Shinpuku Saikan

I happened to be by Kyobashi with a friend who let me know that famous Kyoto shop Shinpuku Saikan had a branch in Kyobashi. I didn't know that place had branches, let alone one in central Osaka. Without too much deliberation we decided to check it out.

友達と京橋にいて、友達に新福菜館の支店があると言われました。支店があるとはびっくりして、その近くにあるとはさらにびっくりしました。ほんで、行ってみました。

The Bowl
Just like the main branch, this was a pleasing oily bowl of dark shoyu ramen. The thick yellow noodles were full of flavor, even if the chashu were the old-school style that are not my favorite.

本店と似ていて、油濃い真っ暗な醤油ラーメンでした。黄色な太麺の味が強かったです。チャーシューは昭和的な中華そばのチャーシューなのでちょっと苦手の方なんですけど美味しかったです。

Would I Go Again?
Maybe, but if I was bringing friends around I'd probably drag them to the main shop in Kyoto.

また行くかもしれませんけど、この店に行くより友達を連れて行くなら京都店に行くと思います。

Should You Go?
Check this out if you're too lazy to hike to Kyoto for the flagship.

京都本店に行くのが面倒くさければぜひ支店に行ってください。

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新福菜館

Butakin

In spring of last year, I was offered an opportunity to appear on a morning show with a ramen critic known as Men Baka. Of course I was happy to take the opportunity. We met in the morning to grab a bowl at Ashiharabashi's Fujii. After some additional location footage around town, we headed to Miyakojima's Butakin, a super porky tonkotsu shop.

去年の春に、「麺馬鹿」というおはようコールのラーメン専用コーナーで登場する機会がありました。まず芦原橋にある「ふじい」という店で食べて、それからいろいろな場所でロケしました。最終的に都島にある「豚きん」で食べました。

　

The Bowl
Butakin's ramen was a thick sludge of pork, with just enough green onions to keep the taste in line. I could talk more about it here, but why when you can just see the footage yourself?

豚きんのスープはすっごいどろどろとした豚骨でした。もっとここでかけますけど、動画の方が味が伝わると思います。


Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
Yes.

はい。

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ラーメン豚きん

Chiran

A few months ago I visited a shop in Higashi Umeda called Chiran. They offered a solid shrimp paitan; it even made me consider visiting again. Instead, I had an errand in Kyobashi, and wouldn't you know that one of the old famous shops was replaced by a Chiran. I had to try something different of course, so this time I ordered the shio ramen.

何ヶ月前に東梅田にある「ちらん」という店に行きました。うまいエビ白湯があったので、また行こうかなと悩んでいました。でも、京橋の用事があって、その辺にもちらんがありました。別のメニューにしないとだめだったので、極塩らーめんにしました。

The Bowl
The golden yellow soup was one of the easier to drink, even among shio ramen in Osaka. You could taste the light chicken too - maybe this isn't a bad place to stop by when you have a cold. The noodles too matched both the light flavors and golden sunset color of the soup. A light and delicious bowl that leaves you without a food coma.

黄金なスープは大阪の塩らーめんの中にさっぱりの方でした。鶏の香りがして、風邪のときに、ちらんに行ったらきっと治るかな。麺がスープの味と色に合いました。あっさりでうまいらーめんで食べてからまだ元気がありました。

Would I Go Again?
I might, especially if there's another location.

もっと支店があったらまた行くかもしれません。

Should You Go?
It's a solid bet in Kyobashi.

京橋にいるなら、いい店です。

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濃極 鹿児島地鶏ラーメン ちらん - CHIRAN

Hosomichi

A lazy Sunday in early February I decided to go on a long walk to Kyobashi. There was a ramen shop there that piqued my interest, and thankfully they were open on Sundays. Hosomichi is a small shop in the main shopping arcade that offers a unique item: Motsu, or offal, tsukemen. Some people hate the taste or texture of offal, but I love its chewy juiciness, so I stepped inside the shop to have a taste.

