Satsumakko

One chain shop I had never been to was Satsumakko. A kagoshima style ramen shop, the flagship shop of this chain is in Tenma, though shops can be found everywhere in Osaka. I went to the Kitashinchi branch with some friends and ordered the standard ramen.

薩摩っ子というチェーン店にずっと行ってません。鹿児島風ラーメン専門店で本店は天満なんですけど、支店はどこにでもあります。友達と北新地店に行って、「ラーメン」を注文しました。

The Bowl
This fits in the style of Kinryu ramen: light and easy to eat, meant for post-drinking. The soup was a mix of oil, salt and garlic, barely meant to be drank, but more intended as a base of flavor for the curly noodles. That trademark tonkotsu stink wafted from the slices of chashu, further cementing this as a bowl that goes well with a beer.

金龍ラーメンみたいに酔っぱらってからのさっぱり食べやすいラーメンです。スープはなかなか飲めないニンニクと油のミックスで、ちぢれ麺のドレッシングになるみたいです。チャーシュー自体はとんこつ臭いでビールと一緒に食べるのがお勧めです。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, but not alone, and not sober.

友達と寄ってからまた行くかな。

Should You Go?
This is not a must-stop shop, but it's worth a try for anyone who wants an infusion of garlic after some drinks.

飲んでからニンニクが欲しい人におすすめします。

Information
薩摩っ子ラーメン

Gahaha

I'm not very happy when I realize I've missed out on a curry ramen shop in Osaka, but I was on the other hand excited for the opportunity to try Gahaha, a shop I'd overlooked for a long time in Kitashinchi. In a weird Sapporo tribute, Gahaha's main dish is soup curry ramen, which is what I ordered.

ずっとカレーラーメン屋さんがあるのに見逃しているならちょっと悲しいです。だが、がははを発見した時に行くのを楽しみにしていました。札幌っぽくて名物はスープカレーラーメンなのでそれを頼みました。

The Bowl
Soup curry is a light curry dish offered in Sapporo. Curry ramen tends to be a thicker, and sweeter dish. Gahaha's soup curry ramen offered a compromise: light and peppery like soup curry, but with a bit of a heavier bite. The noodles, too, were stretchy and yellow, not like those found in the Sapporo famous food. Just to make it even more interesting, Gahaha includes carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and a melt-in-your-mouth piece of chashu.

スープカレーとは札幌の有名なあっさりカレーの料理です。カレーラーメンはそれよりとろみがあって甘い物です。がはははその間でした。飲みやすくてこしょうがいっぱいのってスープカレーより重かったです。麺はこしがある黄色な麺でした。その上にニンジン、芋、キャベツ、とろ〜りなチャーシューが入っていました。

Would I Go Again?
It's a one of a kind bowl. But the shop has closed.

本当にユニークなラーメンでした。だが、閉店しました。

Should You Go?
You can't because it's closed.

閉店しました。

Information
がはは

Toga no Ya

Months ago a shop opened up not too far from where I work, but for some reason I never got around to visiting. Eventually passing by a giant "tsukemen" sign all the time wore me down, so I finally swung by after work and ordered the shoyu tsukemen.

何ヶ月前に職場の近くにラーメン屋さんができましたけど、なぜか行きませんでした。何回も「つけ麺」と書いてある看板を通って行っちゃおうと思っていて醤油つけ麺を頼みました。

The Bowl
Toga no Ya presented a bowl of shoyu broth with a deep gyokai influence. Unlike tonkotsu-strong variants, this broth was much rounder and easy to drink, which went well with the whole grain noodles. Add to that a strong egg and couple slices of chashu and you have a bowl that is not blowing anyone's mind, but is one you'd happily eat on your way home.

とがの屋やのスープは魚介系醤油でした。めっちゃ豚骨が入っているラーメンよりまろやかで飲みやすかったです。全粒粉平たい麺がちょうど良かったです。味玉とチャーシューもよくできて仕事帰りにいいラーメンだと思っています。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
I would go if you're looking for tsukemen in the area, but I wouldn't go too far out of my way.

