蔦のコンビニ冷やし醤油ラーメン (Tsuta's Cold Convenience Store Ramen)

冷やし醤油ラーメン



Michelin-starred Tsuta has a bowl at convenience stores! I've got to try this one. To the nearest Sunkus!



Though Sunkus is one of the less common convenience stores (called konbini in Japanese), there is one 450 meters from my front door. No problem.

Well, the only problem was that they were out of this popular bowl. That's ok, the next Sunkus konbini is only 600 meters away.



Past the Family Mart konbini.



Past the Lawson's konbini.



Past the 7-11 konbini. That's a lot of konbinis!

Sure enough, they were out as well.

No worry, there is another Sunkus literally across the street.



I got the last one!



I was surprised that the noodles have a bit of whole grain in them, just like at the shop.



Toppings and soup are served separate, and you mix it all together.



I'm sure there are some things in here that I normally wouldn't want in my body (preservatives and what not), but this is a bowl I could eat again, if I was near a Sunkus and hungry. But considering my three Sunkus neighborhood is an anomaly, I probably won't see it again.

吉兆 (Kiccho in Oimachi)

青竹平打ち中華そば 麺壱吉兆



I work one a week in Oimachi, and always go for the pizza mazesoba over at Ajito Ism. Yes, I am obsessed with it a bit.

But Oimachi has some shops that have been around for ages in the alleys near the station. The entire area is a bit dingy and cramped, just the way I like it.



Kiccho's history is deep, and they make their noodles the old way; using bamboo sticks to knead the dough.



It's labor intensive, but this traditional method yields flatter, chewier noodles that draw massive lines every day. Not a lot of Tokyo shops do this, so Kiccho is a real gem.



Classic, classic, classic.



The menu is extensive, but you can go with the wontonmen if you want what I had.





東京都品川区東大井5-6-6
Tokyo, Shinagawa-ku, Higashi Oimachi 5-6-6
Closest station: Oimachi

Open 11:30-14:30. 17:30-20:30
Closed Monday and Tuesday

さいたま新都心ラーメンフェスティバル (Saitama Ramen Festival)

さいたま新都心ラーメンフェスティバル



As Ramen Adventures isn't about my current adventures (I post two reviews a week, and the backlog is about two months), I feel bad when I go to these limited-time festivals and slurp some good bowls. I often post over at the Facebook site, but not always.



And let's face it, an event up in Saitama is a bit out of the way for someone living anywhere else.



Ajian Shokudo is one of the best spots up in Fukushima's Kitakata. These events bring ramen shops from around the country to one convenient spot. Two weeks, 18 shops, that's a big chance for someone who can't travel to the far stretches of Japan for ramen.



This light bowl, made with Kitakata noodles and a light clam soup, featured pork that was fed エゴマ, a kind of shiso plant. The strict diet makes the meat tender and lean. Stellar stuff.



Next door was ぶたコング, a typical off-the-wall Osaka shop.



They insisted I slurp, and their bowl turned out to be really amazing.



Two year aged soy sauce with 100% Hokkaido flour noodles.

If you want to stay abreast of these events, the RamenDB has a page that is always current. It's in Japanese, so good luck!

http://ramendb.supleks.jp/events



Event page here.