あるのんびり日曜日に京橋へ散歩しに行くことにしました。気になるラーメン屋さんがあって日曜日にも空いていました。ほそ道は商店街にあってちょっと変わっている「もつつけめん」を提供しています。もつの食感が好きじゃない人が多いですけど、私はジューシーなもつが好きで、食べてみました。

A variety spices for the meal

いろいろな香辛料が用意してあります

The Bowl
Served in a metal bowl to keep the soup hot, this tsukemen really was distinct. The broth was a hot and salty gyokai torigara soup, and the noodles were even more different from standard bowls. Most ramen noodles are made with lye, an alkaline chemical compound that makes them stretchier. Hosomichi, however, insists on only using water, flour, and salt, in their noodles, making them light and clear, but as elastic as good udon. Combine that with the house hachimi they provided, and they tasted delicious too. Of course there was also the namesake motsu in the soup, which while very chewy, was extra juicy as I hoped due to the combination of the offal's natural flavors mixed with the soup.

このつけ麺は本当にユニークでした。スープは塩辛い魚介鶏ガラですけどスープより麺が特徴ありました。普通のラーメンはこしがあるようにかん水で作られますけどほそ道は水、小麦粉、塩しか使いません。麺はかん水がなくて真っ白ですけどうどんみたいにこしがありました。自家製七味を麺に掛けたらさらにうまくなりました。スープにあるもつもやっぱりかたかったですけど、スープの味があってめっちゃおいしかったです。

Would I Go Again?
I'd like to.

また行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes.

はい。

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鷄魚介 ほそ道

Koryumasu

Sakuranomiya is mostly a ramen-free area. It's an area on the Osaka Loop Line, mostly notable for the park nearby. In the spring, the park lights up with cherry blossoms and people, and in the summer it has a small beach area that's good to sit by or dip your feet in. At night though, there's not much going on, except for the one shop I've had on my list for a long time now: Koryumasu.

Koryumasu is consistently in the top rankings of Osaka ramen on the internet, so it was in my sights. They serve a heavy chicken bowl with a side of as-much-garlic-as-you-can-eat. I tried to go here once a while back, but failed because it was closed for no reason, as ramen shops often are. Luckily this time was a success, and I could eat Koryumasu's garlicky chicken ramen.

桜ノ宮にはラーメン屋さんはほとんどありません。レストランよりその近くにある公園で有名です。春に花見のいいスポットで夏にビーチっぽい場所もいいポイントの一つです。でも、夜に駅の変は何もない感じがします。ところが、ずっと行きたかった光龍益という店があります。

大阪府のインターネットでみるベストラーメンランキングの中に光龍益がけっこう出ます。ニンニクによく合うドロドロな鶏白湯を売っています。この前行ってみたんですけど、ラーメン屋さんらしく適当にしまったので入れませんでした。今回運がよくて入れました。

A side of garlic that my coworkers were not too happy about the next day.

The Bowl
The bowl offered a molasses-like thick chicken broth that overpowered me and started to fill me up pretty quickly. It's a lot like the well-known kotteri chicken ramen offered at Kyoto's famous Tenkaippin, but balanced a bit better. The noodles were thin, but that didn't stop them from soaking up loads of the soup. The pork came in ample supply, and tasted like the sweet pork that you often see at Chinese restaurants. Last of all was the garlic. Just when I thought I was overwhelmed by the sheer bulk of the broth, the garlic adds a welcome kick. It wasn't enough to help me finish the bowl, but a man's stomach only has so much it can take.

やっぱめっちゃドロドロなスープですぐお腹がいっぱいになりそうでした。京都の有名な天下一品のこってりラーメンに似ていましたけど、天下一品よりバランスがよかったです。細い麺がスープを吸収したら、ちょっと太麺の感じがしました。焼豚もいっぱいあって、中華風の甘い炙った豚肉の味がしました。最後に、ニンニクを入れました。入れてからスープがちょっとパンチがあって、うまかったです。

Would I Go Again?
It's a bit too much for me on my own, but it's definitely a place I would take a friend who was looking for this kind of ramen.

