Feeling ambitious and not wanting to only visit one shop on
a trip out of town, we headed toward the second shop of the night in Tokamachi.
After consulting the map, we ended up near the same shopping area as the first
shop we visited many weeks ago. Finding the building was easy, but finding the
restaurant was not. Apparently, the owners had opened a new shop across town
and I had not read the fine print that mentioned this in the magazine. So, back
in the car, we headed back towards the edge of town that we had just come from.
Finally, it was time to eat at そらや
(Sora-ya). Nice lighting and a nice use of noodle cooking baskets in a display next
to the open sign gave the new shop a very inviting atmosphere. After ordering
at the ticket machine, we sat down at one of the few remaining open tables in
the fair sized dining room. Already having eaten a full bowl of noodles, I
was not feeling overly ambitious to try and take on a dish with full toppings.
The standard shoyu-Ramen was just the right fit.
The soup was really interesting. Rich brown in color and
clear, there was deep notes of meatiness to the stock as well as a strong shoyu
flavor. The aftertaste of the broth lingered and added to the overall taste of
the dish. The noodles were thin and tender, perfectly balanced with the
lightness of the soup. Just the right amount of extras was displayed atop the
twisting noodles. Two pieces of chasu pork, some strips of menma, floating
slices of green onion, a sheet of nori and a slow cooked egg half offered the
perfect variety of toppings to finish off the bowl.
Twenty-one stamps down, only nine bowls left to go!
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| そらや (Sora-ya) |
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| Ramen baskets hanging next to the "open" sign. |
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| Delicious and simple, this soup made for a great second dinner. |
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