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?


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のだ麺 ～縁～

Mugen

In February, an epic quest began in Kansai. The 2015 Rasai stamp rally began. I first ran into Rasai at the Ramen Derby a few months earlier in Kyoto. Every year they have a stamp rally; you get a bingo card full of ramen shops, and you get bonus toppings for each line you clear. If you fill in all 16 spaces, you get a ceramic bowl with the names of all the shops.

２月に新しい冒険を始めました。２０１５らぁ祭スタンプラリーが始まりました。何ヶ月間前に京都のラーメンダービィでらぁ際を初めて知りました。毎年スタンプラリーをやるらしいです。ビンゴ制でやるので一列をクリアしたらサービストッピングをもらいます。全部のますをクリアしたら、丼鉢をもらいます。

In previous years they did one rally for all of Kansai, but this year they did one for each prefecture. 16 shops in Osaka in four months? A bit crazy, but not too crazy to try.

First on the list was Mugen, a shoyu shop in Noda that had been on my list for a while. Early on the first of February, I paid it a visit with fellow blogger Philoramen and ordered their Chuka Soba.

去年スタンプラリーが一つしかなかったですけど、今年都道府県ごとにラリーがありました。大阪の１６軒に行けるかな？大変ですけど、やってみるしかありません。

まず野田にある「無限」に行きました。２月１日にPhiloramenのブロガーと一緒に行って、中華そばを頼みました。

The Bowl
The soup was dark but just clear enough to see through. The broth stood right on that fence that a good chuka soba balances: simple and refreshing, but still salty and flavorful. The noodles were flat and brown, tasting deeply of the wheat they were made out of. There was a slice of pork and of chicken; normally I would expect the pork to stand out more, but it was a little lacking, and the light flavor and texture of the chicken fit much better.

スープは暗かったですけど、ぎりぎり見抜けました。スープはさっぱりしましたけど、味がちょっと濃いめだったので、「薄い」と言えません。麺が平打ちですごい小麦粉の味がしました。チャーシューと鶏の一枚ずつが乗りました。ふつうはチャーシューを期待しますけど、今回あっさりの鶏が合いました。

Would I Go Again?
Yes; this is the right way to experience chuka soba.

はい、おいしい中華そばのひとつです。

Should You Go?
Yes.

はい。

Each journey begins with a single step.

冒険の始まりが一歩だけですね。

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中華そば 無限

Ramen Kazu

A Sunday with decent weather means a good day for a walk.  Ramen Walker had a place listed that uses Japanese beef that's cooked in shabu shabu as a topping, which sounded pretty interesting to me.  It was in Noda, which I'd never been to before, so I was off.

I got there, and the place seemed pretty small, like your run of the mill corner ramen shop.  I went for the beef ramen with gyoza on the side.  They offer shio and shoyu, and I opted for the shio.

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肉の和
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Fukushima-ku, Ōhiraki, １丁目５−３１
Ramen Kazu is just west of Noda Hanshin Station, in a narrow arcade.

The Bowl
The broth was thin, light, but peppery and pretty flavorful.  The soft noodles in particular picked up a lot of the pepper flavor as well.  The menma and onions were decent, and there was some kind of citrus topping that went pretty well too.  Of course there was the beef, which was not bad, but didn't have a lot of flavor.  I guess that's what you get from shabu shabu.  If only I had some of that sesame dipping sauce, too.

Would I Go Again?
It was OK, but it was pretty far out of the way and the beef didn't really wow me.  I won't be back.

Should You Go?
Maybe if you live close by and are curious.