らぁ麺 紫陽花 (Ajisai in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture)

らぁ麺 紫陽花

Ajisai is considered one of the top slurps in Nagoya. Refined ramen is all the rage in recent years, with every city having a popular shop like this. 

What does refined mean in the world of ramen? Ingredients sourced from top spots around Japan. No store-bought MSG. All of the umami in this one comes from the kombu and dried fish. And, unfortunately, refined ramen usually creates massive lines.

Homemade noodles as well.

The menu at Ajisai is heavy on the shoyu. Shoyu ramen, shoyu tsukemen, and a niboshi ramen that (I assume) uses a shoyu tare. They also offer spicy tantanmen. Is the shoyu ramen is the one to get? Tantanmen at shops like this is usually excellent. See those stickers on the ticket machine?

Hash Royal is an absolute beast of a ramen hunter. He seems to know every shop in the country, and visits around 600 a year. I quickly sent him a message asking whether I should go with shoyu or tantanem. He replied in about six seconds.

The soy sauce blend uses mainly Yugeta shoyu (弓削多醤油) from Saitama. This nama shoyu is a bit on the sweet side. Homemade noodles using flour from Bifunsai in Hokkaido (美粉彩 春よ恋). Gorgeous pork from Yamagata.

Meats are all cooked low temperature-style. Tender.

Ajisai hit the spot. It hit is so well that I had to make another order.

One tantanmen, please.

Also excellent. Japanese tantanmen uses the shop's umami-rich broth and adds both hot and numbing spices. It's fusion food in a sense.

Noodles are a specialty here and the tantanmen uses thinner ones.

Open since 2015.

Ramen Walker (Japanese) page here.

ZenPop Japanese Ramen Pack (Sponsored Post)

 ZenPop Japanese Ramen Pack

Check out the YouTube video! Instead of just doing an unboxing and eating of this tasty instant ramen pack, I packed a couple into my cycling pack, donned my cycling jersey from 1998, and rode around 75 kilometers into the distant reaches of western Tokyo.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xHnpCNf-4-g" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Grab your own pack here:

https://bit.ly/3lQSmqH

This month's theme is Flavors from Beyond, and they are all a bit left of center.

Yakisoba with tartar sauce mayo. Ok, I know most people, myself included, cringe a bit at the thought of mayo in ramen. But when you mix it in, it's really just oil, vinegar, and egg. These are all ingredients you find in ramen, so go for it! For me, I like to mix in something spicy, like kimchi, with these instant yakisoba bowls.

Non-fried noodles mean fewer calories (292 vs a standard 400 in most bowls of instant ramen) and a bit of hot and sour black vinegar soup in this men shokunin (麺職人). Perfect for a light snack.

The opposite of light snack is this pork curry udon. By the way, thanks for reading this far! And thank you to ZenPop for sponsoring this post and YouTube video. If you want to support Ramen Adventures, head over to their site and grab a ramen pack, or any other pack for that matter.

https://bit.ly/3lQSmqH

Noodle made with tofu. Tofu topping. Soy milk infused broth. It's tofu ramen!

Tonkotsu + togarashi = tongarashi. Pork soup with a spicy kick. This one is packed with tomato and cheese flavors. It's full of umami.

Iseebi is a kind of Japanese spiny lobster. This line of instant noodles, called Wara (和ラー) specializes in local Japanese flavors. Mie Prefecture is known for these expensive lobsters.

Seino!!!! This is one of Japan's most highly ranked shops out in Wakayama Prefecture. I've been a few times. Thick tonkotsu soup with heavy local soy sauce.

Thanks again to ZenPop. If you aren't interested, no problem, but if you have any inkling to try some instant ramen shopped straight from Japan, please use this link to grab a subscription.

https://bit.ly/3lQSmqH

And use promo code RAMENADVENTURES ($3 USD off first Ramen Pack). Ya'll are the best!

風花 (Kazehana in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture)

風花

Kazehana is a fairly standard shoyu spot up in Kanazawa. I was wandering the streets one evening on a weekday night and nothing was open except this one. Sometimes all you need is a classic bowl.

Kazehana's preservative-free soup is made from chickens and vegetables.

A lot of tourists flock to Kanazawa. If you are there and get a bit tired of all the seafood, this might be one for you!