あの辺にいるなら行ったらいいと思います。

Information
とがの屋

Ippondo

Kitashinchi is an interesting area of Osaka. Like Fukushima and Tenma, it's right next to Umeda, but has a lot more character. Kitashinchi is full of bars, some cheap, and many expensive. And though it's not known for ramen, it's Japan, so there will always be some. On this night I visited with my friend, and we wandered into random tonkotsu shoyu shop Ippondo.

北新地は面白い場所です。福島と天満みたいに梅での近くにありますけど、梅田より性格があります。北新地はバーだらけで安いのもありますけどほとんど高いイメージがします。ラーメンで有名じゃありませんけど、日本あので絶対何軒かあります。ある日に友達と一緒にうろうろと歩いて豚骨醤油の「一本道」に入りました。

The Bowl
The oily broth was a sea of solidified pork fat. It had a salty, garlicky edge, but overall it was weak and nothing better than I'd expect from a random mediocre shop. The medium noodles were a bit different from what you'd sometimes see with this kind of a soup, but they were overcooked. The toppings saved the bowl. The marinated chashu tasted deep of the soy sauce it was left to soak in, and the viscously creamy yolked egg was delicious.

スープが固まっている背脂だらけでした。ちょっとニンニクが入っていてちょっと普通の店の味がしました。麺はこんなスープに普通ある麺と違いましたけど柔らかかったです。一番おいしかったのはトッピングでした。醤油で煮込んだチャーシューもとろみがあるクリーミーな味玉が結構うまかったです。

Would I Go Again?
Nah, aside from the toppings nothing stood out in this place.

トッピングがおいしかったですけどまた行かないと思います。

Should You Go?
You can skip this one.

梅田のほかの店の方がいいかもしれません。

Information
麺匠 一本道

Tsuboya

It was December, and I had just a few days left before I was going home to New York for the holidays. What should my last bowl of ramen be? I had passed by Umeda's Tsuboya a couple times, and I was intrigued by the winter-only miso ramen. I've been disappointed with Tsuboya's other branches, but I love miso, so I gave in to my instinct and gave it a try.

１２月でもうすぐニューヨークに帰るつもりでした。最後の一杯はどうしようかな？梅田にあるつぼやを何回か通って冬限定味噌らーめんが気になりました。他のつぼやの支店はまあまあでしたけど、味噌がほんまに好きで入ってみました。

The Bowl
Ah, miso ramen. It's so rare in Osaka that I'll take any chance I get to have some. Tsuboya's miso's broth was pretty oily, but it was tasty, and did not hold back on the spice. I wasn't crying, but there was definitely a peppery kick. The thick noodles wrapped around the mounds of bean sprouts in the bowl, and the chewy if low on flavor chashu.

ああ味噌らーめん。大阪に珍しくて食べる機会があれば絶対に頼んじゃいます。スープが油っぽかったですけど、うまくてピリ辛でした。麺が太くてもやしと炙りチャーシューと絡んでいました。

Would I Go Again?
Yeah, for another limited time ramen.

他の季節限定とかあればまた行くかもしれません。

Should You Go?
I would say if you go, get ramen instead of tsukemen.

行ったらつけ麺よりラーメンにしたらいいです。

Information
つけ麺処 つぼや

Ichimuan

Shio ramen is a rarity in Osaka. It's not my favorite kind, but a good shio can be just as good as any other style, with the nice benefit that you don't feel really bloated afterwards. One day I noticed there was a new, pretty well-located shio shop on my route back from work, so I went to check it out.

Information
めん処 一夢庵
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Kita-ku, Nishitenma, ２丁目７−１７

The Bowl
I ordered their recommended shrimp salt ramen. The broth was simple and light, as a standard shio tends to be, with a hint of shrimp. The noodles were bright yellow and curly, and while the chashu fell apart in my chopsticks pretty quickly, it was pretty flavorful. To top it off there was a wealth of kikurage, onions, and an okay egg.

Would I Go Again?
It was decent, but I probably won't fit it into my schedule again.

Should You Go?
It's not far and isn't bad, so if you're in the area looking for shio, it's a good stop.