Kohmen/Kabukicho光麺/歌舞伎町

My Kohmen stamp card hadn't received any attention in a while and I was in Shinjuku station so I decided to stop into the Kabukicho branch there today. Kohmen has been one of my long time favorites, for the quality of its pork, broth and noodles. There is also a branch on the 8th floor of Yodobashi Akiba in Akihabara if you go there. I see it as a direct competitor (in the tsukemen area) to Kookai, also another exellent chain. The Shinjuku Kabukicho branch of Kohmen is smaller than most but for some reason I was the only one in there today save for a couple who was on their way out. I actually didn't have ramen today, it was too hot. I had the 炭火あぶり梅塩豚トロ丼 (charcoal-grilled pork (cheek meat) flavored with plum taste on rice) and the excellent hand-made gyoza, which come out scaldingly hot so be careful. At least this place gives you a decent-size glass of water. Toro-niku or pig cheek meat (the cheek on the face :-) is probably one of the fattiest and richest parts of a pig, but you can't get much meat out of a pig's cheek so the slices were thin. I don't believe this is the same cut of pork used in the ramen or tsukemen. The meat was really tasty and reminded me of Santoka that used to be in Ebisu where I work. Definitely recommended that you stop into some Kohmen branch.

Shinjuku Kabukicho branch
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