流しそうめん at 苗名滝

Summer time means the return of many things; the sweltering heat, humidity, festivals, mosquitoes and soumen. Soumen noodles are similar to Ramen being that they are also made with wheat flour, the difference is they are really thin and served cold. The basic soumen eating method is like tsukemen. Start by scooping up a mouthful with chopsticks, dip the bundle in a light, thin broth called tsuyu, and then slurp them up. The broth is typically made with a katsuobushi base and is then flavored to preference with green onion, ginger and other ground up wild plants.

A specialty method of soumen involves customers sitting around a bamboo track that is filled with flowing, icy water. Ordered noodles they are delivered via the stream and diners must catch their lunch as it flows by. This type of soumen shop is commonly found near naturally occurring bodies of water, and there are even some establishments where customers actually pull their noodles from the physical stream itself.

My experience with soumen was at a nearby waterfall in Niigata. Naena falls is a popular attraction, and it seemed only fitting to set up a nagashi soumen shop for hungry visitors. The shop offers the traditional bamboo pipe method of delivery as well as small, round tables with a circular track for flowing water. On the day we visited, just like every other trip to Naena, it was pouring down rain. We opted to sit at one of the non-traditional tables because they were located under the awning roof. It was still quite enjoyable with a lovely view of the river rushing by right nearby.

Our basket of noodles was placed in the center of our table which allowed us to gauge how much we wanted spinning around at one time. A small teapot of cold tsuyu broth was also delievered along with the various condiments for flavoring the savory soup. The cold noodles would have been better suited for a day that was actually hot, we really do luck out with the worst weather every time we visit the falls. At least it was delicious! The whole experience was fun even if it was a bit hokey and touristy. I am still glad we finally tried nagashi soumen.

Catch your own lunch!

Tsuyu for dipping.

The noodles are really thin, like Japanese angel hair pasta.

The more traditional method using bamboo pipes. Too bad it was raining when we were there. 

Challenge: Round Two!

Guess what time it is!

I went over the my local bookstore to pick up the magazine about my town and what did I find? The new edition of Komachi magazine and it's front cover announcing the 2015 Niigata Ramen Rally. Of course, I bought it. Will I be dedicated enough to collect all the necessary stamps again? Time to get myself pumped up!

After the first flip through it was already clear that they bumped their game up. The shops are broken down and categorized by their specialty and then again by their location. It really makes it easier to look up a certain spot, or a certain type of soup. Even the stamp book got a bit of a rework and is a little more user friendly. Also, instead of all the individual coupons for the free services offered by each shop, they included a Rally Participant card. So now you just present that card and get the free offering. It is much quicker than shuffling through a pile of little coupons.

It seems that the Challenge became more popular among the shops too. Just in my city there are eight more participating restaurants. This will mean a lot less travel required. I do admit that travel was half the fun of last year's experience, but it definitely became a bit stressful when it came down to collecting those last few stamps. All in all, I am pretty excited. I can't guarantee a post about EACH shop I visit as there are quite a few repeats from last years' challenge. I will promise to tell you about new shops that I try and any interesting stories that come up. Challenge 2015, let's go!

Game On!!

五十家 - Myoko, Niigata

The little elusive shop at the bottom of the hill. When we first started coming up to Mt. Myoko it was necessary to explore all the possible routes to make the ascent. 五十家 (House fifty) sits at the bottom of the mountain, just off the highway on one of these roads. I noticed it and made a mental note to try it someday. That day took longer than would have been expected. But, since it is located on one of the lesser traveled routes up the side of the mountain, the restaurant was quickly pushed out of my mind.

When it came time to pick a place for dinner, this poor little shop was constantly overlooked. On the rare chance we went past it we had either just eaten or it was closed. After talking to our local friends it was learned that the place is actually pretty popular. Apparently, the chef had once tried to stop serving ramen to focus on other dishes but it only took a few weeks of customers coming in and asking where the ramen had gone for him to change his mind and bring it back to the menu. Determined to see what I had been missing, a point was made to have dinner there on a night they were sure to be open.

Luckily, we pulled up to find that it was indeed open for business. The inside of the restaurant is small and intimate; offering counter seats, tables and traditional low Japanese-style tables. We opted for a small table near the front of the restaurant and began looking over the menu. Even though the ramen is in high demand, the chef still offers many other dishes such a stir fry, karaage (fried chicken) and even pizza. Since I am forever on a ramen quest, and it had such a good reputation, there was no question what my meal would be.

