Umai Men Niwa Fuku Kitaru

They offered a variety of fish-based ramen, but since it was my first time I went with the regular-sounding Umai Shoyu Ramen.

いろいろな魚系ラーメンを提供していますけど、一回目なので、定番っぽいうまい醤油らー麺にしました。

The Bowl
A solid, well-balanced shoyu overall, with a nice bit of sardine-flavor to it. The noodles were brownish and wheaty, with plenty of bounce. The chashu had an earthy, offal-like flavor and texture, which didn't suit me as well.

全体的にバランスが取れているしょうゆでした。なんか煮干しの味もしていましたけど。麺は茶色で麦っぽくて、もちもちとしました。チャーシューはホルモンみたいな香りがして、私は若干苦手でした。

Would I Go Again?


Should You Go?


Information
うまい麺には福来たる

Kosuiten

One shop near me is a bit of a strange one. It's a 24 hour almost diner-looking place with a giant American flag in front, neon beer advertisements, and an accompanying menu with too many pages to count. Still, ramen is ostensibly their specialty, so it was a matter of time until I showed up for a bowl.

On this night I was making my way home with a friend when we realized at the middle of night that we were hungry. Reminding me of my times in New York, nothing fits late nights quite right like a diner, so Kosuiten was perfect. Of course I had to order something funky, so I got the carbonara tsukemen. My friend went even further and got the corn mayo ramen.

よく通る邪道の店があります。２４時間ダイナーっぽい感じがして、前にアメリカ国旗、ビールの宣伝、ページがいっぱいある品書が置いてありました。で、ラーメンが名物らしいので、いつか行くつもりがありました。

今回、深夜に友達とバーから変えていたところでお腹がすいてきました。ニューヨークにいたときにこんな場合だったら絶対ダイナーに行っていたので、ダイナーっぽい「壺水天 」がちょうどよかったです。せっかくこういう店に入ったので、変わっているメニューにせなあかんと思いました。つけ麺カルボにして、友達がさらに変なコーンマヨラーメンにしました。

Corn mayo ramen

 コーンマヨラーメン

The Bowl
As expected, this was...strange. The broth was no normal tsukemen broth. In fact, it was barely soup at all; more like a mix of sesame and garlic oil. That's not a strike against it. I don't think normal broth would go with a carbonara themed mixture, but the noodles themselves, while nicely chewy, also didn't bring much flavor to the table. It felt like eating C-grade pasta in oil sauce. The bacon wasn't too bad, I suppose. The corn mayo ramen on the other hand was barely edible...but corn mayo is not really my jam anyway.

期待した通り、変わっていました。スープは普通のつけ麺のスープじゃありませんでした。実は、スープではなくて、ごま油とにんにくと混ざったものでした。こんなメニューでそれでよかったですけど、麺の食感がよかったですけど、全体的にあまり薄い味のパスタの味がしました。ベーコンはまあまあうまかったです。

コーンマヨラーメンはすごく苦手でした。ただし、私ならあまり普通のコーンラーメンが我慢できませんな。

Would I Go Again?
The ramen wasn't any good, but to be honest, I could see a drunk version of myself stumbling in and trying some karaage or something. Not sober though.

ラーメンはちょっと微妙でしたけど、正直に言うと、いつか酔っ払って入って唐揚げを食べてみる可能性はあるかな。しらふなら無理ですけど。

Should You Go?
Nah.

行かなくもいいです。

Information
こだわりらーめんカフェ 壺水天

Shiru Nashi

Tantanmen is one of my favorite kinds of ramen (or ramen-like noodle dishes if you don't consider it ramen), and there's really not enough in Osaka. Let alone soupless tantanmen. But in steps Horie newcomer Shiru Nashi, brought to you by the same parent company as Kyuji. They opened in a good location, so I went with a friend to try their namesake dish - soupless tantanmen.

麺料理の中に担々麺がけっこう好きです。汁なし担々麺はもちろん、普通の担々麺もあまりありません。で、きゅうじを作った会社が堀江に「汁なし」という店を開きました。いい場所でできたので友達と一緒に汁なし担々麺を食べに行きました。

The Bowl
This is the simplest kind of abura soba - some eggy noodles, onions, sesame, and a solid dose of ra-yu chili oil. Mixing it together gives just a light tantan taste, with Sichuan numbing spice that grows a little bit with each bite. There's nothing deep here waiting to punch you in the face after each bite, just a simple, solid execution.

シンプルな油そば。黄色い麺、ネギ、ごま、ラー油。混ぜたらあっさり坦々味がして、だんだん山椒が利きます。パンチとかはなくて、本間に薄めのおいしさです。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
If you like soupless tantanmen.

汁なし担々麺が好きなら行ってください。

Information
汁なし

THE EIGHT

Wow, I seem to have amassed a sizable collection of curry-themed restaurants and ramen shops in Kansai.  Nothing to complain about.  Add one more, with the recently opened bar-and-curry joint, THE EIGHT.  There menu was full of things ramen and non-ramen, and aside from the golden curry tsukemen I ordered, the main item that stood out to me was the super-spicy punch ramen.  I love spice...but I came for the curry.

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THE EIGHT
1-22-14 Shinmachi

The Bowl
The broth really stood out compared to the other curry noodle dishes I've had recently.  It was a hot, thin curry, but it was spicy and actually tasted a bit more like Indian curry than the standard Japanese stuff.  The noodles were medium and firm.  The menma and chashu were both very good, and matched the curry's taste well.

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, this place seemed like a cool place to get a drink, and also delicious curry tsukemen.

Should You Go?
Yeah, it's worth the short trek westward.

Shioya

Wow, so it's been a year.  It hasn't yet been a year since when I first started posting, but it's been a year since I moved to Osaka.  A new year means a new apartment, and a new apartment means a new base for ramen walks.  In my first exploration, I headed into Horie to check out a small shio ramen shop.

They offered a few different permutations of shio ramen, but one item in particular caught my eye: shio tantanmen.  I've tried mixed styles recently with success, so why not try again?

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塩ラーメン専門店 汐家
2-15-13 Kitahorie

The Bowl
If the curry tsukemen I had previously was a little crazy, then was straight up insane.  The broth was thin and clear, but a very flavorful and hot-peppery shio.  As if the spicy broth wasn't enough, the flat noodles were pretty spicy themselves.  The ground pork and egg were both great; the only thing lacking in this bowl was the standard chashu.

Would I Go Again?
Absolutely.  The owner said that they make a ma-yu ramen in the winter that's not on the menu, too.

Should You Go?
Yeah.  It'll give you a good reason to venture out into the wilderness that is Nishi-ku.