Saturday, September 19, 2009

なんつッ亭 (Nantsuttei in Ikebukuro)

なんつッ亭

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When Nate over at Waseda Ramen gets excited about a bowl, you know it's gonna be good. Enter Nantsuttei.

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The first thing you notice upon entering the store is the likeness of the owner EVERYWHERE. This is in no way a unique quirk, as many ramen chefs become sort of celebrites, and their faces somewhat of a branding tool. The master in question here is Ichiro. Head over to Nate's site for the run down on this dude. It's pretty interesting.

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Yeah, the business cards are pretty fresh. But how is the ramen?

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Hellllla good. This is Kumamoto style. Notice the signature mark of Kumamoto ramen, the black layer of burnt garlic oil. You can imagine that a bad bowl of Kumamoto ramen would be really bad.

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The noodles stand up, the toppings are on point, and the soup is excellent.

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Not sure about the use of ぶー here. Buuuuu is:
  1. The sound a pig makes
  2. The sound of farting
  3. The first sound in my name (Bu-ra-i-an)
Maybe it's also the sound of a big, happy belly. In that case

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

The shop was really nice and comfortable, with booths and shiny counters. I'd label this post with a "suitable for a date" tag... except the shop is smack dab in the middle of a street of soaplands and sketchy massage parlors!

Shop info here

3 comments:

kinmik said...

sorry, the bottom of the bowl looks more like a "puuu~". kinda like the sound you make after a big meal, sit back, loosen your belt, and go "phew..."
no?

Mattias said...

Having finished a bowl just to get to the picture at the bottom, I can confirm that it's "Puuu.." which pretty effin appropriate after finishing a bowl like that. I took a short breather before getting up to get home. On the plus side, Nantsuttei is definitely my favourite ramen place in tokyo. Delicious!

Steve D. said...

Looks like this shack has closed. Its last review on Supleks is from 20 December 2011. If I guess my Japanese correctly, it shut down on 2 April 2012.
As for its physical location; toward the end of my shows at the Twisted Spoke, I spread the word that if there was a female with whom you wanted to get serious, the two of you should come into "Smut & Eggs" one Saturday night.
If, during my presentation, she reacted adversely (grunts "ugh", "yuck", and makes scowling faces), you learned an important life lesson much less expensively than would have happened after marriage.
So, I endorse bringing a female to a ramen shop in a "sketchy" neighborhood, especially if you want to get intimate with her. See how she responds. !=))