小僧 (Kozu in Osaka)

極濃拉麺 ラーメン小僧



I mailed Shima-chan, a native Osakan, and immediately got a reply. Are you free now? I'll pick you up in 15 minutes. Sure I had just crushed an excellent bowl at Strike-ken, but who am I to decline ramen with a friend.



Nice Maserati, bro!



We rolled in to Kozu, a popular shop in the Fukushima area of town. One things that is neat about this shop, the two staff members are actually brother and sister.



How cool is that!

The ramen was looking good. Both of them. The shop specializes is super-thick tonkotsu ramen. You can either go with the straight pork bowl, or a blend of the shop's pork broth and a lighter fish broth. The blend sounded like the one to go with.



Wow. If this was the lighter one, then only serious fans of motor-oil-style should go for the thick version. We compared this to one of my favorite shops in the world, Muteppo, and the masters politely said that they have a lot of respect for that shop, but theirs is different.



The menu has a few more things, like a tsukemen and a mazesoba, as well as some sold-out limited bowls. Seems like enough to make some return trips.



Fair warning, this ramen is intense.



Osaka keeps on serving up winners!





大阪府大阪市福島区福島3丁目8番10号
Osaka-shi, Fukushima-ku, Fukushima 3-8-10
Closest station: Fukushima

Open 11:00-15:00, 18:00-23:00
Saturdays until 21:00
Closed Sundays

庄の (Menya Shono in Ichigaya)

麺屋　庄の



I've written about the excellent ramen shop Shono before, but I'd like to revisit their classic bowl, a special tonkotsu gyokai ramen.



Shono is now branded as MENSHO TOKYO, and their five Tokyo-based shops are all excellent. The highlight are the homemade noodles, and soups and toppings that come together in a perfect balance. Soon, he will open in San Francisco, adding a sixth great shop to the mix.



Menya Shono is the first, and has been operating for 10 years. I'm drawn again and again to the gentei bowls; limited ramen available only for a month at a time. Since opening, they have produced roughly 180 gentei bowls. From fancy ones like foie gras tsukemen, to simple shio bowls, and a Valentine's chocolate bowl. But no shop can survive on gentei alone. Their standard bowl keeps customers coming back.



This is tonkotsu gyokai, a blend of pork soup and fish soup. The pork soup is boiled for roughly two days. It's creamy and fatty and full of umami tastes. Of course, the noodles are perfectly matched. Skinny and firm. The addition of gyokai, a soup made with dried fish from Chiba Prefecture and the Seto Inland Sea add a slightly bitter, rustic punch, flavors that pork alone lack.



If you opt for the tokusei, special version, you'll be treated to all the trimmings. Flame-kissed chashu along with low-temperature cooked pork. Of course, the egg is amazing. What a beautiful, perfect bowl!



Official Site Here





東京都新宿区市谷田町1-3
Tokyo, SHinjuku-ku, Ichigayatamachi 1-3
Closest station: Ichigaya

Open 11:00-15:00, 17:00-23:00
Saturdays 11:00-23:00
Sundays 11:00-17:00

ストライク軒 (Strike-ken in Osaka)

ストライク軒



I had four, count em, four days to work in Osaka. And though the work schedule was tough, our hotel was right in the center of town, and this town is ripe with great-looking ramen shops. Time to get to work.



When I rolled into Strike-ken, I silently slipped off my jacket, and just happened to be wearing their uniform. I picked one up when the shop was out at the 2014 Grand Tsukemen Fest. Go Raiders? Go Ramens!



Strike offers two kinds of bowls, the ストレート and the シンカー. The straight is a straight-up old school bowl. I went, this time, with the sinker, a creamy chicken and clam ramen that is smooth and no problem to crush.



If this bowl was any indication of the ramen situation in Osaka, then the Kansai area is lucky indeed. Lucky for us out in Tokyo, Strike seems to have made a lot of friends, and comes out for ramen festivals and collaborations on a regular basis.



To me, Osaka is always over-the-top, and I was worried that the ramen scene would be a bit whack. Sure enough, shops are all trying very hard to impress, but I don't sense any lack of dedication to making great ramen.



In this case, the walls covered with celebrity endorsements is a good thing.





Great shop, easy to find, and the whole vibe is goofy and fun.



They will be at the upcoming Girl's Ramen Festival on March 7th and 8th (2015) in Yokohama, in a collaboration with Hototogisu. Amazing.





大阪府大阪市北区天神橋5-8-8
Osaka, Osaka-shi, Kita-ku, Tenjinbashi 5-8-8
Closest station: Tenjinbashi Rokuchome

Open 11:00 - until the soup runs out
Closed Mondays