Nodamen En

I ordered the shio chintan at my trip to Nodamen En.

のだ麺 ～縁～で塩清湯を頼みました。

The Bowl
The soup was extra light, with an almost wheat-y flavor, and filled with bubbles. The noodles were long and thin, but with a nice firmness that took some weight to get through. The chashu came in tough extra garlicky slices, but the topping that caught my attention more were the wonton skins, that offered an alternate way to take in some of the broth.

スープは透き通ってあっさりで、なんか麦っぽい味がしました。麺は細長くて、歯ごたえがいい硬さでした。チャーシューは硬めのニンニクがいっぱい入っていましたけど、それより違うスープの楽しみ方があるワンタンがお気に入りました。

Would I Go Again?


Should You Go?


Information
のだ麺 ～縁～

Tonkotsu Mazesoba KOZOU+

One of my favorite ramen shops decided to open an abura soba shop just around the corner. As soon as I heard about it, I wasted no time in visiting Tonkotsu Mazesoba KOZOU+, and ordering their tonkotsu mazesoba with a small serving of rice to mix in at the end.

お気に入りのラーメン屋さんが近くに油そば屋さんを作りました。聞いてから、すぐに「豚骨まぜそばKOZOU+」に行ってみました。豚骨まぜそばとフィニライスを注文しました。

The Bowl
The bowl was laid out nicely at first, with Dolce Porco cubes of chashu and SKW or Special Kozo Wave noodles. I mixed it around, and the whole thing tasted a bit like a mongolian grill noodle stir fry dish. Partway through I mixed in some mustard on the side, and was almost like some kind of weird sausage pasta. This was thankfully a bit lighter than normal Kozo, but still delicious.

まぜそばにドルチェポルコのチャーシューとSKW：スペッシャルKOZOUウェーブ麺が乗っていました。混ぜ込んで、モンゴル風目に為に似ている味がしました。からしがついて、かけたら、ソーセージ的なパスタの味がしました。本店の小僧よりあっさりとしましたけど、なかなかうまかったです。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

また行ってみたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes.

一回行ってみてください。

Information
豚骨まぜそばKOZOU＋

Moeyo Mensuke

A new standard bearer has opened up in Fukushima. Though there is already plenty of ramen of high calibur in that area, Moeyo Mensuke decided to open up shop with a selection of fancy bowls. The two items available are duck shoyu, or golden shellfish shio. They both sounded good, but I had to go with the duck.

えらい店が福島でニューオープンしました。そこら辺にうまいラーメンが多いですけど、燃えよ麺助が高級なラーメンを提供しています。紀州鴨そばと金色貝そばがあります。両方食べてみたかったですけど、結局鴨にしました。

The Bowl
The base broth was a high quality refreshing shoyu with bit of woodiness and occasional bursts of yuzu citrus. The noodles were square, dark, and delicate. The chashu was simple with a bit of chew, and the duck was the most unusual part; dark and rich.

スープはさっぱりとして絶妙な醤油でした。たまにゆずの皮かなんかで柑橘な味がしました。麺が四角て茶色でした。チャーシューの歯ごたえが良くて、シンプルな味がしました。一番気になったのがやっぱり黒い濃いめの鴨チャーシューでした。

Would I Go Again?
I would, and have.

もう何回か行きました。

Should You Go?
Yes.

行くべきです。

Information
燃えよ麺助

Fukushima Ichimen

One day I'll get to all the Fukushima ramen shops. One long on my list has been Fukushima Ichimen, a basement shop with a large menu. When I entered I was recommended the seafood shio ramen, whose ingredients change when they feel like it. On my visit firefly squid happened to be one of the primary ingredients.

いつか福島を制覇できるだろう。「福島壱麺」という店にやっと行きました。入った時に海鮮塩ラーメンがお勧めしてもらいました。材料が変わるらしくて、今回ホタルイカが入っていたそうでした。

The Bowl
The toppings were unusual, but the underlying base was a simple shio, light with a sheen of oil. The noodles were thin but not slurpable in a way that welcomed chewing. Of course the main event was the firefly squid topping, which was bitter in the way squid organs often are, with a nice chew to it.

トッピングが変でしたけど、スープは脂が乗っているシンプルの塩でした。麺は細くて、すする系じゃなくて歯ごたえがいいか見やすいのでした。やっぱり目立ったのはホタルイカでした。烏賊的ににが〜くて、固めでした。美味しかったです。

Would I Go Again?
I wasn't head over heels over the bowl, but I suppose I'll show up again as Fukushima Ichimen often appears on stamp rallies.

