Tebasaki, a very well-known Nagoya chain of fried chicken-wing shops. While not as well-known as Yama-chan's wings, Yadogariya Ramen is definitely worth a visit.

Yadogariya Ramen - A subsidiary of Yama-chan's Tebasaki (Chicken Wings), a Nagoya favorite.

Swimmin' in it!

Yadogariya operates on two principles: VARIETY and VOLUME! They have a wonderfully varied menu featuring about a dozen different soup options to suit just about any pallet. Not to mention, the servings are ENORMOUS! They serve the ramen bowls with an extra-large place underneath to catch any over-spill!

Tan-Tan Men: Filled to the top!

Miso Veggie Ramen - Packed full of veggie goodness!

 The Low Down

Yadogariya is a great lunch waiting to happen. Its ramen is flavorful, filling and served with a variety of soups and toppings to suit whatever you may be in the mood for. They definitely don't skimp on the serving sizes, so wear a belt with a few extra free spaces. You can check out Yadogariya Ramen for yourself here.

VOLUME!

Happy Ramening!

Butagami - Oasis 21, Sakae

God of Pigs!

Greetings Rameners,

This time around, we head downtown to a shop in the Oasis 21 shopping center called Butagami, which roughly translates as, "divine pig" or "pig god". I must admit, I quite like the name. However, there's more to a shop than just what it's called. We'll sample the house ramen and give you the run-down.

Butagami - The Divine Pig

The Ramen

Butagami House Ramen

The ramen here at Butagami has thin, whitish noodles done in the "Hakata" style. The diner has a choice as to how they are cooked, from al dente to soft. One can also choose how strongly flavored the soup is and how much garlic-infused oil is added for flavor. BE CAREFUL! When Butagami offers extra garlic oil, they mean EXTRA GARLIC OIL! I asked for extra garlic oil, and I can only describe the strength of garlic flavor in one way: Imagine an African bull elephant. Said elephant has been bitten by a vampire and turned into a creature of the dark. One bowl of Butagami ramen would drop it in its tracks. That is all.

The Toppings

A pretty sizeable bit of meat.

Butagami ramen has a pretty standard compliment of charshu pork and veggies, with one exception. The charshu pork is a thin sliced bit of pork almost half the size of the entire bowl. It wasn't as tender as some charshu pork I've tried, but what it lacked in tenderness, it made up for in overall size. It was like chowing down on an elephant ear!

No Regrets

I regret nothing!

Butagami Ramen won't go down as the best bowl I've ever had, but it is a solid bowl of ramen when one is in downtown Nagoya and suffering a noodle craving. The soup, oil and noodle options allow the diner to tailor the menu to their tastes and the menu also offers a wide variety of options. Some of the options are even a bit unusual, like Basil Ramen or Tomato Ramen.

One thing I really enjoyed was the quote written at the bottom of every bowl. It paraphrases a quote from the classic anime, "Fist of the North Star" and shows a pig saying something to the effect of, "Being made into this tonkotsu ramen leaves me with no regrets". To check this place out and form your own opinion, check out this shop at the Oasis 21 shopping center. I doubt you'll have any regrets, either.

Happy Ramening!

Tobe Ramen - Otsu Dori

An Osaka Favorite, Available in Nagoya

Hi Rameneers,

This time around, we visit the Nagoya branch of an Osaka favorite, Tobe Ramen. Its Kansai-style flavorings make for a wonderful dining experience. Let's take a closer look and see what sets this place apart from many others.

Tobe Ramen, on Otsu Dori, about ten minutes walk south of Osu 31.

Just like mom used to make.

Tobe has a tonkotsu-based house ramen that is so delicately-flavored, one can taste mother's love in every spoonful. The soup is amazingly warm, soft and comforting. It is just the dish for shaking off the chill of a cold winter day. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy just remembering its gentle flavors.

Tobe Ramen - Just like Mom would have made...if she ran a ramen shop.

The Soup! Oh, the SOUP!

I decided to give Tobe's Kurogoma (black sesame) Tan Tan Men a try, and I was not disappointed! The dish is served with a tobanjan-infused ground pork topping that gives the entire dish a wonderful picante. However, the real hero of our story is the soup. It's thick, rich and positively saturated with black sesame flavor. Check it out.

SO. MUCH. SESAME.

The total package.

I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Tobe Ramen. The staff were pleasant. The menu was full of options to suit a variety of tastes and, most importantly: The soup was phenomenal! Check this place out when you have a craving for a truly fantastic bowl of ramen.

Truly Fantastic.

Happy Ramening!

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!

Tonpa-re Ramen - Ridin' a Hog!

 A Road Hog's Ramen

Hey Noodle-Heads,

This time, we visit a little shop off the beaten path a bit. It's easiest to access this place by bus, taking a northbound bus from Imaike Subway Station and exiting at the Miyakodori 1-Chome bus stop. That's the fourth or fifth stop North from Imaike on most northbound lines. The good news is, it's right next to the bus stop! That, and it has a cool sign.

If Dennis Hopper was still alive and had a ramen shop.

 Kurume Kyuushu Style Ramen

The shop sign advertises Kurume Kyuushu style ramen, and it really does have a distinctly different flavor to other tonkotsu (pork marrow) soups I've had in the past. It has a bitterness to the soup that does create an interesting contrast to the natural tang and umami of tonkotsu. It strikes me as something that may appeal to a more mature pallet.

