DEATH13
I visited a restaurant near Shin-Osaka twice for work in October 2021. The place I found was featured on a TV show a long time ago, and I vaguely remembered it, so I decided to check it out. Back then, they had a unique business model where they only opened on Thursdays. It was because the owner worked part-time at a nearby hotel six days a week! It was a hot topic at the time. But now, they are open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. It seems like the charm of being open only one day a week has faded a bit. (They serve traditional dashi ramen on Fridays, but they were not serving it when I visited). On this day, it was Thursday, and I had already had lunch, but fortunately, I finished work just before the restaurant opened, so I was able to be the first one in line. The default sign of the restaurant is SOS Ramen, which stands for "Spicy Oh! Spicy." This SOS Ramen is essentially Taiwanese ramen. They serve 40 bowls for lunch and 40 bowls for dinner, and it's a recipe passed down from the owner's parents. The unique thing about this ramen is that you can adjust the spiciness by adding chili powder. There are two types of chili powder, one focusing on flavor and the other on spiciness. I chose the spicy one, which includes Carolina Reaper peppers from Takatsuki. Carolina Reaper is the world's hottest chili pepper certified by Guinness. Even though it's blended in, you can't avoid it if you want to enjoy the experience. So, I chose the spicier powder and went for level 3 spiciness. The ramen that came out had a chicken and kombu-based soy sauce clear soup. It was topped with leeks, bean sprouts, and Taiwanese minced meat. The noodles were medium-thin straight noodles, sent directly from Nagoya. I added three extra servings of spicy chili powder on top of the Taiwanese minced meat. It looked very red and stood out. To be honest, the noodles didn't leave much of an impression, but they were on the softer side, I think. The default soup was quite light, similar to what you would find in a Chinese mainland restaurant. This is probably because the owner is from the mainland. However, the additional chili powder completely dominated the flavor once mixed with the soup. I have a decent tolerance for spiciness, so I managed to finish it, but the intense spiciness hit me hard throughout the meal. I was wiping sweat and taking my time, but I managed to finish it. If you don't have a high tolerance for spiciness, it's better to start with the flavor-focused powder first. It's also recommended to adjust the amount carefully before eating. There's a possibility of feeling unwell, so be cautious.