まあまあうまかったですけど、福島壱麺がよくスタンプラリーで出てくるのでまた行くだろう。

Should You Go?
This is one for those who like the weird.

変なトッピングに今日がある人にいいです。

Information
福島壱麺

Mutahiro

Fukushima is a place I try to frequent, but there still somehow are a handful of shops that have managed to elude me. Tonight I made an attempt to go to Kineko.

福島によく行きますけど、なぜかまだ行けていない店が何軒かあります。今回きねこという店に行こうと思っていました。

Time for Plan B. Another shop on my list was Mutahiro, a sardine ramen shop from Tokyo. I had enjoyed the bowl I had at the Ramen Sengoku, and was curious to try their specialty, the Wahaha Niboshi Tokusei Soba.

無理でした。もう一軒行きたかったのが東京からの煮干らーめん専門店「ムタヒロ」でした。ラーメン戦国でラーメンを食べる機会がありましたけど、店で食べられるワハハ煮干特製そばを食べてみたかったです。

A nice side dish of meat, eggs, bamboo shoots, and seaweed

肉、味玉、メンマ、海苔

The Bowl
In my imagination ramen like this is what they used for mirrors back in the olden days. The soup was brimming with oil and fat, making the greasy sardine broth scaldingly hot, salty, and delicious. The noodles were fat and curly, like in some of my other favorite sardine bowls.

Ordering the special "tokusei" meant I had no shortage of toppings. There were slick and chewy wonton skins, kind of an alternate to the noodles. Pork and chicken chashu provided different textures for the piles of fat that would come with them when being pulled from the dish, but the creamy egg with its partially protective white proved to be the best vessel for the salt and fat.

私の頭の中に江戸時代に鏡が必要な時にこんなラーメンの表面を見ました。スープが油ばかりで、激熱くて、塩辛くて、うまかったです。麺は他の好きな煮干ラーメンと似ていて、極太縮麺でした。

特製を頼みましたから具がいっぱい来ました。もちもちとしたワンタンの皮が違う種類の麺の感じがしました。豚と鶏チャーシューがあったのでスープと色々な食感の組み合わせができました。結局塩などを吸収するには、味玉が最高でした。

Would I Go Again?
I might, but given how much fat I ate directly, I can only go sparingly.

また行くかもしれませんけど、油っこくて気をつけなあかん。

Should You Go?
This is a bowl for sardine fans who can stand a little grease.

背脂と煮干が好きな人におすすめします。

Information
中華そば ムタヒロ

Gokuno Tsukemen Buttsuke Kozo

Not too long ago Kozo in Fukushima opened up, offering super rich pork ramen every day of the week but Sunday. Now they have found a way to fill in that missing day, with an alternate shop: Gokuno Tsukemen Buttsuke Kozo. The idea is essentially the same, except instead of rich and fatty ramen, they serve rich and fatty tsukemen. I love their ramen, so I was happy to try it in another form.

この前に福島にある「小僧」ができて、日曜日以外にどろどろとしたこってりラーメンを提供していました。今日曜日にのれんわけの別の店を作ったみたいです。「極濃つけ麺 豚つけ小僧」が生まれました。テーマがほぼ一緒なんですけど、ラーメンじゃなくてつけ麺を出しています。小僧のラーメンが大好きなのでつけ麺もきっと好きだろうなと思っていました。

The Bowl
Just like the ramen, the tsukemen broth was an ultra-thick pork porridge, flavorful and very umami. The noodles were short, fat, square tubes, made to be coated in pork sludge, and separated from the broth, never grew soft. Surprisingly, the side pieces of chashu were pretty simple, nicely not pushing the porkiness of bowl over the edge.

ラーメンと似ているように、つけ麺のスープはめっちゃどろっとしている旨味がよく聞いているシチューでした。麺は極太四角で、スープと分かれていたので、ぜんぜん伸びませんでした。チャーシューは意外とさっぱりで豚を飽きない感じでした。

Would I Go Again?
At time of writing, I'm thinking of going tonight, so yes.

今記事を書いているところで、今日に行こうかなと迷っています。

Should You Go?
You should definitely check this place out.

この店に絶対行ってみるべきです。

Information
極濃つけ麺 豚つけ小僧

Sanku

I met up with Philoramen on a Tuesday night, hoping to continue our stamp rally journey. When we arrived at Komi, though, this is what we found.

ある火曜日の夜にPhiloramenと会って、らぁ際スタンプラリーを続けるつもりでした。香味に着いたときにこういう感じでした。

It was closed. Luckily they were kind enough to leave stamps out for us.

