Musashibo

It was my last day in Hiroshima and it wasn't long before I had to make the train back to Osaka. I had already eaten spicy tsukemen that day, but it felt somehow like it was not enough. I consulted the map again, and discovered Musashibo, one of the few tantanmen places that was open on Sunday. This time I went with a paltry spiciness level 3.

広島の最後の日でもうすぐ大阪行きの電車に乗らないとだめでした。辛いつけ麺をあの日にもう食べましたけど、何かもうちょっと食べたかったです。地図を見て、日曜日に開いている「武蔵坊」という店に行きました。今回３辛だけにしました。

The Bowl
Musashibo's tantanmen was a slew of short noodles in a spicy, red sauce. What made this bowl stand out more than others was the amount of sides they had. Three kinds of chili pepper were offered: green, red, and young, along with their house special that was a mixture. Of course I had to try all of them one by one. The green had a strong aroma, and its spice when straight to my nose. The red was crunchier, and had a bit more flavor to it. The young one was less spicy than the others, but had more peppery taste to it. I mixed and matched, and by the end could barely feel my tongue.

武蔵坊の担々麺には短い細麺と辛いタレがありました。一番気になったのはおいてあった山椒でした。青山椒、赤山椒、若山椒と混ざった「武蔵坊花椒」がありました。青は風味がして、すぐツーんとなりました。赤いのはカリカリしてちょっと辛かったですけど、味が濃かったです。若山椒はあまり辛くなかったですけど、味が強かったです。いろいろ混ぜて最後に舌がすっごいビリビリでした。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

また行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes.

行ったらいいです。

Information
武蔵坊

Karabu

Although I had eaten a couple bowls of soupless tantanmen in Hiroshima, I wanted to try some of the spicy tsukemen that I had discovered a year earlier. Last time I went to chain shop Bakudanya, so this time I looked up a shop Hayariya and headed there.

汁なし担々麺を２杯食べたので、次か去年わかってきた辛いつけ麺を食べてみたかったです。前回爆弾屋という店に行って、今回「流行屋」という店に行ってみました。

...it was closed. I did a bit more research and found another shop a bit away called Karabu, and I headed over.

閉まっていました。ネットで調べて、「辛部」という店に行きました。

There was a wide range of spiciness, and I went with the level 10 "very spicy".

辛さの幅が広くて１０辛の大辛にしました。

The Bowl
I was given a plate full of cabbage and cold noodles, along with a deep red sesame oil mix. The sesame soup was thin with waves of thicker sesame oil inside. It was properly spicy, and with the firm noodles and crisp vegetables, it tasted like a southeast Asian spicy salad. The chashu too was a little crispy, and was a nice thicker alternative to the light vegetables.

キャベツ、冷たい麺、と深い赤色の胡麻スープをもらいました。スープは薄めでしたけど、とろみがあるゴマだれも混ざっていました。ちゃんとした辛味がして、もちもちとした麺とシャキシャキの野菜に合いました。東南アジア風サラダっぽかったです。チャーシューもちょっとカリカリした感じで野菜と違う食感でよかったです。

Would I Go Again?
It was definitely good, but next time I'm in Hiroshima, I'll try another shop.

美味しかったですけど、今度広島に行くときに他の店に行ってみます。

Should You Go?
Yeah, check it out.

広島に行くなら行ったらいいです。

Information
つけ麺本舗 辛部

Suzurantei

After a night of drinking in Hiroshima, it was time for some food. I made a promise to myself this trip that I would eat more than my fair share of soupless tantanmen. I checked my map and noticed that a shop called Suzurantei was still open, so I went in and got tantanmen with an egg.

広島でいっぱい飲んでから何か食べたくなりました。今回の旅行にいっぱい汁なし担々麺を食べたかったです。地図を見て、「すずらん亭」という店がまだ開いていました。入って、汁なし担々麺温玉付にしました。

The Bowl
The noodles were extra thin, but still had a good chew to them. The spice this time was mostly pepper, but there was a bit of sansho mixed in for good measure. It was spicy in the right way, and there was a cinnamon aroma too. The whole mixture was smoothed out by the egg's glaze.

