JoeColombia
This day had clear autumn weather, quite cool and the best weather! So, I decided to be creative in how I joined a meeting and managed to secure a slightly luxurious lunch break by walking. Initially, I planned to head to a branch in Akihabara, but even though it had cooled down a bit, it was still a bit hot and far to walk, so I quickly gave up. Instead, I decided to take the train and maybe try heading to the main store, which is also known as the Hyakumeiten? Nishi Kasai. A town where I rarely have any reason to visit except for eating curry. The subway becomes above ground there. It's almost like being in Chiba. It's about a 4-5 minute walk from the station, quite close by. It was close to 2 pm, a late lunch, and there were about 5-6 guests ahead of me. First, you buy a food ticket and then line up style. The menu is mainly the spicy ramen. You can choose the XX ramen based on whether you want extra cilantro, bamboo shoots, flavored egg, or char siu. The special includes a well-balanced combination of everything. I really like cilantro, so I went for the "Spice Cilantro Ramen (1130 yen)" as the base, with toppings including "Ginger-infused Garlic (60 yen)" (definitely packs a punch!), "Meat left over (130 yen)" (sounds appetizing and cheap!), "Half Spiciness, Extra Spices (130 yen)" (I like it spicy, but decided to go with 'half' this time), and "Small Rice (100 yen)" (seemed necessary). The total came to 1550 yen. The turnover was not too bad, and although I was almost immediately escorted to the counter seat, it felt like they served about 6-7 bowls in one batch, so if you missed that, you would wait for an additional 10-15 minutes. I received my bowl about 25 minutes after arriving at the restaurant. First of all, visually, there was a huge amount of cilantro! On top, there was a sprinkle of spices, and the noodles were straight and medium-thick. There were large, tender slices of char siu and two pieces of uncut meat. Under the char siu, there were stir-fried bean sprouts, and even some broccoli. The topping of ginger-infused garlic packed a powerful punch. It seemed that the popular orders among the regulars were bean sprouts, garlic, and meat leftover. In this aspect, it was almost like a Jiro-style ramen. It felt like a spicy Jiro-style. As soon as I took a sip of the soup, a spicy flavor spread throughout. Although it was not extremely spicy, it had a strong spiciness. It was different from curry, not quite like a numbing tantan-men, but had a unique Chinese taste. It was a flavor that was indescribable, something that seemed familiar yet not. The soup contained ginger, garlic, maybe some lard or onions as well. And perhaps a small amount of back fat or onions were also included. The cilantro went very well with it!!! It matched so well!!! I couldn't help but keep sipping the soup for a while! The noodles were medium-thick and straight, the char siu was char siu! The pre-existing slices were tender, and the uncut meat had a chewy, juicy texture. But the most characteristic aspect was the soup, I think. If I were to say one thing, maybe this doesn't necessarily have to be ramen? Even if you generously added cilantro, bean sprouts, and char siu, and then added cellophane noodles or bean threads, you could still achieve the same level of satisfaction. It was such a spicy soup-driven dish that was quite unique! At the end, I soaked the white rice (small) in the soup with my spoon and enjoyed it like okayu. Indeed, I can understand why so many people are addicted to this dish; it was a bowl with addictive soup. It wasn't very spicy at first, but perhaps due to the ginger garlic, it packed a punch, and as I progressed halfway through the bowl, I couldn't stop sweating. And my hands couldn't stop either! A soup with such addictive qualities. If I were to mention something, it seemed not so much cilantro-heavy as I thought, so next time I might go for a double or triple portion of cilantro, and on top of that, order bean sprouts! Delicious!