Menya Takei

Famous Kyoto tsukemen shop Takei opened a shop in Hankyu Umeda station, and I finally got a chance to go there. The line was long as always, but I was able to to get in and try their tsukemen.

京都の名店「たけ井」が阪急梅田駅内で店ができて、やっと行けました。列はいつも通り長かったですけど、入れてつけ麺を頼みました。

The Bowl
At first glance this was your standard gyokai tonkotsu tsukemen, but more than its competitors the broth was unmovingly thick, and both more meaty and less sweet. I'm always a fan of these kotteri bowls, but I'm glad the yuzu peel and negi were there to lighten up the soup as I moved forward. The thick-as-rope, square noodles and fatty chashu slice were fine vessels for the broth.

一見で普通の魚介とんこつつけ麺なんですけど、似ているつけ麺よりドロ～っとしたスープが旨味が効いて、甘味が控えめでした。こんなこってりのがお気に入りなんですけど、食べながら柚子の皮とねぎをちょっとずつ混ぜたらバランスが取れました。極太四角い麺と油っぽいチャーシューはスープの相性が抜群でした。

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麺屋 たけ井

Shinise Ramen Kamitora

It had been a while since I'd been to a Kamitora, but the sign outside that they were doing a collaboration with Junk Story was enough to drag me in. I walked in and ordered the JUNK Shoyu.

神虎に行くのが久しぶりでしたけど、Junk Storyとのコラボを見た瞬間に、行かなあかんと思いました。入ってみて、JUNK醤油をオーダーしました。

The Bowl
I normally associate Junk Story with clean shio ramen, but this was a big fatty, garlicky mess. The combination of garlic and pork back fat kept the ramen juicy, and tasting a bit like jiro-kei ramen. The noodles kept the best flavors of the broth, leaving the harsher points and back fat behind. The chashu was not as stellar, but I was glad to have tried the bowl overall, and sad that this was a limited time deal.

Junk Storyと聞いたらすっきりとした塩ラーメンのイメージがしていますけど、このラーメンは脂っぽくてニンニク臭かったです。ニンニクと背油でラーメンの味が強くて、若干次郎系に似ていました。麺はスープの味のいい部分を吸収しました。チャーシューはちょっと薄かったですけど、全体的に美味しくて、また食べられないのがちょっと残念です。

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老舗らーめん 神虎

Minatoya Kobe

The Osaka Ekimae buildings are full of shops I've never been to, and this time I visited Minatoya Kobe and ordered the Economy Gyukotsu Ramen for the low, low price of ￥380.

大阪駅前ビルに行ったことがないラーメン屋さんが多くて、今回みなとや神戸に行って、３８０円のエコノミー牛骨ラーメンを注文しました。

The Bowl
The bowl had a clearish-tan soup, but despite that it was rich, smooth, and not too salty. The noodles were thin and had just the tiniest amount of bite to them, not quite matching the quality of the broth. There was a simple slice of beef in the bowl, but few toppings beyond that. I ordered the economy after all.

スープは半透明で茶色かったですけど、濃いめで滑らかでした。細麺はちょっとした弾力がありました。牛チャーシューのシンプルの一枚も乗っていましたけど、それ以上のトッピングはあまりなかったです。エコノミーだったしね。

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みなとや神戸

Mengyu

I stumbled upon a shop called Mengyu, selling noodles and beef. Of all things I went with their curry mazesoba.

麺牛という店に行って、麺と牛を売っていました。咖喱まぜそばを頼んでみました。

The Bowl
The noodles were yellow and springy; not too remarkable on their own but better with the light aromas of the curry sauce mixed in. The pork squares were plump and juicy, and the vegetables like potato and squash were unusual but a welcome addition.

麺は黄色でぼよーんとして、カレーソースと混ぜてカレー風味になって美味しかったです。チャーシューは四角くて、ジューシーでした。なかなか見ないポテトとカボチャなどの野菜が出てきて、よかったです。

On the side was a lemon-spice called "lemosco", that was as strange and interesting as it sounded.

食卓に「レモスコ」というレモンスパイスが置いてあって、辺で面白かったです。

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麺牛