A bowl of chashu-men arrived at the table on a little tray; steaming and smelling amazing. The first thing that caught the eye was the perfectly overlapping ring of tender chashu pork slices. The soup was a light, clear brown with a wonderful layer of fat glistening on the surface. Simmered to perfection, the flavor of pork was rich but light, and not overbearing. After diving into the soup and breaching the barrier of pork slices, I found wonderfully chewy, curly yellow noodles. Noodles are so important to a great bowl of ramen, and五十家offers a variety with great texture and just the right thickness. A small pile of seaweed and a handful of sliced green onion sat on top and tied the whole bowl together. We left feeling satisfied, knowing it would not be too long before we returned for another round. 

Look at that glistening broth!

Excellent noodles.

ニューミサ (New Misa)

New Misa is a shop that Nick and I often visit when we are in need of a good bowl of Ramen. Situated on the main highway that runs through Myoko, it gets very good customer traffic. So good, in fact, that New Misa is just that… NEW Misa. The original shop is just a minute or two down the road and a mere fraction of the size of its (bigger) little sister. New Misa is cavernous on the inside and when the shop is crowded it can be very loud with the voices of satisfied customers.

The Misa shops (the third of which was visited by us on the Ramen Rally Challenge) are famous for their miso Ramen. Creamy, savory miso broth, chewy noodles and a towering pile of sliced onion makes up their signature dish. But at New Misa they don’t just serve noodles. Offering non-soup dishes like tonkatsu pork cutlet, gyoza dumplings and curry, there is a something to satisfy any appetite.

Though the miso Ramen is very good and certainly a must try for any first timer or miso-lover, Nick and I really enjoy ordering their shoyu (soy sauce) variety as well. The broth is rich and savory; the smell of pork and salt instantly makes the mouth water. And it does not disappoint. After a few spoonfuls of broth it is time to move on the curly mass of noodles.  The texture and thickness are perfect and the broth clings to each bite.

Unlike the miso Ramen that comes piled high with slices of raw onion, the shoyu ramen is more simple and without frill. Broth with noodles topped by some slices of tender, braised chashu pork and a small mound of finely chopped green onion is what you will get. No muss, no fuss. Just a great bowl of noodles.

ニューミサ (New Misa)

Shoyu Ramen

Noodles!

While in Portland... Boke Bowl West

Husband and I made a brief, but totally worth it, visit to Portland after our one year anniversary/late honeymoon trip to Bali. The primary reason was to retrieve our dear, beloved Margo and bring her back to Japan to live with us for the rest of our stay. Visiting Portland offered us many opportunities we have been missing while living abroad. We saw family and friends, did some shopping for clothes that fit us correctly, saw the last home game of the Trail Blazers and ate all the food we have been missing.

Portland is a city that is in love with food. You can find anything and everything there. It's fantastic. We wasted no time stuffing ourselves with cuisine from Germany, Mexico, China and Hawaii, as well as getting our fill of American classics like over-sized hamburgers and pizza. And even though there is more than enough Ramen to choose from in Japan, there was no way I could pass up going to my favorite shop in Portland.

Boke Bowl started out only serving lunch at their location on the Southeast waterfront near OMSI. I would trek over there after my college classes ended, just in time to get my fill before they were done for the day. I remember being excited when they started opening for dinner every night (not just on Thursdays when they did their incredible Boke Bird dinner special of Korean chicken). Then, after I left for Japan, they opened a second location in Northwest. Of course a brand new branch would open up in the neighborhood I had just moved away from. My luck. Either way, I have nothing but happiness for this company's success.

Not skipping a beat, I ordered their pork Ramen and added a poached egg and extra pork belly (naturally). Husband was so torn. He loves the Ramen at Boke Bowl but can never say no to their version of 肉まん (niku-man), or steam buns. Not wanting to miss out, he ordered both the beef curry Ramen and two fried chicken buns. We took our seat and began to take in the atmosphere of the new shop in our old hood while we waited for our lunch.

In no time at all our food was delivered. Hot, salty, pork flavored soup filled my bowl while seasonal vegetables, juicy shredded pork, bamboo shoots, a slab of seared pork belly, a soft egg and some shredded green onion and nori lay on top of the tangle of chewy noodles. Eagerly, I dug in to one of my favorite dishes in Portland. And of course, it was as good as always. It was not hard to finish the whole bowl. Husband, on the other hand, had twice the amount of food to get through. He quickly devoured the steam buns with their crispy fried chicken, pickles and sauces and moved on to his beef curry Ramen. While he was unable to finish the entire bowl, he was happy to have tried something new. If you live in Portland and haven't been to Boke Bowl yet, GO!

Pork Ramen with added egg and pork belly. 

Noodle shot.

And that pork belly...

Husband's Beef Curry Ramen

And the friend chicken steam buns. Definitely a don't miss item.

Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum

Back in January we visited Tokyo to attend the Grand Sumo Tournament. We arrived the day before and it was the perfect time to finally visit the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum. I had been waiting and hoping for this opportunity for a while. Located a short walk from the Shin-Yokohama station, the “museum” is really just a food themed amusement park, and my version of heaven.