閉まっていました。でも、貼れるスタンプが用意されました。

We were not to be deterred and were hungry for ramen, though. We decided to hop on the train and try old Fukushima favorite Sanku. I had tried the ramen on my first time, so I decided to opt for the whole wheat tsukemen this time.

でも、腹が減っていてラーメンを食べたかったです。福島に行って大好きな「三く」に行くことにしました。前回行ったときにラーメンを食べたので今回全粒粉つけ麺を頼みました。

The appetizer, potato with a sweet glaze

ラーメンがくる前に尼塩っぱい芋を提供してくれました。

The Bowl
I continue to be impressed by this stellar top-tier shop. The broth had a subtle fish flavor covering the chicken tonkotsu. The whole wheat noodles are a bit unusual, but the graininess added texture to each bite. They were long and chewy, almost like udon, which is how I like it. The chashu was pretty fatty, and more flavorful for it. In the end they gave me some rice to add to the soup, which let me soak up the last drips, if it didn't fill me to the brim.

さすが三くがこんな高級なつけ麺を出しますね。鶏豚骨スープに浅めの魚介系風味がしました。全粒粉がちょっと邪道かもしれませんけど、食感がすごかったです。長くてうどんみたいにもちもちでした。チャーシューの油が多くて、味が濃かったです。最後にご飯をスープに入れましたけど、お腹がパンパンになってしもた。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
Yes.

はい。

Information
烈志笑魚油 麺香房 三く

Ramen Kozo

Fukushima has long been a bastion of good ramen, and the Ra-sai stamp rally has been a good motivator for me to visit shops that I haven't gotten around to yet. For my fifth stamp I visited new super-porky tonkotsu shop Kozo. Just looking at the photos online had me intimidated: would this be as extreme as Muteppo? I went in and ordered the extra-thick ramen.

ラーメンの激戦区を考えたら、福島がいつも出てきます。らぁ際のおかげで、まだ行ったことがない店に行く機会ができました。濃厚豚骨専門店「極濃拉麺 ラーメン小僧」は５軒目にしました。ネットで写真を見たら、ヤバいなと思っていました。無鉄砲ぐらいこってりかな？店に入って極濃豚骨ラーメンを頼みました。

The Bowl
As I expected and hoped, the broth was a thick, porky sludge. Surprisingly, though, it was very drinkable. The noodles were short and curly, coating their wide surface area with pork and fat as I dragged them out of the bowl. Breaks from the weight of the soup were provided by the egg and slices of chashu. The chashu was a little tough, but it was lighter than most, providing a good balance to the bowl. This was a bowl not for the weak of heart, and though it hit me hard afterwards, it really managed to be drinkable despite being so rich.

期待通りスープがどろっとした豚っぽかったです。でも、意外と飲みやすかったです。麺が太縮れ麺で毎回スープから拾ったときに、油とスープが絡んでいました。濃厚の味からの休憩として味玉とチャーシューが乗っていました。チャーシューはちょっと固かったですけど、普通のと違ってさっぱりした感じがしました。小僧はやっぱりすっごいこってりでしんどかったですけど、それなりに飲みやすくてうまかったです。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

また行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes.

行くべきです。

Information
極濃拉麺 ラーメン小僧

Mankai

In one of my favorite areas of Osaka, Fukushima, I saw a new shop was opening up. I've been to a number of shops shortly after they've opened, but only rarely have I had the chance to go to a shop on opening day. I headed over after work and waited on line with the rest of the crowd. Mankai offered three kinds of tonkotsu ramen: Jun Ramen, a classic tonkotsu, Shio Ramen, gyokai tonkotsu, and Tomato Ramen, which was a tomato tonkotsu bowl. As badly as I wanted to try all of them, I forced myself to go with the popular classic Jun Ramen.

好きな地域福島に新しい店ができました。最近オープンの店に何回か行ったことありますけど、オープンの日に行くのがあまりありません。仕事が終わってから歩いて行って、みんなと並びました。まんかいは三つの豚骨らーめんを提供しました。スタンダードの博多豚骨「純ラーメン」、魚介形「潮ラーメン」、トマトの「トマトラーメン」。全部おいしそうでしたけど、やっぱ人気な純ラーメンを頼みました。

The Bowl
This was a standard Hakata style tonkotsu through and through. An oily but tasty pork bone broth. Very thin noodles that were al dente, but not quite to the firmness you can get in Fukuoka. Decent chashu, mushrooms, onions, and bean sprouts. Nothing unique, but well executed.

