Ramen Happiness: しま: Bowl #22

A little outside of Nagaoka is a small city named Sanjo. After working six kids classes straight through the morning and afternoon, Saturday night called for a Ramen adventure. The two-day train passes for Niigata prefecture came in handy again and we headed out to find dinner. Leaving the small train station, we were deposited right in the middle of a pretty busy little neighborhood. People were moving from the train station to various nearby restaurants or down the dark, narrow streets toward their homes. It was a only a few blocks and one left turn from the front of the train station to しま (Shima), the first stop of the evening.

The shop was planted in a small strip of businesses, tucked discreetly into the corner, with a strip of red lanterns hanging near the door to indicate there was Ramen to be had inside. The interior was small and cozy, only two small tables and a strip of counter making up the entire seating area. The smell emanating from the kitchen prompted the thought of meat. And sure enough, after sitting down at the end of the counter, the pan of resting, braised chashu sitting right in front of me confirmed the notion.

After ordering 中華そば (Chuka-soba), the only other gentleman sitting at the counter area nearby began asking me if I was a teacher at an English school that apparently resided on the second floor of the building. It took a while for him to believe that I had indeed traveled all the way from Joetsu to Sanjo JUST to eat Ramen. Even after pulling out the stamp book and showing him the dedication to the challenge he still seemed surprised. The couple who own the shop became immediately enthused and asked to look over all the stamps that had already been earned. Thankfully, and surprisingly, my Japanese sufficed to hold a pretty decent conversation. After teaching English all day, it is always pleasing how much Japanese I can remember and use.

Quite promptly, the noodles arrived. 中華そば is really just another name for Ramen. According to the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum (which, amazingly, I have not visited yet), the two names are interchangeable. 中華 translates to “Chinese” whileそば means “soba”, or noodles. Chinese noodles. That is what it boils down to. Since Ramen was originally adapted from Chinese noodles it is only obvious that this name was used before eventually being beaten out by the more popular title of “Ramen”.

Anyways, back to the noodles at hand. The broth was a deep brown in color and smelled heavily of meat. With the first taste it was obvious that the wonderful pile of meat sitting on the counter was not just for show, it was to be a prominent feature of the whole dish. With how rich and hearty the soup tasted, it was surprisingly clear. Floating within the broth were yellowy, chewy noodles. This seems to be the usual style when the noodles are labeled as中華そば. Lying on top of the curly noodles were the wonderful slices of pork. Thankfully, the chasu was just as wonderful as had been expected; tender and packed full of smoky flavor. A small pile of green onion shreds and a piece of naruto fish cake provided the finishing touches to a wonderful bowl of Ramen. I ate the whole thing.

The shop owner happily gave the book its twenty-second stamp. It took another five minutes to leave because she and my new friend at the counter kept asking questions about the challenge and my general life, but finally the last” goodbye” and “thank you” were given and it was off into the night.