Ramen Happiness: 七鐘屋: Bowl #15

The visit to Nagaoka was not over after just one Ramen shop. Wanting to make the most of our time there, we set off in search of the second bowl of the day. First we stopped outside a shop called 真登 (Masato), but it had a line out the door and down the side of the building. Even though we did not feel like waiting in line at that time, we did indeed mark this restaurant as one that is clearly worth visiting later. Something good must bring crowds of people there to wait in line for noodles.

On the north end of the city, we found our second destination. There was also a line at 七鐘屋 (Nana-ya), but with only two people ahead of me it seemed far more manageable. The interior of the shop was crowded with a variety of table arrangements and every seat was full. We must have just missed a big turnover because, though there were so many people seated, almost everyone was waiting for their lunch. So, while there were only two people waiting before me, the wait did end up being about twenty minutes. Gradually, food started to leave the kitchen and a couple groups of diners finished and headed out.

We had already chosen our order from the ticket machine at the front door, and in the attempt to get the line moving the hostess/waitress/food runner/busser had already taken ours to the kitchen. The first groups of people to leave had been sitting at larger, traditional kneeling tables. We were asked if we minded sitting with another couple at one such table and, eager to get our lunch as soon as possible, we happily obliged.

The Komachi magazine’s recommendations have not been wrong yet, and it seemed like a good choice at this shop as well. The 尾道ラーメン (Onomichi-Ramen) was brought out in a lopsided ceramic bowl, steaming, and smelling of rich shoyu. On first inspection, the broth was a deep brown in color with flecks of fat floating around the surface, and after lapping up a few spoonfuls was actually rather clear and light. The toppings were not overwhelming. A few pieces of chashu pork accompanied by some menma bamboo shoots, sliced green onion and a lone half of boiled egg. The menma was really impressive - they must have been soaked in some chashu braising liquid offering a wonderfully strong shoyu flavor.

The noodles were thin, but had good texture as well as their own unique taste. A lot of times, the noodles are simply there to soak up the broth, but at 七鐘屋 they actually brought their own sort of bready notes into the mix. The couple sitting with us at the table even commented on the noodles being rather unique and delicious. The woman had ordered the same Ramen as me and it was nice to hear that she was enjoying it as much as I was. The two were also on the Ramen Rally Challenge, but when the waitress took our books for stamping I noticed they only had one or two marks. Clearly they are not as gung-ho about getting thirty stamps by the end of October. The stamp that my book received was number fifteen, halfway to the finish line.