八雲 (Yakumo in Nakameguro)

八雲

Yakumo lies on the rarely visited outskirts of the giant concrete river in Nakameguro. There are a few good ramen shops along said river, but it's in your best interests to keep walking until you reach this shop.

Since opening in 1999, this shop has garnered a lot of praise for it's product. The soup is an excellent mix of the standard fare, with a choice of white or black shoyu, or a hidden choice of mix. Ask for it at the counter.

But what really sets Yakumo above the bar are the wontons. The shop makes both standard pork dumplings and shrimp dumplings. Ordering the wantanmen will get you 6, a very generous amount in this day and age.

Again, go for the mix. Mix soup, mix wontons.

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東京都目黒区大橋1-7-2 オリエンタル青葉台2階
Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Ohashi 1-7-2 on the 2nd floor
Nearest station: Ikejiriohashi

Open 11:30-15:30, 17:00-21:00
Closed Tuesdays

東京ラーメンストリートのお土産(Ramen Giftpack from the Tokyo Ramen Street)

東京ラーメンストリートのお土産

A month without internet, and my regular postings had to wait. But one thing that could not wait was this gift box I was given at the Tokyo Ramen Street opening event. Usually these contain 3 servings of ramen, with fresh noodles and concentrated soup. I have no idea why it's usually 3. But this one, produced by the excellent Junk Garage, contains only a single serving of the good stuff.

Famous first for their noodles, you get a handful of them. The instructions are long. Cook and serve is not in the cards. Be sure you warm your bowl?!

When cooking noodles for this long, there is a lot of room for error. I think I did mine for about 10 minutes. Right on point.

The soup is vacuum packed and straight from the shop. Simply boil the bag, open, and enjoy.

And enjoy you will.

鬼金棒 (Kikanbou Tsukemen in Kanda)

カラシビつけ麺 鬼金棒

Sure, I've reviewed Kikanbou before. And if I wrote a review every time I ate here, you might think this is a site devoted to the best bowl of spicy miso in town. But this is a different shop... located half a block away from the first. So what's the deal?

The decor is the same, with Japanese demons occupying every bit of space.

Oni masks staring down at you, Japanese drum music playing in the background, spice in the air.

But the difference...

... is that the second shop serves tsukemen.

That's right. The second shop's kitchen is just as cramped as the first, with 2 chefs gracefully gliding by each other in the minimal amount of space. To make anything but one menu item would be impossible here.

Just as excellent as the original shop. The shop's secret spice blend uses ingredients from 4 or 5 different countries. Fantastic.

If you get the small size of noodles, you get a free egg or extra fried moyashi (bean sprouts).

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東京都千代田区鍛冶町2-10-8
Tokyo, Choida-ku, Kajicho 2-10-8
Nearest station: JR Kanda

Open 11:00-16:00, 17:30-21:00
Saturdays 11:00-16:00
Closed Sundays