しょうじ: Bowl #4

It was a rainy Friday, perfect noodle weather, so Ramen was a no-brainer for lunch on such a dreary day. Already having been to しょうじ (shouji) noodle shop on a previous occasion did not require so much research into what to expect. Their soup is tonkotsu style, which means it is heavily flavored from pork that is boiled for a much longer time and is cloudy with chunks of fat floating around creating an awesome richness. しょうじ takes over two days to prepare their soup using locally sourced pig bones as the base for their stock. There are two options for the soup when you order; こってり (kotteri), which has pieces of pork back fat floating in the broth, orあっさり (assari), which is a lighter version with less fat.

Being a fan of stronger flavor, and not wanting to miss out on their most popular signature bowl, I naturally went for the stronger こってり Ramen. I stuck with regular Ramen, forgoing my love of extra slices of chashu for the sake of my afternoon full of teaching classes. Sitting at the counter offered me a nice view into the kitchen area where I could watch the method of their Ramen creation. Tonkotsu broth is ladled into the bowl and then a scoop of extra fat is shaken through a sieve over the top. Chunks of gooey pork pieces fly everywhere.

After receiving my bowl I take in the carefully perfected plating display. The noodles are topped with slices of pork, a healthy amount of bean sprouts, sliced green onions, a sheet of nori and saffron. Saffron! I don’t think I have eaten saffron in many other dishes, but here it is sitting on top of my bowl of noodles. Oh how far I have come from the instant Ramen days.

The broth is rich and delicious, the extra strong fatty flavor is not overwhelming, nor does it make you feel like you are eating straight pork fat (even though you basically are). The noodles are made in my favorite style; thicker and wavy, they grab on to the broth and ensure you receive the full flavor of the soup with every bite. The chashu pork is excellent, which is no surprise with how carefully they select the pig bones for their soup stock. I am not the biggest fan of bean sprouts, some are okay, but this bowl of noodles certainly comes with far more than I would normally desire. This fact doesn’t detract too much from the great, meaty flavor of the Ramen bowl as a whole.

After paying for my lunch, one girl, who was working the kitchen, saw me trying to carefully read and understand the bonus quiz question that was posted at the register. She helped me figure out that it was asking about the color of the little bowl that is pictured on the しょうじ sign mounted on the roof of the shop. The answer came to be a “no” as it is not black, the bowl is red. Husband was not with me on this lunch adventure, he was with me the first time we ate at しょうじ, but I am betting I could get him to eat there again as he has recently fallen in love with the fatty tonkotsu broth. しょうじ is definitely worth repeat visits. 

しょうじ sign against the gray sky.

Toppings carefully organized atop the rich broth and chewy noodles.
Note the fatty bits splattered around the edge of the bowl.

Just had to get a closer shot of the thicker style of noodles.
Also, you can see the rich color of the broth from under the fat in the spoon.

"The bowl that is drawn on the しょうじ sign is black".
Clearly, as seen in the first picture, it is red.