Ramen Happiness: 真登: Bowl #17

It has been a pretty busy week and there has not been much time to do any leisure activities, let alone sit down to write about the last shop on the trip to Nagaoka. But the time has come to think back to, what can arguably be called, the best bowl of Ramen out of the four shops we tried in the city. For a mid afternoon break we ventured to the edge of town and visited the Niigata Prefecture Museum of History. For only about five dollars we got to view what life looked like for the ancient inhabitants of our area. As well, there was an interactive exhibit on what it used to look like in winter when the snow was as tall as houses, complete with tunnels and dangerous looking icicles. After the museum, and a quick trip to a bookstore, it was time to head to the final destination.

The first time we had tried to stop at 真登 (Masato) for lunch there was a line wrapping almost all the way around the side of the building. Arriving just before five, when they re-open for the dinner shift, meant the line was shorter, but there were already a handful of customers in queue. The bowl of Ramen pictured in the Komachi magazine had me looking forward to trying it; many other people obviously feel the same way. Listed on the 塩 (shio), or salt, Ramen page is Masato’s signature bowl, and that is what I decided to try.

After ordering at the ticket machine we were seated at the counter where we were able to oversee the kitchen operation. The kitchen was separated from the dining room by only the counter, giving it a wonderful open feeling. With very a very clean design and a modern color scheme, the shop was very inviting and comfortable. Luckily, we were one of the first few people to order and it did not take very long to receive a delicious looking bowl of Ramen.

With the first glance it looked like a well put together bowl of noodles, but after starting in it turned out to be so much more. The broth was light and clear with a delicious chicken flavor. For being塩 Ramen it was not overwhelming with salt flavor, the balance was perfect. The noodles were thin, straight and tender. There is always praise to be had for the noodle that grabs hold of the broth and ensures you never have a flavorless bite. As one of my most admired Ramen chefs, Ivan Orkin said, “You should never have naked noodles”. His book Ivan Ramen is great. If you love cooking, even if you don’t care about Ramen, I definitely recommend it for a good read.

Now for the toppings! The pork was juicy and tender, the edges coated with a crust of various spices. Obviously a rub, the seasoning permeated the meat and gave it a peppery flavor with almost a hint towards smoky. The menma, steamed greens and onion added crunch and texture as well as letting me pretend that they could be considered as a real servings of vegetables. Finally, the crown jewel of the bowl was the perfectly cooked, gooey, savory boiled egg. Always my favorite topping, this egg shot to the top of the list as the best of the best. It is always obvious which Ramen shops takes the time to find the exact cooking time to create the boiled egg that has a firm, tender egg white, and a soft, creamy yolk. The only thing I would wish to change about this bowl of Ramen would be adding another egg on top.

When every last drop of soup was gone, I had to ask about the free CDs that were stacked near my chair. There was a local punk rock band that said the disc was free to take, but the case was empty. Interested, I inquired if there were any more. The chef himself came out from behind the counter, where he had been busily making bowl after bowl of noodles for the steady stream of customers that had been coming in since opening time, to tell me that he was all out of that particular CD. He was very apologetic and asked if I planned to go for all thirty stamps. After confirming that that was indeed the goal, he asked that I come back to his shop with one of my free Ramen vouchers and that he would have a CD waiting for me. I agreed. After getting stamp number seventeen we left Nagaoka, even though it is not the closest of drives, Masato will definitely be worth making another trip.