麺がとうに細かったですけど、噛みやすかったです。山椒はちょっと入っていましたけど、それより胡椒が利きました。辛かったですけど、シナモンの風味もしました。温玉でまろやかになりました。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, it was good.

美味しかったのでまた行きたいです。

Should You Go?
If you're out and about in Hiroshima, this place is a good place to stop before calling it.

広島で遊んでいる場合はすずらん亭で〆したらいいです。

Information
すずらん亭

Kinguken

It's time for another trip! I visited Hiroshima a year back and had some spicy tsukemen. I went back, but this time with a goal to have more, and try some of Hiroshima's famous soupless tantanmen. I had a map of a number of places, and as soon as I arrived in Hiroshima, I aimed to start eating. The first closest place was Za Nakamura.

また旅行です！１年前に広島に行ってからいつ毛麺を食べました。今回また行きましたけど、広島ご当地グルメ汁なし担々麺を食べたかったです。地図を持っていたので広島に着いた瞬間に店を探しはじめました。一番近いのが座・中村でした。

But they were closed. I continued searching and stumbled upon a ramen alley.

閉まっていました。いろいろ探して、らーめん横町を見かけました。

No tantanmen there, though. I tried another place.

担々麺はなかったです。他の店に行ってみました。

But no luck. Finally I made my way to Kinguken, a small chain of Hiroshima tantanmen shops. I ordered the tantanmen, at level three out of five spice.

あかんかった。ようやく「キング軒」という店が見つかりました。３辛の担々麺を注文しました。

The Bowl
I like the level of simplicity that was brought to my first bowl of Hiroshima soupless tantanmen. The noodles were thin and chewy, soaked in a fine spicy oil. With each bite, the sansho's buzz could be felt more and more. As soon as I ran out of noodles, they gave me a lump of rice to put in. It lacked the punch of the noodles, but combined with the leftover oil and a bit of vinegar, it was a sweet and refreshing way to cap it off.

この初めての広島風汁なし担々麺がかなりシンプルでした。麺が細くて食感がよかったです。辛いタレに潜んでいて、食べれば食べるほど山椒が利いていました。麺がなくなったらあとめしがもらえました。麺よりちょっと薄めでしたけど、お酢をかけたらさっぱりした味がしました。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, it was good. But there are also so many other places to try.

美味しかったです。でも、他の食べてみたい店がいっぱいあります。

Should You Go?
If you're visiting Hiroshima, Kinguken is a solid place to try Hiroshima tantanmen.

広島に行くなら、キング軒がおすすめします。

Information
キング軒

Bakudanya

Hiroshima! I got a chance to visit Onomichi last year, but it had been so long since I visited the namesake capital of Hiroshima prefecture. I traveled with some friends and a tourist, so we mixed in a bit of tourism with a bit of just checking out the city. Of course that means eating lots of different things, including Hiroshima's famous spicy tsukemen.

広島！去年尾道に行く機会がありましたけど広島市に行くのがめっちゃ久しぶりでした。友達と旅行者と行ったので観光地にも飲食屋にも行きました。もちろん、いっぱいでいろいろ食べてきました。わざわざ広島に行って辛いつけ麺を食べなあかんかった。

Itsukushima Shrine

厳島神社

Momiji manju

紅葉まんじゅう

Itsukushima ginger beer

厳島ジンジャービール

Oysters

焼きがき

Hiroshimayaki

広島焼き

Bakudanya is the most famous chain of Hiroshima spicy tsukemen shops, so that was our goal. They have a spiciness scale that goes all the way up to 100, but sadly they dissuaded me from being too crazy and I went with spicy level 5 and a half-boiled egg for kicks.

辛いつけ麺の中に一番有名なのは「ばくだん屋」です。その店で辛さが選べて０から１００まであります！結構高くしようかなと考えていましたけど店員さんに注意されたので５辛にしてプラス半熟玉子。

The Bowl
One bowl full of a frigid, red liquid, with a whole bucket of sesame seeds dumped in, and another with more cabbage than a nabe. Where do I even start? The cold-but-spicy combination is an unusual one, reminding me of such dishes as Chinese spicy pig-ear salad. The spice wasn't too much, but it lingered, letting my lips tingle ever so slightly as I took in the refreshing broth. The clear noodles differed from the cabbage and other toppings only in texture, as everything was light and took in the sesame flavor of the soup. It takes a special kind of spice to leave me feeling good and my stomach feeling intact after a full meal of tsukemen.

