Tori no Ana

Chicken hole! That's what Tori no Ana means. Why? Because the broth is all chicken of course. This pairs with my previous shop as a rare no-pork ramen combo.

Tori no Ana was another classic Tokyo favorite of mine, and finally I was able to revisit it to review it for my loving readers. A bizarrely snowy day in Tokyo left my brother and I with no choice but to stop and get some good ol' fashioned chicken soup. There were two bowls, a white mild bowl, and a red spicy bowl. I got the spicy one.

Information
鶏の穴
Tōkyō-to, Toshima-ku, Higashiikebukuro, １丁目３９−２０

The Bowl
Mmm, thick chicken soup, with a healthy dose of spice. Straight, fat, yellow noodles to go with it. And no chicken ramen is complete without with some pieces of chicken-chashu and ground chicken. If I didn't know any better I would have said you can't make ramen without pork taste so good.

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

Should You Go?
Yes.

Mutekiya

Another day in Tokyo means another day of continuing to try places I loved when I lived there.  Next up is Mutekiya.  Back about two and a half years ago when I first arrived in Tokyo, I didn't know that much about ramen, and I had not eaten at that many shops.  I did a little bit of research, and one of the first "good" shops I went to was Mutekiya.  It was a huge step above the random places I had been to, and it instantly became my favorite.  Even after trying a number of other good shops, there has always been a special place in my heart for my gateway to ramen, Mutekiya.  Now how would it hold up for my first visit in almost two years?

Information
麺創房 無敵家
1-17-1 Minamiikebukuro

The Bowl
One of the more vivid memories I had of Mutekiya was the absurdly fatty broth.  And in this way, my memory did not disappoint.  It was a rich, tonkotsu with little globules of fat floating to the top.  The noodles were straight and thick, but a little too firm as they came apart without even needing to bite.  The chashu was very thick, but a bit too tender as it fell apart in the soup when I tried to grab it with chopsticks.  Overall the bowl was solid but not amazing; I understand why I liked it so much when I first had it, but since then I've had many better bowls.

Would I Go Again?
I always have a special place in my heart for Mutekiya.

Should You Go?
The line is long and there are better bowls in Ikebukuro, so you don't need to.