Taiyo no Tomato

The Bowl
It's been a while since my first trip, but the classic tomato-and-cheese ramen hasn't changed, and why should it? Soupy pasta, and, because I couldn't hold myself back, risotto afterwards. It may not be pushing the boundaries on what tomato ramen can be, but I wouldn't ask them too either.

初対面からかなり時間が経ちましたけど、味が変わりませんでした。懐かしいスープパスタ味がしました。我慢できなかったので、〆リゾットもしてしまって、満足しました。トマトラーメン以上ギミックがあまりなくて、ぴったりでした。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

また行く気がします。

Should You Go?
It's a good one for anyone who wants to discover what tomato ramen is.

トマトラーメンとはなんだとわからない人にぜひ。

Information
太陽のトマト麺

Mankai

After a beer festival at Osaka Castle, I was with some friends and hungry for some drunken ramen. There are not a lot of places in that area, but a little while ago a second shop of Fukushima's tonkotsu shop Mankai opened up by Tenmabashi. We all agreed that this was an acceptable choice with our bellies full of beer, and we marched towards the shop. On my trip to the Fukushima shop I tried the standard tonkotsu, so this time I decided to go for the more exotic Tomaton tomato ramen.

大阪城にあるビールフェスに行ってから、友達と一緒にいて、お腹空いてしめラーメンを食べたかったです。その辺にラーメン屋さんはあまりないですけど、ちょっと前福島の「まんかい」豚骨専門店は2号店ができました。豚骨でいいなとみんな思ったのでそっちへ向かいました。福島店に行った時に定番の豚骨を食べたので、今回トマトンのトマトラーメンにしてみました。

The Bowl
This was a bowl of tomato ramen, but before that, it was still a bowl of tonktosu ramen. The soup was porky and garlicky, with the blended in tomato juices coming in second, but still powerful. The noodles were flat, soaking in deeply the tomato flavors, along with what tasted like clam. The chashu came as a few simple, flat pieces, and there were some olives in the broth as well, a surprisingly fitting mix-in.

トマトラーメンなんですけど、やっぱり豚骨専門店が作ったラーメンです。スープは豚くさくて、ニンニクもいっぱい入っていました。第二味がトマトでしたけど、それも濃かったです。麺は平打ちで、すすったらトマトとなんとかの貝がしました。チャーシューは何枚かの細い肉で、意外と合ったオリーブも乗っていました。

Would I Go Again?
It's not on the top of my list, but I could see making a stop again.

すぐ行く気もしませんけど、また行くかもしれません。

Should You Go?
If you're going on a tonkotsu tour of Osaka, Mankai should definitely be included.

もし大阪の豚骨巡りするなら、まんかいにも行ったほうがいいです。

Information
まんかい

Tomato no Sato Shinanoji

I had been intending on getting a burger as a way of celebrating July 4th, but instead I found myself at a ramen shop in Awaza. Tomato no Sato Shinanoji is an unusual place; tomato ramen is their specialty. I ordered mine with a couple pieces of barbecue pork and a dollop of rice to clean up the soup at the end.

アメリカの独立記念日だったので、バーガーを食べるつもりでしたけど、阿波座のラーメン屋さんに行ってもうた。「とまとの里信濃路」の名物がトマトラーメンです。焼豚トッピングとあとめしと一緒に買いました。

The Bowl
Despite being noodles with tomato soup, this bowl was fairly different from pasta. The broth was an oily, light soup that tasted like a low-spice version of ra-yu with a simple tomato glaze. The noodles were long and firm, and were accompanied by lots of celery and a few small slices of pork. The barbecue pork was worth the extra money: the slices were tough but thick and juicy in a way that blended with the oil of the bowl.

麺ととまとの食事なんですけど、パスタの感じが全くしませんでした。スープはあっさりして油っぽかったです。ラー油みたいかつとまとがかかれた味がしました。固めで長い麺をはじめ、セレリーと豚バラが乗っていました。焼豚は特にうまくて、買う価値がありました。分厚くてめっちゃジューシーで、スープとよく合いました。

Would I Go Again?
It's not first on my list, but I would go again.

すぐ行くつもりじゃありませんけど、また行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes.

行った方がいいです。

Information
とまとの里 信濃路

Tomako

Sometimes you have to eat some crazy ramen. I was walking to a shop in Uehonmachi that recently opened by an ex-chef of Tamagoro. Although their site guaranteed they would be open for lunch, the sign in front of their shop disagreed. Luckily, I had a backup nearby.

Another recently opened shop, Tomako is a tomato ramen shop located in the not-so-fashionable Uehonmachi Hihi Town mall. I've had my share of tomato ramen before and enjoyed it, so I wanted to try something interesting. I asked the employee there what she recommended, and she mentioned that they had a hot pepper bowl, but it would be too spicy for most people. Well, you can't say that and expect me to not get it.

Information
とまこ
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Tennōji-ku, Uehonmachi, ６丁目３−３１

The Bowl
I was promised a bowl of hot peppers and a bowl of hot peppers is exactly what I got. The broth was fatty, oily, hot and spicy. Oh yeah, and there was lots of tomato in there too. There were chunks of onions and tomato floating around as well. The soup was pretty spicy and reminded me of rayu a bit; the noodles were thin and oily, but their spice was a bit more digestible. To top it off, there was some basil in the ramen - this was great and I wish there had been more of it.

The employee gawked at me as I not only drank the soup, but ate most of the hot peppers. Probably not a great idea for my stomach, but I don't regret it.

Would I Go Again?
It was interesting, but I still have some other tomato ramen places to try, so I won't be back.

Should You Go?
If you're crazy enough to eat hot pepper tomato ramen, then give it a go, but otherwise you're probably better off sticking with one of the other tomato shops in town.

Taiyo no Tomato

Not too long ago, my friend and I attempted to make a trip to Taiyo no Tomato, a ramen shop that specializes in a rather unusual tomato broth ramen.  We failed and got to Tsukemen Misawa, which is hardly a failure at all.  Nonetheless, we were determined to get our tomato ramen, and so a return trip was in order.

We got there and saw that they were having an Evangelion-related campaign.  If you're unfamiliar, Evangelion is a Japanese animated TV show that came out over 15 years ago, and the country has been obsessed with (at least in small corners like pachinko parlors) ever since.  One of the main pieces of Evangelion merchandise you can pick up are figures of the two main girls, quiet, light-blue-haired Rei, and spunky red-haired Asuka.  At Taiyo no Tomato, the girls were celebrated with two bowls of ramen - a light soymilk ramen for Rei, and a slightly German-themed tomato ramen for Asuka (who is German, as you can undoubtedly tell by her name).  Along with an order of tomato gyoza, my friend ordered the Rei and I got the Asuka.

Information
太陽のトマト麺
Ōsaka-fu, Ōsaka-shi, Fukushima-ku, Fukushima, ５丁目１３−１８
Taiyo no Tomato is in a side street just southwest of Fukushima Station.

The Bowl
Taiyo no Tomato dishes out ramen that's like none other.  In fact, it should sooner be compared to an Italian restaurant than a ramen shop.  The soup was a hot and oily tomato broth; a thinned down version of what you might find on a lot of pasta.  Similarly, the noodles were thin, and very similar to spaghetti.  The toppings found in the bowl included celery, onions, yellow pepper, eggplant, and in German tradition, sausage and potatoes.

Would I Go Again?
Taiyo no Tomato is not the only tomato ramen place, but it is a good one.  I would have liked the Asuka bowl better with cheese in it, but that just means I'll have to order cheese next time.

Should You Go?
You really can't go wrong.  This is good on a day when you feel like pasta, but want ramen anyway.