u/namajapan

Found this place during my last trip to Niigata, thought I would share. It is a free magazine, so I am sure they do not mind that people have access to this information online. (if I remember correctly, there even is an online version somewhere)

Overall pretty decent. It definitely has some lobster flavor in the background, but no real lobsters have been harmed for this product lol

You have probably seen me post about Toraibu every now and then. I could say it is one of my favorite iekei, not necessarily because it’s the absolute best out there, but rather because it’s super easy to access with their locations in Musashi-Kosugi, Jiyugaoka and Gakugei-Daigaku. I travel along the Toyoko line quite often, which means their shops are often in my reach. And if I’m craving iekei I can grab one there on a very good level. Small rice on the side mandatory.

This weekend saw Japan getting hit by two typhoons. I used one of the windows of a few hours without rain to go to a local Japanese-Thai-Vietnam fusion restaurant run by a lovely Japanese lady all by herself. Felt that this beer hit just right with all the rain and humidity.

Founded by the former head chef of “Ramen Sukoyaka” (ラーメン健やか) in Mitaka.
High end kombusui tsukemen, served with dried tomatoes in the kombusui for extra umami.
Noodles are long, slippery and have a bit of a mochi texture to them, good chew.
Soup is made without artificial flavor enhancers (not that I care) l, a mix of chicken and shellfish.
Toppings are top notch and worth going for despite the harsh price of 2000 Yen for the tokusei.

As a bonus, the burger hyakumeiten “Butcher’s Table” is around the corner.

I just got back from Europe at the time and needed a quick tastebud reset. Nothing fancy, nothing with a long line, just a solid chicken shoyu that satisfies. And that’s exactly what you can find at Hayashida. Basically all their bowls are worth trying, but if I had to pick just one, I’d go for their shoyu.
Great chicken flavor, lots of chicken fat and a consistent high quality, no matter which location you eat at.

Quick lunch at Paimen in Meguro, which serves an iekei-adjacent tonkotsu-shoyu. It’s definitely not my favorite tonkotsu-shoyu out there, but I am around there often anyway and it’s good enough for a quick bite.
Compared to regular iekei, Paimen has more collagen and is a bit more “lip smacking”, but has a bit less punch and funk.
If you go, pick their thick futomen and get extra negi.

If you have ever been in Mizonokuchi, you have probably smelled this ramen shop.
Match Bo in Mizonokuchi is probably one of the stinkiest ramen shops in Kanto.
Wakayama style tonkotsu-shoyu, much lighter than you would expect from the stank. Some chicken and niboshi are part of the soup, although they didn’t come through for me.
Definitely has some smelly cheese quality to it, but great after a couple of drinks and with some extra garlic added.
You can smell the shop from quite far away, it’s truly something.

It’s basically a Stamina Suzuki clone, and pretty ok at that, but falls short in some ways
Not as rich, not as aromatic, not as impactful. The meat is kinda fallen apart pork, kinda like pulled pork.
I think the biggest difference to Suzuki is that Suzuki prepares every bowl fresh in a pot with raw pork, raw onion, raw garlic and nira, which is boiled in the soup for a few minutes just before serving.
But if you like Suzuki, then you will probably like this one as well.

Shop already permanently closed since when I went in 2025. Doesn’t seem like they reopened anywhere else. Oh well…

Soup is torigara, genkotsu, scallop, lots of veggies.
Shop claims to use no artificial flavor enhancers.
Pretty decent craftsmanship, good noodles but not made inhouse.
Great egg, well executed sous vide chicken chashu.
Soup is complex and a bit on the sweeter side. Almost impossible to figure out what’s in it without asking and looking things up.
Only real negative point was that poor scallop that was boiled to hell
Not sure they need to put that on as a topping.

I did not get the “Ramen I fell in love with 20 years ago” (what the menu item is called) which I think was a mistake. Master trained at Sumire, but the bowl I got was a tad lighter than what I remember from Sumire. But it’s all there of course. Great noodles, rich and impactful soup, so hot it would burn your face off if you dipped it in right away.
Nice bouncy noodles, very good bite.
But this specific bowl was a bit below other Tokyo miso bowls like at San Tora etc. for me personally
A tad less impact, a tad less salty maybe.
But could also be that it’s my second bowl that day and it’s hot as balls outside. Not exactly boiling hot miso ramen weather.
Probably will the 20 year love letter bowl next time which has hopefully a bit more punch than what I got.

Shinasoba Osada near Oayama station, north of Ikebukuro.
Tantantei/Kazuya discipline, therefore all about the wantan
They only have pork wantan with a nice ginger zing
Soup is pork, chicken, niboshi from what I could tell, quite complex, lots going on.
Great chashu, no mistake to get extra chashu with the Wantanmen if you’re hungry. According to Cody, the Lu Rou Fan is also worth trying.
I don’t think is it as good as Kazuya or Tantantei, but definitely up there. Just nuances at that level.
They are in Tokyo Hyakumeiten though. Summed up, definitely worth a visit.

You’re never too good or fancy for a bowl at Gyoza no Ohsho from time to time. Really though, you’re going for the garlic gyoza, which are setting the standard for all other gyoza out there. The ramen is mainly powered by msg, not a culinary highlight in the ramen world, but it gets the job done at a price point that is hard to beat. The Suratanmen are leaning on the Chinese hot and sour style soup, somewhat japanified.
Since there’s always a Gyoza no Ohsho nearby, they are a great way to get a quick and filling meal for a few coins. Just beware that all of your clothes will smell like food, so maybe not food to have before client meetings or a date

Tori paitan and spicy tori paitan, tried both.
Since I have sent at least a dozen people here who have asked me for halal ramen recommendations, I thought it’s about time to try this place myself.
It is run by Indonesians, most of their customers also seem to hail from there.
The ramen was not bad, but in a way tasted like as if I made some random tori paitan at home with supermarket chicken.
Not *bad* but also not very good.
The rayu also tasted a bit like supermarket rayu, but there’s a lot of it in the spicy bowl, so it actually packs quite some punch with the quite spicy soboro. The soboro was relatively cold on top, so probably comes out of the fridge or something, not a big fan.
Noodles are also some very standard fare you would expect in a random chain ramen shop.
Idk probably still one of the best certified halal ramen?
But ramen heads don’t need to go.

Honestly one of the best special cups I have had in a while. Really reminded me of some of the Indian masala cup noodles, with a proper spice and spicy kick.