There was a line queued up outside the entrance of people waiting to pay the small entrance fee. Once we had our tickets we headed down to the lower level to the shops and had our first glimpse at the unbelievably long lines that were snaking their way up and down staircases and into the depths of the building. After examining our guide we decided to try out a few different options.

The first shop we chose was called こむらさき(Komurasaki). We finally found the end of the line where it had weaved its way under the main staircase and commenced our first wait. It was surprisingly shorter than would be expected what with the amount of people that had been ahead of us. Clearly the procedure for getting people in and out of the small dining rooms has been perfected. We bought tickets for their specialty tonkotsu ramen and they were snatched up by one of the staff members before we were even close to getting a seat.

When we were ushered to chairs around a large, communal table it was only about 5 minutes before we were presented with our first bowl. Wanting to have room for more than one sampling of noodles, I chose the mini sized bowl. It was small, but still substantial. The broth was rich and salty; the flavor of the pork being the center of attention. Thin noodles were hidden under a juicy slice of chashu pork, a pinch of bean sprouts, corn and green onion. Their signature touch was a healthy dash of roasted garlic chips to top of a savory, flavorful bowl of noodles.

With no time to waste we tucked in to our first bowl, eager to choose our second shop. Unfortunately, one of our top choices was closed for the day. Instead, we decided to try out the restaurant whose owner is dubbed “The Ramen Demon”. The guy breeds his own chickens for use in his soup base… that is dedicated passion. The line for this 支那そばや (Shina Soba-ya) was also long, winding down the staircase from the second level, but it only took us about 20 minutes to get to the door.

Wanting to see what all the fuss was about, we chose the chef-perfected shoyu ramen. It was not a disappointment. The soup was light, but full of flavor. The fact that the chef traveled around the country just to hand select each ingredient in order to create a top quality soup is apparent. Sourcing special flour for optimal noodles was another way he ensured that his dish would stand out. It was impressive to try something so well thought out and honed to perfection. The specialty noodles were topped simply with a couple slices of roast pork, some bamboo shoots, a sheet of nori and shredded green onion.

After drinking every last drop of the broth we felt we were at our limit. After a brief look around the rest of the museum we did a couple laps around the gift shop and then departed. The Ramen Museum was a great experience for me. Getting to see so many different types of dishes from all over the Japan created by chefs with different backgrounds and methods was humbling. There is still so much left to learn about the creation of ramen and so many different versions left to try.

The view from the second level.

Waiting in line for our first bowl. 

"Ramen Komurasaki"

Rich, tonkotsu ramen garnished with crushed, roasted garlic chips.

Waiting on the stairs to get into shop number two while peering into the windows.

"Shina Soba-ya"

The shoyu ramen crafted to perfection by the "Ramen Demon"

祥気: Bowl #30. The Final Bowl!

Well, here it is! The last bowl of Ramen on the Komachi Magazine Ramen Rally Challenge was eaten at a nice shop called 祥気 (Shouki). Tucked in among some big-box stores in a busy shopping area, Shouki was intimate and inviting. After being seated at the counter, I ordered my last bowl of Ramen (for this adventure, anyways). The 中華そば (Chuka-soba), or Chinese style Ramen, was the bowl that was recommended in the magazine.

Light in color, the chicken based broth was clean and flavorful. After a day of eating Ramen it was a nice to finish up with a less heavy dish. The noodles were yellow and thin, adhering to the traditional Chinese style. The toppings were few but balanced. Two slices of chashu-pork lay under a small pile of grated scallion, and a few strips of steamed greens were placed alongside. The unique touch was the detail done to the menma bamboo shoots. Instead of the usual blocky, chopped pieces, Shouki offered their menma in long strips that looked as though someone had curled them like Christmas ribbon. They rimmed the edge of the bowl, the twisty design bringing a little something extra to the visual display.

When every drop of the tasty soup was gone, it was time for the last stamp in the book. It was very exciting to approach the counter and show that my challenge was complete. The cashier was not as enthused as I was; he merely said ‘Oh, wow, you’re done’ and handed it back to me. Not that I expected a party or anything, but a little more enthusiasm would have been nice.

Either way, it is over. After trying so many different types of Ramen, each with their own unique recipes and flourishes, it has only left me wanting to try more! As well, it has reinstated my desire to someday own my own Ramen shop and serve the world my own special dish that has been slaved over and perfected. Time to keep practicing!

Thank you to everyone who was at all interested in my reviews. It has been fun writing about the differences that were experienced from each bowl that was tasted. I do not plan for this to be the end of my Ramen blog, just the end of this particular chapter. Hopefully you have all learned something about this simple yet deeply complex dish, and will keep returning to read about any interesting shops or Ramen-related experiences that happen in the future. 

祥気 (Shouki)

中華そば (Chuka-soba)

Closer shot. Such nice detail.

