亀戸煮干中華そばつきひ (Tsukihi in Kameido)

亀戸煮干中華そばつきひ

Niboshi ramen, do you love it?

皆さん、煮干し系ラーメンは好きでしょうか？

A Yokocho (横丁) is a collection of many small shops in a small area. Often called a food alley, they are all over Japan, and one of the best places to go in the evenings for food and drinks. The Kameido Yokocho is great, but like most yokocho, closed during the day.

日本には至るところに横丁という飲食店が集まる小さい路地があります。夜に食べに行ったり飲みに行くのに最適です。昼間は閉まっている横丁が多いですが、亀戸横丁は最高です。

Or so one would think.

そう思いますよね？

Though the normal izakaya shops are all closed at 11:00 am, there is a new ramen shop with a long line and some stellar bowls and more customers than the tiny alley can handle.

周りの居酒屋は23時で閉店しますが、星が付くほどの一杯を求めて、横丁から溢れるほどの行列が出来るラーメン屋さんがあります。

Be warned, this one is intense.

気をつけてください。この一杯はラーメンの中でも強めです。

Niboshi ramen is sometimes called grey-style. Dried fishes, mostly baby sardines, are boiled vigorously with a bone broth. The fish are full of oils that emulsify into the already heavy soup. The result is a bit funky, a bit fishy, and very, very popular these days.

煮干しラーメンは、別の名をグレースタイルとも言い、主に乾燥させたイワシの稚魚と骨から出るダシと組み合わせ強火で煮込み、既に脂が乳化した濃い味わいのスープなので、魚の香りもするファンキーなスープですが、とても人気が出てきています。

Tsukihi pulls no punches. Going for maximum umami kick, they even offer a vinegar condiment with a raw squid inside. Yes, you should.

これだけ強いと紹介しましたがかと言って後には引っ張りません。最大限の旨味を引き出すためにイカが丸々1匹入ったお酢も薬味としておいてあります。これは使うべきですね！

Thank you, boss!

大将ありがとう！

To be honest, this style isn't for everyone. You might want to try Nagi in Golden Gai before venturing out to hardcore shops like Tsukihi.

ここまで述べてきましたが、正直この煮干しラーメンは万人受けではなく、好き嫌いがわかれます。
筋金入りのこのお店に来る前に（迷っている方は）ゴールデン街にある凪に行ったほうがいいかもしれません。

Trust me, when it comes to niboshi, people either really, really love it or really, really hate it.

本当なんですよ？　煮干しを味わった瞬間にとても気に入ってくれるか本当に苦手と思う人にわかれます。

I love it. I really, really love it. Matched with wheaty noodles, sous vide pork chashu, and some raw onions to cut the funk, this is one style you won't see overseas. Shops with an overseas presence, like Nagi, have tried and failed.

Tsukihi uses four kinds of ウルメイワシ (red-eye round herring), dried shrimp, and dried squid in their soup. Umami overload.

因みに私は超が付くほど大好きです。小麦面との相性もよく、真空調理されたチャーシューポークとザク切りの生たまねぎは海外にはないここでしか味わえない一杯です。
海外にも出店しているお店はあります。凪もその1つで私も行ってみましたが失敗でした。つきひでは4種類のウルメイワシと干し海老、干しイカを使っているので、旨味が溢れ出ています。

A bonus side dish of pork on rice.

このお店のサイドメニューは豚丼です。

If you are scared of the grey soup, Tsukihi also has a lighter version.

初めてにこの色のスープは、と抵抗がある方は（こちらの）見た目が明るい一杯もあります。

And if you are scared of the raw squid vinegar, go for the kombu kelp version.

そしてイカ一匹入っているお酢も、、という方にも昆布も用意してあります。

牛骨らーめん ぶるず (Bulls Ramen in Kameido)

牛骨らーめん ぶるず



Buruzu would be the Japanese way of writing out Bulls, which is an indication that we are probably dealing with beef ramen.



Bulls was in a recent issue of Weekly Playboy magazine in their list of super rookie shops. Shops that have been open for only a few months. Yes, I still get a free copy of this magazine delivered to my home weekly. No, my personal ramen corner in this magazine is long gone.



Not sure if you can see, but the master had Tha Alkaholiks streaming (incorrectly labeled as The Alkaholiks). What's your favorite album from Tha Liks? Mine is 1995's Coast II Coast.



I digress.

This isn't just beef ramen, it's fancy beef ramen! Notice the side of tomato, basil, katsuo soup.

Tsukemen often comes with "flavor enhancers" like this. Slurp some noodles, then add in oils, spices, or in this case extra tomato flavors.



A little soy, a little red wine, and a lot of vegetables go into this one.



The master has a background in French cuisine, so the fancy fits.

Shoyu and miso ramen as well, but the shop recommends that tsukemen. You can also get a glass of wine (or beer or highball or some kind of Jim Beam apple drink). I refrained, as it was 11:00 am on a weekday, but they friendly old man next to me was getting nice and sloshed. Kanpai!



Bonus! This shop is in Kameido, an underrated part of eastern Tokyo that is famous for gyoza.



You might as well wander around and have a few dumplings.



Just look for the lines. Barring that, 餃子 are the Chinese characters that you want.



Do----n!

広島流つけ麺 からまる (Karamaru in Okubo)

広島流つけ麺 からまる

Spicy (kinda) Hiroshima-style tsukemen near my home? I'm in!

Hiroshima, home of the Carps, is also home of a regional tsukemen style. A clear chicken broth gets hit with spicy oil and topped with sesame seeds. The noodles come cold, on the side, and topped with plenty of vegetables.

Great style for a hot day. 

You can always choose your spice level, from zero to something in the double digits. Each shop is different. I think Karamaru goes up to 20, with options to go off menu and do it as spicy as you can handle. With a scale like this, I'll usually just ask the staff for a medium-low amount of heat.

You definitely want a bit of kick with those cold noodles and crisp cabbage.

I just noticed the spice is free up to level 100, and if you want to go up to 200, you need to fork over a couple hundred yen. No idea what this arbitrary number means.

The shop had a whole slew of summer dishes. Hiroshima-style soupless tantan noodles, shrimp and salt soupless noodles, and an aburasoba. Spicy, cool dishes are the best for Tokyo's recent years of summer heat waves.