おいしくてスタンダードな豚骨でした。油っぽくてうまい豚骨スープでした。麺が細く固めでした。うまいチャーシュー、キクラゲ、ネギ、もやしが乗っていました。ユニークな点があまりありませんでしたけど、良かったです。

Would I Go Again?
A solid tonkotsu in Fukushima with a couple more interesting blends; I'll be back.

おいしい豚骨プラス二つちょっと変わっているメニューがあるのでまた行きたいです。

Should You Go?
If you're in Fukushima, this is the tonkotsu place to go.

福島にいれば、これはベスト豚骨です。

Information
まんかい

Sanku

By now I've had ramen many times in Fukushima. It's a good area, with plenty of restaurants, bars, and ramen shops that keep me going back. But there was still one heralded shop I had never visited. So on a random Thursday I walked over to Sanku and ordered their fishy, shoyu kake-ramen.

今まで何回も福島でラーメンを食べたことあります。雰囲気がいいし、レストランとカバーがいっぱいあります。でも、有名で行ったことないラーメン屋さんがまだありました。で、ある日に三くに歩いて行って魚っぽいしょう油「かけラーメン」を頼みました。

Information
烈志笑魚油 麺香房 三く
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Fukushima-ku, Fukushima, ２丁目６−５

There was a small tofu appetizer doused in soy sauce. It was salty, but pretty good.

The Bowl
A thin, clear, fishy broth, complete with floating fish flakes, and a whole fish inside! It was fishy but didn't overwhelm; a perfect balance. The noodles were curly and chewy, and the thick, tender piece of chashu made the bowl complete.

透明な魚っぽいスープで丸ごとの魚も入っていました。魚の味が結構しましたけど、いいバランスでした。もちもちの縮れ麺と厚くてとろけるチャーシューでいい食べ物になりました。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, it was really good.

はい。めっちゃおいしかったです。

Should You Go?
Yes.

行くべきです。

Mitsuboshi Seimenjo

Back in Osaka! My older brother was still visiting, which means I had more ramen I had to show him. This time we headed to Fukushima to get a bowl and a drink. So many times before I had tried to go to Mitsuboshi Seimenjo with no success. But finally they were open, and in I went to get their famous gyokai shoyu ramen.

Information
みつ星製麺所
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Fukushima-ku, Fukushima, ７丁目１７−２１

The Bowl
What a rich broth. It was creamy and fishy, almost like the broth you'd get with tsukemen. The flavor actually reminded me a lot of Teru, another fishy ramen shop. The noodles were medium, straight, and chewy. The toppings were as good as they looked - the smooth egg and really thick, really juicy piece of chashu.

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, it's very good and I'm running out of new places in Fukushima.

Should You Go?
Yes you should. Fukushima's a cool place so there are plenty of cool bars to get a drink at afterwards, too.

Menya Katsu

Japan, at least recently, has only two seasons.  The long winter, and the long summer.  In between those two, you are rewarded with short stop-gap periods of nice weather, three-week long periods that are normally called "spring" and "autumn".  It's during this time especially that you have to take advantage of the fact that the outdoors is as pleasant as it will ever be.

That of course means a ramen walk.  A walk to Fukushima, home of many ramen shops.  This time the goal was Mitsuboshi Seimenjo.  Unfortunately, my poor timing put me there just as it closed.  There were people inside enjoying their thick, fishy ramen, and there I was outside in front of the "we're sorry, but we've already taken the last order" sign.  That means it's time to wander around and look for another place.

Menya Katsu is right next to Fukushima Station; I wondered how I had never seen it before.  It's because it just opened six months ago.  Abura soba is a rare treat in Osaka, so I went in and ordered the standard shoyu abura soba.

Information
麺や 克
7-6-23 Fukushima

The Bowl
Abura soba bowls can really go either way based on the toppings.  A normal bowl with only the basic boring toppings like vinegar and chili oil tastes fairly generic.  Katsu offered a whole variety of free and premium toppings, so in addition to the toppings you can see in the picture, I added diced onions, spicy miso, and takana, a kind mustard greens.  They had apple vinegar on the side, too, which was pretty good and I threw on in small quantities.  The toppings really added a lot of variety, though, to be honest, the light shoyu flavor of the firm noodles was pretty good on its own.  A good flavor and a solid bowl.

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, there's no other place I know of in Osaka to get abura soba now that Menji Abura closed.

Should You Go?
Yeah, try some of the soup-less goodness.