A final shot of the stamp sheet!
Sorry, I hadn't had a chance to write in the rest of the names.

大貴: Bowl #29

In all honesty, the fine points of this shop have been forgotten. Clearly is has taken too long to get around to writing this post, my apologies in advance for its vague details and short length. What is remembered is that the dining room at 大貴 (Daiki) was quite busy and it took a little while to get a seat at the counter. Thankfully, it didn’t take very long to be served a piping hot bowl of their shoyu Ramen.

The broth was inviting; a rich scent of pork and soy sauce wafted up from the dish. It was just as delicious as one could hope. The bowl was topped with a few slices of chashu pork, some steamed greens, menma, nori and thinly sliced scallion. Though they are standard toppings, the combination creates diversity and adds depth to what would otherwise be just a bowl of noodles. Feeling a bit rushed because of the busy lunch hour, it did not take long to finish off the whole bowl and head to the cash register to get the second to last stamp. Only one stop left to go before completing the Ramen Rally Challenge!

大貴 (Daiki)

Shoyu-Ramen.
Hearty pork broth flavored with soy sauce.

麺場ふうらいぼう: Bowl #28

One of the main reasons I knew I had to finish this blog, not just because it is good to finish things that you start, was to write about this shop. Nagaoka really surprised me with the number of amazing Ramen restaurants that were listed in the Komachi magazine. Each one had their own unique signature. With the second visit to the area, it was time to finish off this challenge once and for all.

The first stop we made was to a shop that ended up being closed, good job to me for checking the printed hours and holidays beforehand. In the end, I am thankful they were not open. As soon as I entered 麺場ふうらいぼう (Men-ba Fuuraibou) the theme of the shop was very clear. The inside was designed after a garage. Tables lined the walls under the windows, circling around a central counter area that enclosed the kitchen. The staff was dressed in coveralls, just like what is worn in a car shop. Metal and cement were the main building materials present, with wooden accents for a touch of warmth.

Once my order of the house Ramen was placed it was time to sit back and watch the finely tuned (pun intended) staff at their perfectly timed routine from my seat at the counter. When my Ramen arrived, it was easy to see the payoff for their almost robotic actions. The bowl of steaming hot soup was topped with a nice array of carefully laid toppings. A tangled mass of noodles lay twisted underneath a single slice of chashu pork, some greens, grated scallions, menma and a pinch of red pepper shreds.

The noodles themselves were wonderfully cooked; just the right amount of chewiness with their own distinct wheat flavor. The broth was rich in color and just as flavorful; just the right balance of salt and soy sauce. There is something so satisfying about diving in to a bowl of steaming hot Ramen. Even if you burn your mouth on the first few slurps that is how you know it is worth it. Before I knew it, my spoon was scraping the bottom of the dish. Completely satisfied, it was time to acquire stamp number twenty-eight and head off for the penultimate bowl of Ramen.

麺場ふうらいぼう (Men-ba Fuuraibou)

Watching the noodle pot bubble and boil.

One of the best bowls on the challenge.

Delicious, thin, straight noodles.

A clear sign of a delicious dish.

王華飯店: Bowl #27

Bowl number 27 came from a small Chinese restaurant on Joetsu’s bar street. The two of us have walked past it a number of times while out on a weekend night and Husband had commented on wanting to try it sometime. Well, the night finally came. Many of the restaurants and bars on the street look as though they were once residences, and it is quite likely that they were just that. 王華飯店 (Ouka-hanten) is no different. The parking area is just a small cave that barely fits two cars, just like a garage in a family home. After squeezing past both of the cars that were parked in the “lot” we entered the small dining area.

It was still pretty early in the night, so the restaurant, along with the street outside, was empty. Our little group was seated at a really big table for just the three of us. After learning that most of the menu was Chinese dishes, Husband was ready to chow down. I stuck with my challenge and ordered chashu Ramen.

The soup was clear but flavorful. The noodles were the traditional Chinese style; yellow in color and very squiggly. Their consistency was pleasant with just the right amount of chewiness. The chashu pork was pretty ordinary; the taste was nice but was nothing spectacular. Overall it was a nice, basic bowl of Ramen. The boys ordered various Chinese dishes and said that they were quite delicious. Stamp 27 was added to the book and another trip to Nagaoka was planned for the next weekend to finish out the adventure. 

王華飯店 (Ouka-hanten)

House chashu-men

Noodle shot!

If anyone is still reading this, hopefully you haven't given up on me, or think that I gave up on my goal. I did finish the Komachi Magazine Ramen Rally Challenge of 30 bowls by October 31, but with my busy schedule writing about the last few shops sort of fell by the wayside. Alas, I have vowed to finish what I started! So stay tuned, check back soon, and get excited! I will fill you in about the end of the adventure.