一風堂 TAO (Ippudo TAO in Ginza)

一風堂 TAO

Ah, Ippudo. If it wasn't such a perfect bowl of ramen, I'd probably be against their whole monopoly on the world's ramen supply agenda. With massive shops the talk of the town in New York and Singapore, they show no sign of slowing down. And no sign of trying new things.

A collaboration with Japanese drum troupe TAO brought about this new, slightly different Ippudo shop. I don't know if the drummers had any input or not. There is some flowery talk on the shops official "concept", talking about Japanese passion and how seeing a few hundred taiko drummers is akin to eating good ramen. Anyways, I brought a couple New Yorkers in Tokyo along on this adventure. Good thing the taste is different! (slightly)

The interior is bright reds and blacks.

Not surprising, the bowls come in either red or black variety. I went with the spicy red, with cheese topping. I like how the cheese was pre-mixed with some hot tonkotsu soup to melt it a bit.

And the spicy red bowl is pretty good. I went with a 3 out of 8 on their spiciness scale. I think I could have managed a 7, it wasn't very hot. The taste is, yes, a little different than their standard style. The addition of caramelized onion bits brought a lot of flavor.

The interior has a big TV playing clips of drumming. Interesting concept, but I don't think I'll be returning. This shop was practically empty, and they had just opened 3 days before. This is unheard of in my world. Even the regular, run of the mill Ippudos have a line at night. And the downside of bright red everywhere is that it wasn't so comfortable. Other Ippudos are really relaxed, a great place to have a beer, some gyoza, and a couple extra helpings of noodles with your ramen. They were so overstaffed and under-customered that I practically had an ice tea servant, filling my glass every time I took a couple sips.

My complaints would hold weight if their ramen wasn't so good.

Turn down the lights, turn up the drum music, and I'll be back!

Official Site Here

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ローメン (Romen Style in Nagano)

ローメン???

I stumbled on this new restaurant in Nagano city a few month ago when I was up visiting a friend. We were refused at the door, and since then my friend was turned away another 2 times. This place is popular! It's a place that serves nothing but Shinshu sake and food (信州 is the old name for the area around Nagano, 200km North of Tokyo). I had to come back.

Little did I know that this would become another ramen adventure. Or should I say romen.

Romen was created in 1955, in a countryside town. It's made with mutton, and more like a soupy yakisoba than a ramen. My friend begged me to to get it. Why?

It's pretty stinky. Definitely not something I would eat often. But it goes great with sake.

Copious amounts of Japanese liquor can lead to ordering some other local delicacies.

The left is grasshopper. The middle bee larvae. The right some sort of river bug. New ramen topping?

Local honey poured on local ice cream.

This place was amazing. There was plenty of normal type food too. Lots of river fish and mountain vegetables. And sake.

Lucky people of Nagano, you are lucky!

You should go to this event. Ramen Fantasia is in the Tokyu building, on the top floor. About a dozen experimental collaborations are being created.

I can't make it, but a collaboration between Junk Garage and Mr. Bond of Hearts! Is that a whole clove of roasted garlic? Someone go and let me know!

インフィニ (Infinitus Zero in Shinagawa)

インフィニ

This shop is what dreams are made of. At least one man's dream that is. Mr. Mita had one taste of the mazemen at Junk Garage, and fell in love. Everything that I felt, so did he. Big difference though. While I'm content to adventure around eating the stuff, he wanted to make it. And that's how Infinitus came about. At least as far as I can decipher from our short conversation and poking around their website.

Another thing to note, is that this is a shop run by, and built for, soccer fans. Everything is soccer.

From the menu. The toppings menu is actually the "trappings" menu.

To the decor. There's that guy. Sorry, I know absolutely zero on the subject of soccer.

Ramen on the other hand...

The special mazemen is covered in tasty things. Spicy mayo, garlic chips, raw egg, bonito flakes, and a massive pile of grated cheese (hidden from view by the noodles).

Then there is the tare, which is made with beef bones instead of the usual pork or chicken. This lends a sweeter taste. The overall bowl was a bit lighter than the one at Junk Garage, though you can deck it out with as many toppings as you want.

Very good, a must for anyone who likes the junk style. The visual impact alone is worth the trip. I'll be back soon to try their signature dish, some sort of spicy vegetable ramen.

Icing on the cake, a stranger who was done riding trains for the day gave me his 1 day pass. That saved me over 500 yen for the rest of the day's travels. Awesome!

Official Site Here

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