Junk Story

The Rasai stamp rally kept going in full force. Pushing myself further along the way, I went to popular shio shop Junk Story. I'd been there before so I knew what I was getting into, but was more than happy for an excuse for a return trip. Also, since this was my first bingo on the stamp card, I got a free topping of rare chashu.

らぁ際スタンプラリーの締め切りがだんだん近づいてきました。今回大人気な塩らーめん屋さん「Junk Story」に行ってきました。行ったことあるのでどんなラーメンか知っていましたけど、また楽しみにしていました。スタンプラリー紙でビンゴになったのでレアチャーシューのトッピングが無料にもGETできました。

The Bowl
This was a bowl loaded with toppings. The broth itself was a light serviceable shio, and it was filled with flat, easy to slurp noodles. But all of the toppings held their weight and more. The chicken may have been the best - lightly yuzu pepper flavored, with a perfect amount of resistance that you only get from seared tataki. The rare chashu, extremely strange for someone who has grown up being told not to eat uncooked meat, was also packed with flavor, lacking the usual oil that chashu brings. Combine that with some strong menma and a creamy if structurally unsound egg, and I was pretty happy.

このラーメンはトッピングだらけでした。スープはあっさり系の塩ですすりやすい平打ち麺が入っていました。トッピングが特にうまかったです。鶏がやっぱり最高でした。柚子胡椒味でたたきらしく絶妙な食感でした。レアチャーシューはアメリカ人に変ですけど、味が強くてあまり脂っこくなかったです。それに濃いメンマととろける玉子が乗っていたのでうれしかったです。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

また行きます。

Should You Go?
Yes.

行ってください。

Information
らーめんstyle Junk Story

Men no Yoji

Near Tanimachi Kyuchome Station, there used to be a ramen shop called Osaka Kobushi. It was on my list for a while, but I never got around to going there. Then one day it disappeared, and in it's place (I believe it was just a renaming) came Men no Yoji.

Men no Yoji is not a shop that shies away from the crazy: they have tantan mazemen, sukiyaki tsukemen, and curry aemen, all of which interested me. Those bowls may have their days, but on this day I went with the, if only slightly, more standard chicken wing paitan ramen.

谷町九町目駅の近くに「大阪拳」というラーメン屋さんがありました。ずっと行きたかったですけど結局行けませんでした。ある日になくなって、その代わりに麺のようじが出てきました。

麺のようじはいろいろな変わっているラーメンを提供しています。坦々混ぜ麺／すき焼きつけ麺／カレー和え麺があって気になりました。いつか食べるかもしれませんけど、今回おすすめしてもらった手羽先白湯ラーメンを頼みました。

The Bowl
Men no Yoji nailed the holy grail of a kotteri bowl of ramen: it was rich and flavorful without overloading my taste buds, and it left me wanting more after I finished. The syrupy broth had a deep flavor likened to saucy chicken wings, as opposed to the creamy or even fishy soups other chicken shops go with. The flavor was accentuated with the thin, sticky noodles, and balanced by thin slices of more standard chicken. A unique, and all around wonderful bowl.

麺乃ようじはやっぱすごいこってりラーメンを作れました。こくがありますけど、飽きないりそうなラーメンでした。普通のクリーミーとか魚介系白湯と違って濃い味の手羽先のとろみがある味がしました。くっつく麺に味がついて薄めの鶏チャーシューでいいバランスがありました。素晴らしかったです。

Would I Go Again?
Yes. The real problem is deciding whether to order this again or try something else.

はい。次回何を注文するのが問題ですけど。

Should You Go?
Yes.

はい。

Information
麺のようじ

Watanabe Seimen

For a random part of Osaka, Uehonmachi has quite a few interesting ramen shops. Located between Osaka'a Koreatown Tsuruhashi and electronics district Nipponbashi, Uehonmachi is most notable for its rundown mall Hihi Town. Just a few blocks away, though, is a tsukemen shop, Watanabe Seimen.

Watanabe Seimen offered four different kinds of soup and two different kinds of noodles. There was the original gyokai tonkotsu, plus a veggie potage, a spicy minced meat, and a curry one. Yes, I wanted all of them. But, for my first time, I had to go with the standard. For noodles, there were simply thick and medium-thick, so I went with the thick ones.

上本町には面白い物はそんなにありませんけど、ラーメン屋さんが最近何軒か出来ています。上本町はハイハイタウンで有名ですけど、ちょっと離れている渡辺製麺というつけ麺専門手があります。

渡辺製麺が四つの種類のスープを提供しています。豚骨魚介・ベジポタ・辛肉ミンチ・カレー味ありました。全て食べてみたかったです。でも、初めてなのでオリジナルの豚骨魚介に注文しました。あと太麺か中太麺から太麺にしました。

With four kinds of soup, I'm tempted to come back to try them all.

スープ四つ種類があるので全て食べてみたいです。

The Bowl
A good gyokai tonkotsu indeed. The broth had a bit of a light flavor, but it was thick enough to stick to the extra thick, chewy noodles. The lightness of the soup was made up for by the yuzushio on the side. It balanced the bowl out a bit, giving the noodles and broth a bit more substance. The chashu was very fatty, and the bowl was finished off by a refreshing and slightly spicy wari-soup containing shichimi.

うまい豚骨魚介でした。スープはとろみがありましたけど、他の豚骨魚介に比べると、ちょっと薄めでした。太麺にあって、柚塩をかけると両方もっとおいしくなってきました。チャーシューもよくて、最後のさっぱりでピリ辛の七味が入っている割りスープが最高でした。

Would I Go Again?
Yes, I still have three soups to try.

まだ三つ種類あるのでまた行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yeah, it's the best tsukemen shop in the area.

その辺で一番いいつけ麺なので行ったらいいです。

Information
渡辺製麺

Mennoya

When I first moved to Osaka, I spoke with my coworkers about my quest to kill myself eating ramen in Japan. One of my seniors sympathized, and told me about how he had been there before. With a car, he could travel all over Kansai tasting a new bowl each day. But one shop had captivated him more than any other. Uehonmachi's Mennoya. They offered a number of interesting options, but I went with the standard shoyu.

大阪に引っ越ししたばかりなときに同僚と一緒に話して、ラーメンを食べる任務を説明しました。ラーメンが好きな先輩にいろいろ言われました。その人もラーメンが大好きで車でいろいろな関西の店行けました。最後に、上本町には一番好きな店が見つかりました。麺乃家でした。いろいろなラーメンがあったんですが、味元のしょう油にしました。

Information
上本町 麺乃家
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Chūō-ku, Uehonmachinishi, ５丁目１−６

The Bowl
Super light, easy to drink, interesting, and very good. The last time I'd had a simple broth knock me off my feet so much was Shiogensui's shio. The noodles were thin, flat, and light. The chashu and menma also went down easy, but were very tasty.

あっさりで飲みやすくて面白くておいしいスープでした。あっさりスープがこんなにおいしかったのが塩元帥の塩しか覚えられません。麺は細くて平たいでした。チャーシューもメンマも食べやすくてめっちゃうまかったです。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
Yes.

はい。

Tomako

Sometimes you have to eat some crazy ramen. I was walking to a shop in Uehonmachi that recently opened by an ex-chef of Tamagoro. Although their site guaranteed they would be open for lunch, the sign in front of their shop disagreed. Luckily, I had a backup nearby.

Another recently opened shop, Tomako is a tomato ramen shop located in the not-so-fashionable Uehonmachi Hihi Town mall. I've had my share of tomato ramen before and enjoyed it, so I wanted to try something interesting. I asked the employee there what she recommended, and she mentioned that they had a hot pepper bowl, but it would be too spicy for most people. Well, you can't say that and expect me to not get it.

Information
とまこ
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Tennōji-ku, Uehonmachi, ６丁目３−３１

The Bowl
I was promised a bowl of hot peppers and a bowl of hot peppers is exactly what I got. The broth was fatty, oily, hot and spicy. Oh yeah, and there was lots of tomato in there too. There were chunks of onions and tomato floating around as well. The soup was pretty spicy and reminded me of rayu a bit; the noodles were thin and oily, but their spice was a bit more digestible. To top it off, there was some basil in the ramen - this was great and I wish there had been more of it.

The employee gawked at me as I not only drank the soup, but ate most of the hot peppers. Probably not a great idea for my stomach, but I don't regret it.

Would I Go Again?
It was interesting, but I still have some other tomato ramen places to try, so I won't be back.

Should You Go?
If you're crazy enough to eat hot pepper tomato ramen, then give it a go, but otherwise you're probably better off sticking with one of the other tomato shops in town.

JUNK STORY

It was just a couple days after getting back from New York, so I was pretty tired from jet lag and work.  Luckily, though, my time in New York got me used to the cold, and the temperature in Osaka felt warm in comparison.  Nothing better then than an energizing walk to a ramen shop.  I had read about Junk Story in Ramen Walker, but never had an excuse to go that far out of my way.

Information
JUNK STORY 谷町きんせい
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Chūō-ku, Kōzu, １丁目２−１１
JUNK STORY is on the north side of Sennichimae Dori just west of Tanimachi Kyuchome Station.

The Bowl
JUNK STORY is known for their shio chicken ramen, and this bowl offered a light shio broth with a bit of a chicken taste along with a light fried onion flavor.  The noodles were medium-thin, and very light.  Following with the chicken theme, instead of chashu in the bowl there was lightly seared chicken tataki.  It tasted a little bit of yuzu, and was very tender.  I've never had chicken tataki in ramen before, and it went with the soup surprisingly well.  The egg also creamy and very good.

Would I Go Again?
If I liked shio more, I would definitely go again.  As it is, I'll probably only make it out there if I'm bringing someone else.

Should You Go?
If you can.  It's not a must eat, but if you're in Tsuruhashi and not in the mood for Korean food, JUNK STORY is only one station over.