Menya Hanabi

This has been a month of traveling. This time I got a chance to visit Nagoya.

最近いろいろ旅行しています。今回名古屋に行きました。

Ogura toast

小倉トースト

Miso katsu

味噌かつ

Hitsumabushi

ひつまぶし

Chicken wings

手羽先

And of course a trip to a ramen shop. Taiwan maze soba has been big recently, so now I had a chance to go to Hanabi, the founder of the style.

で、ラーメン。台湾まぜそばは最近流行っていて、「麺屋はなび」という発祥店に行けました。

The Bowl
The original Taiwan maze soba offered thick noodles, glazed with the yolk of an egg, with just a tiny kick and the background taste of nori.  It was chock full of garlic, and even the fatty chunks of pork bathed in the garlic oil. It was decadent, and I'm glad I took a long walk afterwards.

発祥の台湾まぜそばの麺は卵の黄身でつるっとしました。ピリ辛で、のりの味がどこでもしました。ニンニクだらけで、分厚いポークもニンニクの油に煮込んでいました。非常に重くて、食べてから消化散歩しました。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
Yes.

はい。

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麺屋 はなび

Nagoya

After a stop in Toyama, my friend and I headed on the Kurobe Alpine Route, a bus, tram, and hike trek from Toyama to Nagano, stopping by a caldera, beautiful valleys, and Kurobe Dam. From there we traveled to Matsumoto. There's not a lot to say about the trip, so enjoy some pictures.

富山によってから友達と黒部アルペンルートをしに行きました。黒部アルペンルートは何かというと富山から松本までにいろいろな景色がきれいなところによりながらトラム・バス・ハイキングで行きます。あまり言うことはないので写真を楽しんでください。

Kurobe Dam

黒部ダム

Matsumoto Castle

松本城

It was a lot of fun and a good opportunity to see a part of the countryside of Japan I don't often get to see. But this isn't a travel blog, it's a ramen blog! The trains between Matsumoto and the rest of civilization were out due to a snowstorm, so I had to grab a bus to Nagoya and get a train from there. A stop in Nagoya means a chance for Nagoya ramen!

I barely had any time at all, so I stopped in Nagoya Station's Ramen Street. I went for the most Nagoya-sounding one, "Nagoya", and ordered their cochin chicken shoyu.

けっこう楽しくて日本のあまり見えない田舎を見るチャンスだったのでさっぱりしました。だが、これは旅行ブログじゃなくて、ラーメンブログやで！松本からの電車が工事中だったので名古屋までにバスに行って、そこから帰らないとだめでした。めんどくさかったですけど、わざわざ名古屋に止まったので名古屋のラーメンを食べるチャンス！

時間がほとんどなくて名古屋駅の「驛麺通り」に行ってみました。一番名古屋っぽい店、「なご家」に入ってなご家特製名古屋コーチン醤油を頼みました。

The Bowl
A bowl of classic shoyu! It was light and not bad, but it didn't shine in any particular way. The chicken was a nice touch, but with a sip of the broth alone there was nothing that made the cochin chicken seem different from the normal pork base.

クラシックな醤油でした。あっさりでおいしかったですけど、特徴ありませんでした。チキンチャーシューはうまかったですけど、スープだけを飲むと「あ！コーチンだ！」という味がしませんでした。

Would I Go Again?
Eh, nah.

まあ、また行かないでしょう。

Should You Go?
It was thoroughly drinkable but nothing special. It's as good a place as any if you're passing through the station low on time like I was.

全然ふつうにおいしかったですけど、それだけです。私みたいに時間がなくて駅で乗り換えるんだったら行ったらいいです。

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なご家

Yamasho

Field trip! A couple of friends of mine were visiting from the ol' US of A, but for some reason they were visiting Nagoya. I took the train to meet them, but arriving late I couldn't find any miso katsu or wing places open, so I stopped for the next best thing: tsukemen. There was a trendy-looking tsukemen shop on the way to the hotel, and any excuse to review non-Osaka ramen is a good one, right?

Yamasho is a gyokai tonkotsu shop, just like they make 'em in Tokyo. I went for the spicy tsukemen, and they let me choose between the tingly-spicy and very-spicy. Obviously I got the very spicy.

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麺屋 やま昇
Aichi-ken, Nagoya-shi, Nishi-ku, Nagono, １丁目１３−１２

The Bowl
This was a properly spicy bowl! Not as much as the other ramen I've had in Nagoya, but still good. It reminded me a lot of one of my favorite bowls from Tokyo, Enji. The noodles were gigantic, and picked up the thick broth well, but I still wonder if they were almost a bit too big. There were big chunks of chashu and menma to accompany the noodles. It finished with a wari-soup that was pretty standard, but tasted better because of the remaining spiciness in the bowl.

Would I Go Again?
Next time I'm in Nagoya I'm sure I'll try a different place if I'm not too busy stuffing myself at Yabaton.

Should You Go?
If you're in Nagoya, check it out. But not before Misen.

Misen

I've been pretty insistent about traveling on my three day weekends, and recently I'd been to Tokyo and Fukuoka.  The beginning of October offered another three day weekend, and the next city on my list was Nagoya.  I'd passed through Nagoya before and been to the castle, but pretty much nowhere else.  I knew I wanted to walk around the downtown area of Sakae, check out Atsuta Jingu, but most of all, eat the heralded Taiwan ramen.

Taiwan ramen is not a style offered in many places, and it was created in Nagoya by Misen.  During a break from filling myself with other Nagoyan treats like miso katsu and ten-musu, I walked to the Yabacho Misen and ordered the classic Taiwan ramen.

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味仙
Aichi-ken Nagoya-shi Naka-ku Ōsu ３丁目６−３

The Bowl
I tout myself as a guy who likes spice.  And I do.  But when I go to a ramen place that offers a spicy dish, it usually, while delicious, is quite tame.  Misen's Taiwan ramen is not.  It has a clear, thin broth, which is quite spicy, filled with the taste of hot peppers.  The noodles were reminiscent of tan-tan men noodles, thin, curly, and very long.  Chives and ground pork littered the bowl, and my lips were tingly by the end.

Would I Go Again?
Absolutely.  I don't get to Nagoya often, but even if I lived there, I would come by whenever I was hankering for some good spice.

Should You Go?
If you're passing through Nagoya, yes.  If you live in Nagoya, why haven't you gone already?