Thursday, June 10, 2010

てんがららーめん (Tengara in Shibuya)

てんがららーめん

20100531-DSC_1414

Not the first choice for tonight's adventure.

20100531-DSC_1401

I met up with some ramen loving visitors and took them to this spot. Is that a 4 story tall Asuka? The building is dubbed the ramen battle. What a cool concept. 4 stories of different shops, fighting for ramen fame. Who will be the winner?

20100531-DSC_1400

They all lost, as the building is now shut down. Let me quote Nate, "We all lose."

After the disappointing defeat, we headed to the ramen rich street on the south side of Shibuya Station.

20100531-DSC_1404

I'd had Tengara on my list for a while, but just haven't been in this part of town in recent months. This shop hails from Kagoshima, way in the south of Kyushu, way in the south of Japan. Their maguro tuna ramen was intriguing.

20100531-DSC_1407

As was their extensive list of Japanese shochu.

20100531-DSC_1406

We ordered the first 5 imo shochus on the list, and had a little taste testing party. Too bad each glass of clear sweet potato alcohol looks exactly the same, as some were better than others. Passing the glasses round robin style, we started getting hungry.

By the way, the gyoza here is fantastic. How's the tuna tsukemen?

20100531-DSC_1408

Interesting. The rich fish broth wasn't as thick as normal tsukemen, but the unique flavor was worth the visit. The noodles were a let down though.

20100531-DSC_1412

As was the soup when I added the hot "owari soup" broth at the end. Usually, super thick tsukemen soup mixed with light, hot broth is great to drink down at the end of the meal. But here, a layer of oil on the top made it inedible.

If you are really in the mood for tsukemen in this part of town, there is a branch of Yasube down the road. You should go there. Why not start here with some gyoza and shochu, then head on!

More Shop Info Here


View Larger Map

No comments: