Kamofuji

In Tenma I discovered a shop whose owner used to work at an izakaya, making duck tsukemen on the side. Now he runs his own shop, serving duck tsukemen and takikomi rice. One meal is enough for me, so I went for the tsukemen.

天満で元居酒屋で働いていた鴨つけ麺を作る店長の店が見つかりました。鴨ふじで鴨つけ麺と炊き込みご飯を提供しています。両方頼むのがあれなので、つけ麺にしました。

The Bowl
It was light and slightly sweet, reminding me of the duck udon I've had around Osaka more than any ramen. There were slices of duck bobbing up and down in the broth, earthy and powerful in a way that it makes me wonder why more shops don't try this. The noodles were yellow and curly, but I felt the rice mixed in with the soup at the end was the better vessel.

ほんのり甘くてあっさりでした。やっぱり、普通のラーメンより大阪でよく見る鴨つけ麺のほうが似ていました。鴨チャーシューがスープに浮いていて、普通のチャーシューよりリッチでした。ほかの店も鴨を出してほしいですね。麺は黄色い縮れ麺でしたけど、麺より最後にもらったごはんのほうがスープと相性が良かったかな。

Would I Go Again?


Should You Go?


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鴨ふじ

Tenshiro

Tenma is an area with a ton of ramen shops and other restaurants, but for some reason I don't find myself there as often as I should. On one random weeknight, though, I was hankering for tsukemen, and discovered online the shop Tenshiro, in Tenma. Tenshiro is actually a sister shop to Menya Teru, and that was all I needed to know to decide to check it out.

天満にはラーメン屋さんもほかのレストランもいっぱいありますけどなぜかあまり行きません。ある平日につけ麺が欲しくてインターネットで天満にある「天四郎」という店を見かけました。天四郎は麺や輝と同じ系列なので行ってみることにしました。

The Bowl
Tenshiro makes its broth from a combination of two soups: one with chicken and pork, and the other with fish. The fish stood out: the broth was thinner than average, and the seafood essence was stronger than its umami, but the combination didn't work quite as well as other similar examples. The noodles, fatty chashu, and egg were all fairly standard but pretty decent; the main component that stood above the rest was the unique sudachi vinegar on the side. It was light and refreshing compared to the heavy tsukemen.

天四郎のスープは鶏ガラ豚骨と魚介のだぶるスープでした。肉系より魚介の味の方が強い感じがしてちょっととろみが足りなかったです。太麺、チャーシュー、味玉はよくできたんですけど、一番気になったのは食卓の上においてあったすだち酢でした。さっぱりしてちょうど良かったです。

Would I Go Again?
I felt the same way about Teru's tsukemen - it's not bad, but there are better places to go.

輝のつけ麺みたいにおいしいですけど、もっとおいしい店がいっぱいあります。

Should You Go?
Nah.

行かなくていいです。

Information
麺や 天四郎

Tsukemen Senmonten Matsuura

Tenma offers a ton of good restaurants, ramen and otherwise, and I try to make a point to head there every once in a while. Unfortunately, though, since it's a bit out of the way, I don't make it there too often. With the new edition of Ramen Walker out, there are even more exciting places to try, so I put on my walking boots and trudged over there. This trip brought me to Tsukemen Senmonten Matsuura, a delicious looking gyokai tonkotsu shop.

天満にはいろいろなおいしいレストランがあるので、たまに行こうとしています。ちょっと遠いですから、最近はぜんぜん行っていません。 新しいラーメンウォーカーに出て、歩いて行くことにしました。今回つけ麺専門店まつ浦の魚介豚骨のラーメン屋さんに行きました。

The Bowl
It sure has been a while since I've had some good tsukemen. The broth, while not super thick, was rich and sweet like you'd expect. The noodles took it up a notch; they were super fat and firm, with grain embedded in the noodles. The chashu was very thick and fatty, juicy and bursting with umami flavor. All around a good bowl.

