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!