佐市 (Saichi in Hatagaya)

麺や 佐市



Oyster ramen! And not just some random bowl with an oyster topping. This new shop cooks their soup with the shellfish, pulling out the maximum umami that these little guys hold.



You might as well get a side of oyster snacks while you wait.



Very interesting bowl. Personally, I love it, but could see some people not being into this oyster ramen.



The soup is liquid oyster gold. Almost like drinking concentrated extract. I'd like to hear the opinion of one of my oyster nerd friends. The soup is free of chemical seasoning, something I always like to see. Almost all ramen shops in Japan rely on a pinch of Ajinomoto, pure MSG, for that extra bit of umami. Here, that strong oyster flavor comes packed with plenty of natural MSG. Nothing more needed.



Although this shop has failed to become very popular, I think it is at least worth a try.

東京都渋谷区幡ヶ谷2-6-7
Tokyo, Shibuya-ku, Hatagaya 2-6-7
Closest station: Hatagaya

Hours aren't official yet, but it looks like 11:30am until midnight.

篠はら (Shinohara in Ikebukuro)

麺処 篠はら



I met up with famous Ramen YouTuber SusuruTV for a collaboration video. You can view it here:

https://youtu.be/cCIJxmacFt0

Well, the dude is, at heart, a ramen nerd, and we immediately went to crush another bowl.



Shinohara comes from the Honda group, a group that has been churning out a lot of Tokyo talent. New school refined is a good way to describe their styles. Choice ingredients, and lots of them. Chicken, beef, pork, and fish heads all go into the soup. The tare seasoning uses craft soy sauce from Ohitachi (お常陸), out of Ibaraki Prefecture.

Rich, but not overly salty, with a complex umami aftertaste. My kind of bowl.



The entire menu looks great. Top row is the shoyu, which I had. Probably your best bet for the first time. Below that is a lighter dashi bowl. And in orange a bowl made with tai fish.  Add to that a constant rotation of limited bowls and rice bowls, and you've got a place I wouldn't mind coming back to.



I had to rush off to a TV shoot for another two bowls, so I'm thankful that the noodles at Shinohara were on the lighter, easy-to-slurp side.

Official site here.

東京都豊島区池袋3-1-4
Tokyo, Toshima-ku, Ikubukuro 3-1-4
13 minute walk from Ikebukuro Station

Open 11:30-14:30, 18:00-21:00
Closed Wednesdays

Limited Bonito Ramen at the Fermentation Future Forum

F3



Well, this was random.



That's Namae-san, the chef over at L'Effervescence. If you've never heard of this restaurant, I'll give you a teaser. Number 12 in Asia. Two Michelin stars. Tabelog Gold status. In other words, fine dining.

I've been to L'Effervescence for lunch before, and it was a delight. But even their cheapest option is quite pricey, and out of the price range of anyone looking for a casual slurp.

So when Namae-san did a quick pop-up at a fermentation festival in Tokyo, I was first in line.



Katsuo, blocks of skipjack tuna smocked dry into flavorful umami rocks. Shave them down; a little goes a long way. Different levels were used for different purposes, and some of the best were shaved fresh onto the top of the ramen.



The soup is hit with homemade sour cream, another level of fermentation umami.

All in all, an interesting one-off bowl. I'd probably never go for this again, but I was happy to try ramen from such an accomplished chef.



Official festival site here.
L'Effervescence site here.

This was at the farmer's market at UNU in Omotesando, which is open weekends from 10am-4pm.