冷たくてごまだらけで真っ赤なスープがあるボールと鍋よりキャベツが多いボールがおいてありました。これはどんなものですか？スープは冷たくてピリ辛だったのでちょっと中国の豚耳サラダの思い出が浮かれました。ちょうどいいピリ辛であっさりトッピングと透明な麺なので全体的にさっぱり感がすごかったです。辛いのに食べてからおなかいたくなかったんで感動しました。

Would I Go Again?
This place was unique and refreshing, I would go again.

このつけ麺はユニークでさっぱりなのでまた行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes.

一回行った方がいいです。

Information
廣島つけ麺本舗 ばくだん屋

Ichiban Kan

Another day in Onomichi, another bowl of ramen. My friends and I were going to head out early towards Kagawa, but we were hankering for some Australian meat pies, and when we decided to stay for meat pies, we realized we might as well stay for more ramen, too.

Shukaen was the most highly recommended shop, so we had a bit more options for number two. We went with another place suggested that wasn't too far, Ichiban Kan.

私たちは早く香川に行こうと思っていましたけど、見つけたオーストラリア風ミートパイ屋さんで食べてみました。ミートパイを食べるために待つことになったら、ラーメンも食べてしまおうかと思っていました。

Information
尾道ラーメン壱番館
2 Chome-9-26 Tsuchidō

The Bowl
The broth was a rich shoyu, that tasted almost like a sauce you'd see on Chinese food, but compared to Shukaen, it was lighter. The noodles were thin and chewy. I expected a simple bowl, but Ichiban Kan laid on the toppings hard. Creamy egg, menma, all kinds of onions, and thick if chewy kakuni pork topped the bowl.

濃い醤油でした。朱華園みたいに中華風ソースの味がしましたけど、朱華園より薄めでした。麺は細くてもちもちでした。トッピングもいっぱいもらいました。柔らかい卵、メンマ、ネギ、あつあつ豚角煮が乗っていました。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, this place was great.

また行きたいです。

Should You Go?
If you're in Onomichi, check Shukaen first. Then go here.

尾道に行ったら、朱華園に行くべきです。次は壱番館です。

Shukaen

Part one of Golden Week was my fantastic trip to Tottori. For the second Golden Weekend, I had four days off so I went with two friends to Onomichi and Kagawa. Anyone who knows me at all knows my primary reasons for going: Onomichi is famous for ramen and Kagawa is famous for udon. Onomichi's style is shoyu, but rich and savery, and filled with pieces of gelatinous pork fat. It's the most famous thing about Onomichi, so we started with the most famous shop, Shukaen.

一つ目のゴールデンウェイーケンドに鳥取に行きました。二つ目のゴールデンウェイーケンドに４連休があったので尾道と香川に行きました。ラーメンとうどん万歳！尾道ラーメンは醤油なんですけど、普通とちょっと違います。背脂がいっぱい入って、ちょっと味が変わっています。尾道の中に一番有名なことがラーメンで、一番有名な店に行きました。

Information
朱華園
4-12 Toyohi Motomachi

The Bowl
A hot bowl of shoyu, just how I like it. As opposed to the more classic, simple shoyu I'm used to, this had a stronger taste. It tasted almost like hoisin sauce; a salty, savory sauce put on a lot of Chinese food. A lot of these simpler, historical bowls have more Chinese elements, like the flat long noodles Shukaen offered. The blobs pork back fat were like pieces of jelly, and chewing through them was satisfying save for the fact that I knew how bad they were for me.

うまい醤油ですけど、やっぱり普通の醤油と違います。味がもっと強くて、中華料理のソースみたいな味がしました。麺も中華風ラーメンのような平たかったです。背脂がゼリーっぽくて、めっちゃおいしくて、不健康を知りながらほとんど食べてしもた。

Would I Go Again?
If I'm ever in Onomichi again, I'll be back.

また尾道に行ったら、絶対に行きます。

Should You Go?
The best reason to go to Onomichi.

尾道に行ったら是非行ってください。