こんなにおいしいつけ麺を食べるのが久しぶりですね。スープはめっちゃドロドロじゃありませんでしたけど、こってりで魚介豚骨らしく甘かったです。麺もうまくて、激太くてかたかったです。チャーシューはジューシーでうまみがいっぱいしました。

Would I Go Again?
If I'm in Tenma again I'm still tempted to go to a place I've never been to before, but if I'm making second rounds, I'll go to Matsuura.

また天満に行ったら、たぶん新しい店に行きますけど、また行きたいです。

Should You Go?
If you're in Tenma and you've already been to Gunjo, then this is next on the list of gyokai tonkotsu shops.

天満にいて、群青にもう行ったことあれば、まつ浦がいいと思います。

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つけ麺専門店 まつ浦

Rakunijin

My trip to Fukuoka finally came to a close and I was back in Osaka. I had been dragging my brother around to so many wacky and weird shops that we hadn't even gotten around to having a classic shoyu bowl. After going back and forth trying to decide where best to take him, I decided to go to one of my old favorites Rakunijin and follow it up with a beer at the local Beer Belly. I had been here before, so I decided to try the spicy chuka soba instead of the standard.

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洛二神
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Kita-ku, Naniwachō, ４−２２

The Bowl
Just like the standard shoyu bowl, the spicy one was light, fishy, and delicious. There was just a bit of kick to this broth, which kept it from overwhelming the shoyu taste. The noodles were great just like lasts time, and the rest of the toppings were solid too. Overall it wasn't as good as their main bowl, but I would easily go to a shop that only had this on their menu.

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, probably.

Should You Go?
Yes you should.

Mengenso

For a place that's really not that far from Umeda, I don't make it to Tenma very often. There's not a lot there, and it's not the most modern place in osaka, but that's what gives it its charm. One giant shopping arcade that stretches several station lengths, filled with cafes, old clothing, and pachinko parlors. And ramen shops.

There are not that many in the arcade itself, but a keen observer will realize that they dot the alleyways around it. On this lazy afternoon I picked a place from Ramen Walker whose bowl looked eerily like classic-favorite Yashichi. Mengenso's notable bowl is called "naka naka". "Naka" means middle, and the "naka naka" places itself strangely in between other bowls by being half of each. The soup is chicken and fish, and the tare is shio and shoyu.

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麺元素
5-2-16 Tenjinbashi

The Bowl
The broth was very well-balanced; it was peppery and kind of like a light shoyu, but a bit richer. The noodles were soft and not too flavorful, but they matched the soup well. The menma were soft and the egg was creamy. The strangest part was the chashu, which came in flat, sweet pieces that were a little tough. It was more like ham than the normal pork in ramen, but it was delicious.

Would I Go Again?
This place was great. I'd have been back already if it wasn't so far.

Should You Go?
Yes. It's very similar to Yashichi, but you don't have to wait on the massive lines.

Rakunijin

Another day, another ranked ramen place.  After another long day at work, I was hungering for some ramen, and after some research I realized that Rakunijin was actually pretty close to the office.  The shop closing wasn't really an issue, so I casually walked on over.

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洛二神
Ōsaka-fu Ōsaka-shi Kita-ku Naniwachō ４−２２
Rakunijin is just off an alley off of Tenjinbashi-suji

The Bowl
Similar to Kadoya Shokudo, Rakunijin is known for their simple-yet-well-executed shoyu bowl.  Although at Rakunijin, there's a bit of a fishy gyokai taste to it as well.  As expected the soup was simple, thin, and drinkable, but the gyokai flavor added a lot to it.  There was a bit of crunchy kikurage mushrooms and a few little shrimps scattered among the thin noodles.

Would I Go Again?
Rakunijin doesn't offer the kind of ramen I usually find myself craving for, but the bowl was very balanced and given its location I could easily find myself taking a friend here some time.

Should You Go?
Yeah, it's a very solid shoyu bowl, with a good if uncomplicated twist.