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!