Ichijouryu Ganko Ramen/Funemachi一条流がんこラーメン/舟町

  

In July 2011 the name of this place changed from FuwaFuwa (ふわふわ) to Ichijouryu Ganko Ramen. I went there with some co-workers when it was still FuwaFuwa and we had the luck of meeting the Ganko master Ichijo-san. We all had a good chat, we talked a lot about the Japan situation. He speaks quite clearly and slowly to foreigners so it was wasn't that difficult for me to understand him. This was the first time I had actually run into him. We all had the 辛メン shoyu-miso blend, the picture of which is in the June 2011 issue of ラーメン新湖流 (I think). Good but the broth was a bit sweet. For a better bowl of that style I might go to Kurenai in Fuchu even though it's a bit of a haul. The place is correctly located on Google Maps (actually in Funamachi) in the red brick building but you have to look down the hall to see the bone sign, you won't see it from the street.

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Bestmart.jp Offers Ramen Delivery to Homes - Updated

This is a Dec 2011 update of a blog entry that originally appeared in Dec 2010:

Original article text:

Oosaki-san of RamenBank fame, of 18000 ramen bowls eaten fame etc., has started an online ramen home delivery service. Now you can have actual ramen delivered (from certain shops) directly to your home. Some other shops have been doing this through the Rakuten online portal but this is the first time I have seen someone other than the shops themselves do it.

Bestmart.jp Shop List

They only seem to have a short list of shops that they deliver from, and only a few of them such as Jiraigen, Fuunji, Kazuya etc. are shops that I recognize. No Ramen Jiro.

Perhaps after the New Year I will place an order and see how the process goes and what the final result is.

Dec 2011 update:

I was finally able to order from Bestmart.jp earlier this year and I am just getting around to posting the results now. I selected the tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen from Hinode Ramen in Yokahama, you may remember them from this post last year. You have to order about 1-2 weeks in advance and pick the day of delivery, they tell you which days are available for delivery on the site. In any case the order came via "cool takkyubin" and packaged with some dry ice. You then heat up the soup (in the bag) and boil the noodles yourself. Everything tasted reasonably fresh and the total cost including shipping was less than 2000 yen for 2 portions. If the ramen shop you want is covered by Bestmart.jp then I think they are worth a try.

    

Kisurin/Akasaka希須林/赤坂

   

Excellent and really spicy (if you want it to be) dan-dan-men in Akasaka. Varied menu including various dan-dan-men types with breaded tonkotsu (more like paiko actually) and various shiru nashi dishes. It's across Sotobori Dori from Hie Shrine in case you are sightseeing or staying in one of the hotels in the area. Bring a handkerchief and choose your spiciness level (3 is "normal") from the menu on the table. Has other branches in Aoyama and elsewhere that are more like regular Chinese places but are rated better than average. One of those dishes that you find yourself licking the bowl for.

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Tabelog Page
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Gen/Gotanda麺創房 玄/五反田

 

Genizm appears to be a sort of shoyu ramen place trying to become a chain. They had two branches at one point, one in Shinjuku 3-chome which is now closed, one in Gotanda. This Gotanda branch is the honten. Possibly also one in Saitama also (which is closed too) but not sure. Their web page as listed on Tabelog is not functional at the moment. At the branch in Gotanda, the single staff member looked at me funny when I entered, and acted a bit suprised to see me, not sure whether it was a foriegner thing or not. There weren't many people in the place so perhaps this is his attitude all the time. The chashu pork was quite tender, fatty and generously proportioned. The noodles and broth were average and the broth was a bit watery. Both ramen and tsukemen are available. The sign outside indicated that 200g, 300g or 400g portions are all available for the same price.

Google Maps
Tabelog Page
Shop Home Page (broken link)

Ramen Jiro/Shimbashiラーメン二郎/新橋店

   

There used to be a Ramen Jiro in Shimbashi, a long time ago, a place that was converted into a new place called Shimbashi Ramen later, with the same yellow sign. THe old place was fairly nondescript. This new branch, in a different location in the middle of town, has a ticket machine with a video screen, a noodle machine in a separate room and a drink machine right outside. The taste was not so good, it had slightly strange taste that was somewhat different from other Jiro branches. Noodles were thinner and standard. In a new building, about a 10 minutes brisk walk from JR Shimbashi station. But not a very long line.

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Tabelog Page

Chinkatei/Meguro椿華亭/目黒

 

This place (used to be called Dokoro どくろ, but now Chinkatei) is on the north side of the Gonnosuke slope going west on Meguro Dori from JR Meguro Station. It's a very long and narry shop with a single long counter and a friendly staff. They have a strange menu that requires some reading first. I ended up having the giant meatball ramen, the bakudan (バクダン) with the "B" broth. THe meatball was a bit spicy, but huge and grilled slightly on the outside, as if it had been broiled or baked. Dokuro means "skull". Before it was Dokuro it was a dan-dan men and gyoza specialty place, with good dan-dan men. You can choose either A or B ekisu (extract) - I chose B which is thicker and richer. Good but not worth a special trip.

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Tabelog Page

Yakumo/Ohashi八雲/大橋

   

Yakumo (8 clouds) is a very serene and quiet ramen shop in Ohashi, a small neighborhood north of Naka-Meguro Station, about 2-3 minutes walk before you hit 246.
Very cold outside and there was a long line both inside and outside, there are chairs inside and a few outside too. These guys are real craftsmen, especially on the wonton - they are home-made and they play it up behind the counter. The chicken broth has a very clear and fresh taste, with sliced pork that is pink on the outside like Chinese chashu. They have limited hours, and their vacation day is Tuesday. This place was worth it but you either have to bus it up from NM station or bus out to 246 and walk down. Any other station and you are looking at at 10-15 min walk. My first "Recommended" in a long time.

Google Maps
Tabelog Page