一人で行かないと思いますけど、そんなラーメンが好きな友達がいれば、絶対連れて行きます。

Should You Go?
If you like super rich ramen like Muteppo, or thick chicken ramen like Tenkaippin, this is the place for you.

無鉄砲みたいなめっちゃドロドロなラーメンまたは天下一品のこってりラーメンが好きなら、光龍益行ってください。

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光龍益

Hanakyo

It was finally May, and I decided to celebrate the beginning of summer by going to Kyobashi to get ramen with a friend. Kyobashi is a dirty place, filled with love hotels, pachinko parlors and karaoke joints. Fortunately that means it's full of restaurants and bars too. We first trekked to nearby Sakuranomiya to eat at famous kotteri chicken shop Koryumasu. Upon finding out that they were closed, we went to a shop I first went to shortly after arriving in Osaka two years ago. Hanakyo is a small place that fits no more than ten, known for its shoyu and tonkotsu ramen. Fast and delicious, it's the perfect place to make the first stop on a night of drinking. I ordered the kotteri tonkotsu ramen.

ようやく夏になったので、友達と一緒にラーメンを京橋に行くことにしました。京橋はめっちゃ下町の感じがするのでパチンコ屋さんとかラブホテルがある上にレストランもバーもいっぱいあります。まず桜ノ宮にある有名な光龍益に行ったんですが、たまたましまりました。それで、初めて大阪についてから行った花京という店に行きました。花京は狭くて、醤油と豚骨ラーメンを提供されています。私はこってり豚骨にしました。

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中華そば 花京
3 Chome-10-4 Higashinodamachi

The Bowl
Having this bowl of tonkotsu ramen shoved in front of me but a few feet from the bustling arcade made me feel like I was back in Fukuoka. The broth I got when I ordered at the food stalls in Fukuoka was light, but this was rich and fatty. The noodles were similar, though; thin and hard, the way they taste best in tonkotsu. In case that alone didn't fill me up, the chashu melted like butter in my mouth, ensuring I wouldn't be hungry for hours.

にぎやかな商店街の近くに豚骨ラーメンを急いで食べるのが福岡の屋台に似ていて懐かしくなりました。博多ラーメンが飲みやすいですが、このほうが濃かったです。麺がおいしく細くてかたかったです。チャーシューがとろけて、店を出てから何も食べられませんでした。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, this was my second time and it's good enough to try a third.

二回でしたけど、もう一回行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yeah, it's the perfect place to use as a jumping point to explore Kyobashi.

京橋にいろいろ遊んだら、花京で食べてください。

Ramen Cliff

To make up for the terrible rain the day before, I vowed that if Sunday was a nice day, I would take advantage of it.  I didn't really expect that to happen, but low and behold, Sunday had fantastic weather, and I decided to go somewhere.  As usual I took a gander at Ramen Walker and found a tsukemen place that looked pretty good and was kind of far away from where I lived.  I hopped on my bike, and headed out to Ramen Cliff.

I had never been to this area of town before, and I was excited to find that there was a really nice park nearby, even with a small beach area where a bunch of kids were playing (in October, though, really?).

The inside of Cliff was very new looking, with a nice wooden counter that I tried to avoid spilling on, though that was really a lost cause.  I ordered what I had read about; the white chicken tsukemen.

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らぁ麺 Cliff
Ōsaka-fu Ōsaka-shi Miyakojima-ku Katamachi １丁目９−３４
Cliff is right near Osakajokitazume Station, on the north side of Tosabori Dori.

The Bowl
As expected, what I got was a very chicken-y bowl of tsukemen.  It was fairly thin and very drinkable, especially with the thin, flat noodles that were served with it.  It wasn't as thick as some of the chicken ramen I've before, and it was a bit salty, but the menma and chashu were extra delicious.

Would I Go Again?
It's a bit out of the way, but it's the only place like this I know in Osaka.  I'd try the chicken tsukemen again, but they had a number of other bowls I'd like to try too.

Should You Go?
If you ever make it to this area, it's worth a stop.  Check out the park just a bit north, too.