Ramen Dai/Nishi-Ogikuboラーメン大/西荻

Ramen Dai falls into the Jiro-like category. It's is one of a chain of (currently three) ramen shops, all a bit outside the loop, one in Suginami-ku, two in Ota-ku. The distinguishing feature between this chain and Jiro, broth-wise, is that there's a lot more onions and garlic (both are very finely chopped) in the broth by default, and somewhat less fat. This gives it a really strong flavor, that I like, but not everyone may. As usual I went with the tsukemen o-mori with extra chashu. Broth was salty, but not as salty as some. Noodles were correctly katame and curly, thickness of thick spaghetti. The chashu was a bit on the dry side but still good. Best feature: no line, although the shop was still busy. Another good feature: open all day Saturday and Sunday. Worth a short detour if you are in the area.

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