It doesn't get much more niboshi than this. Special niboshi ramen (upper left on the ticket machine), soup nibomashi (thicker than normal), with a topping of ageniboshi (dried and fried baby sardines).
Niboshi, dried baby sardines, are quite common in Japanese ramen, though usually not to this extent. The taste is a bit roasted, a bit bitter, and a bit salty. Import regulations make them tough to bring to the United States. Something about dried fish needing to be gutted before shipping.
Do yourself a favor, get with niboshi when in Japan.
This bowl was good, though it didn't have initial punch that other shops like Nagi have. This might be a good thing, as this bowl was smooth from start to finish.
The niboshi topping; only for the true niboshi lover.
The shirasu aburasoba was also pretty good. Soupless noodles topped with baby whitefish.
And if you are in the mood for something totally different, Honbo works with Ryoma, a popular tomato ramen shop just north to bring you this great bowl.
東京都中野区新井2-1-1
Tokyo, Nakano-ku, Arai 2-1-1
Closest station: Nakano
Open 11:00-22:00
Sundays 11:00-18:00
1 comment:
Dear Brian,
Thank you so much for this critical entry. This past Monday, with literally minutes to spare {before I would have been expelled from my hostel in Osaka}, I found a hostel willing to take a same day booking. It was in Nakano.
I got to Nakano (via the Shinkanshen). From the lobby of the hostel, I looked up ramen shacks in the neighborhood.
This venue stood out like a sore thumb.
The niboshi ramen was good. Although I think the shack has changed around the order of the buttons on the machine. I punched the top left button, as you commonly mention, and got a bowl which looked a lot like https://www.flickr.com/photos/macduckston/15601003517 and was ¥950 as well. I am not complaining. Were I to do so, it would be that the hostel where I wound up Monday night identified the Freshness Burger just to its east, but not Honbo.
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