Ramen for Grown-ups.

Get your starch on!

As well as having a soup with a bit of kick to it, the ramen at Tonpa-re features a starchy, somewhat heavy noodle. This may not appeal to everyone, but it's quite filling and gives the dish a real "stick to the ribs" quality. It's a good "comfort food" noodle.

Mmmmm...Comfy.

Down and Dirty

Also available in "Spicy" with a dollop of tobanjan stewed ground pork.

 The lowdown on Tonpa-re Ramen is that it faithfully obeys the K.I.S.S. rule. Keep. It. Simple, Stupid! This is a ramen for sitting down and filling your belly with. It is warm, rich and has just a hint of bitterness to wake up your taste buds. It doesn't try to wow the diner with complex flavor nuances or a dizzying variety of toppings. It stands on its own. This is Kurume Kyuushu Tonkotsu Ramen, take it or leave it. To make up your own mind about it, you can find the shop here.

Happy Ramening!

Nagoya Cochin Kamatamaya Ramen - Whatsamatta? Ya Chicken?

Finally! A ramen for chicken lovers!

Greetings Ramenators,

This time around, we visit a local ramen shop that hopefully won't leave you crying, "fowl". Sorry. I just couldn't help myself. The local treasure in question is the poultry-lover's dream, Nagoya Cochin Kamatamaya Ramen. While many ramen shops have a pork/chicken/fish/whatever wanders into the trap-base to their soups, Kamatamaya Ramen is all about the cockerel.

Nagoya Cochin Kamatamaya Ramen - Near Kurumamichi

Giving you the bird...so to speak.

The Nagoya Cochin is a local breed of chicken dating back hundreds of years that has garnered acclaim among livestock circles for producing flavorful and tender meat. This restaurant uses Nagoya Cochin chicken to make a tori-gara (chicken broth) soup to base its menu upon.

The main flavor choices are miso or shoyu (soy-sauce), served regular or Kamatama (broth-on-the-side).

 The Soup.

The soups are light and salty, with a nice poultry tang. That is, unless you order from the Kamatama Ramen menu. In those dishes, the miso or soy sauce is served in a bowl with the noodles and toppings for you to mix up and enjoy, but you are given a pitcher of tori-gara soup to add as much or as little as you like to control how tangy or chickeny(?) you want your soup to be.

A pitcher of hot chicken soup. How awesome is that?!

But Wait...There's More.

One thing that really stood out when trying out the food here, was the toppings. Specifically, the charshu (roasted meat) topping. Charshu is almost always pork, but in keeping with the poultry-dedicated menu, the charshu served at Kamatamaya Ramen is made of smoked Nagoya Cochin chicken.

The Bird is the word.

All things considered.

 Kamatamaya Ramen is a nice change of pace from a lot of the main fair. It's light, tangy, and the smoked chicken really is a delicious soup topping. While I still favor tonkotsu (pork-marrow) as my soup of choice, I really enjoyed the light, delicate flavors of Kamatamaya. Check out their menu and a map on their website here.

Kamatamaya's Shoyu (Soy Sauce) Ramen

Happy Ramening!

Hongo Tei Ramen - One of Nagoya's Own.

Ramen for EATING!

Greetings Ramen-jammers,

This time, we'll be stopping by a Nagoya local chain called Hongo Tei. This is a small chain of shops with a very dedicated following among those who know about them. They're kind of a local secret. There are a few of these shops sprinkled around Eastern and Central Nagoya and they usually have a line out the door around mealtimes. They claim to be the "Ramen King", and after sampling their fare, I can't gainsay that claim. This shop is a serious contender!

Hongo Tei Ramen - Near Hongo Station on the Yellow Line.

Tonkotsu vs Miso : Play-by-Play 

Hongo Tei has a menu that offers something for just about everyone. This time around, I sampled their signature "Paitan"(Whitewater) Tonkotsu Ramen and their Hongo Tei Miso Ramen. Both are top-shelf examples of excellent ramen. let me give you a few details:

Paitan - (white water) Ramen.

Contender #1: Paitan Ramen

This is a brilliant Tonkotsu Ramen that can be described using a single word: MEATY! The soup has a pork flavor so rich, one finds oneself growing a curly tail after downing half a bowl. Not just the soup, either. The Charshu Pork topping is enormous! It's basically a pork roast floating in your soup bowl. No, seriously. Look:

They give you THREE of these!

 This soup is a meat-lover's dream and a vegan's nightmare. A must-try for those who want to let their inner carnivore out for a holiday. But that's not all! There's more...

Hongo Tei Miso Ramen. Get ready to chew.

Contender #2: Miso Ramen

Tangy, full-bodied and with enough toppings to keep your choppers busy for a week; Here's Hongo Tei Miso Ramen. Not just the charshu pork, but egg and veggies too. This is a soup for EATING. I can't say enough good things. Lots of flavor. Lots of toppings. If this isn't King Ramen, it's definitely in the royal family.

Lunchtime includes bottomless rice, pickled veggies and kim-chi! The gyoza are extra. Sorry.

A Full Spread!

These guys really know how to do ramen. With a varied menu and a range of side dishes, this is a restaurant that won't leave you wanting. Nagoya has a real jewel in Hongo Tei.You can enjoy a bowl here or check out the website. It's worth stopping by.

Happy Ramening!