AIUEO/Meguro
あいうえお/目黒
I've often passed by this shop over the last couple of years and always meant to stop in, but never had the time. So I found the time over the New Year's holiday this year as AIUEO was one of the few ramen shops that was open this week. AEIUO specializes in shio ramen and they do a very good job of it. I met and chatted with Tanaka-san (田中さん), the very friendly and enthusiastic proprietor of the shop. (Here's a link to his YouTube video site, with videos about his shop and the ramen business). Tanaka-san's English was probably better than my Japanese, and between the two of us we had a nice conversation about ramen and the Japanese New Year holidays. The shio-flavor butter-garlic ramen is very rich and has a good garlic and butter flavor without being too strong. I recommend getting the chuo-mori size for a very generous portion of noodles. Next time I plan to try the chashumen. Until November of 06, AIUEO also sold a dish (on Wednesdays only) called 三郎, it's a dish that was similar to the Meguro Ramen Jiro's ramen. (The Meguro Ramen Jiro is closed in Wednesdays). I definitely recommend that you stop by AIUEO if you are in the area.
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