Rarara no Ramen Ittonriki

It's not every day I make it down to Sakai, but sometimes I get the hankering for a bowl of ramen or tsukemen that's famous down there. In fact, the last time I went out of my way to Sakai for a bowl of ramen was a year and a half ago. Similar to that time, it wasn't any dish that could tempt me, but curry tsukemen.

Rarara no Ramen is a shop I had read about in Ramen Walker ages ago, and kept wanting to go. As soon as I arrived, I realized they offered so many other items, such as a spicy miso tsukemen, but it was curry tsukemen I came for, so it was curry tsukemen I ordered.

堺市にあまり行きませんけど、たまに堺にしかないラーメンが欲しくなります。実は前行ったのは一年半前でした。あのときみたいにカレーつけ麺を食べたかったので行ってしもた。

らららのらーめんはラーメンウォーカーで知ってずっと行きたかったです。着いた時点にカレーつけ麺だけじゃなくて辛みそつけ麺などいっぱいおいしそうなメニューがあったのを気づきました。だが、カレーつけ麺を食べる使命があったのでカレーつけ麺を頼みました。

The Bowl
A dip of the noodles into the curry revealed that this well-spiced, hearty broth showed the signs of a great meal: the curry wasn't just good with the noodles, it would have been delicious eaten on its own or with rice. I did not reject the flat, grainy noodles, though which like the under-flavored chashu, came into their own after sucking in the rich soup. Even towards the end, although the soup was a bit salty when drank on its own, the wari-soup diluted it just enough to make for an after-dinner light curry snack.

カレーを一味するとスープの本物のおいしさがわかってきました。麺と一緒じゃなくてもそのままでもご飯と一緒でもスパイスがよく利いた風味がいいカレーが合いました。麺が平たくてもちもちでした。チャーシューはちょっと味が薄めでしたけど、カレーにつけたらちょうど良くなりました。最後の一滴でもちょっと塩っぱかったですけど、割スープと混ぜたら軽くて飲みやすくなりました。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

はい。

Should You Go?
Yes.

はい。

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らららのらーめん 一豚力

Junpuden

Finally, a trip to Junpuden.  Junpuden is a place I spotted in Ramen Walker and ramendb, and have wanted to go to for a long time.  It's in Sakai, which is in Osaka prefecture but south of Osaka city, so I've never had any reason to travel there aside from ramen.  In addition, Junpuden is closed on Sundays, which makes it even more annoying to go to.  But this weekend gave me a Monday off, which was enough to get me to make the trip.

Now if you're wondering what it is that made me travel far out of my way to get ramen, the answer is simple: curry.  I've gone out of my way to eat curry ramen and tsukemen before, and I will again.  Junpuden offers both, in addition to tantan men/tsukemen and super spicy tsukemen.  If you eat the super spicy tsukemen, you get your picture on the wall.  I was not brave enough to try that this time, but maybe if I'm back.

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純風殿

Ōsaka-fu, Sakai-shi, Sakai-ku, Kitakawaramachi, ２丁２−２５

Junpuden is just north of the shopping arcade on the west side of Sakai Higashi Station.

The Bowl
Thick noodles, and thick broth, just the way I like my tsukemen.  The broth was barely a soup, it was practically a bowl full of curry sauce.  But that made it very good for the noodles to pick up.  There was a little bit of spice to it, too.  Aside from the noodles and sauce, there were a few pieces of chashu and menma too.  The chashu was in thick pieces; not particularly fatty, but they tasted very good covered in curry.

Would I Go Again?
Absolutely.  I want to try the tantanmen, and one day it would be fun to lose to try the super spicy tsukemen, too.  I hear they even make you drink all the broth.

Should You Go?
If you like curry.  It's far, but it's good.