ハシ・キク
When passing by this restaurant, there would always be a line of about 10 people, and I would always think, "I'll just go to another place!" and ended up not visiting for nearly 6 years. After all, there are plenty of delicious restaurants in Nishi-Ogikubo! However, one rainy Saturday, I passed by the restaurant and saw only 2 people in line. I thought, "Is this my chance to try the food here!?" and impulsively joined the line. I was able to enter the restaurant without waiting for even 10 minutes. I usually order tantanmen, so this time I decided to try the soy sauce-based ramen. The Char Siu Wonton Ramen for 1200 yen. As mentioned in previous reviews, the Char Siu here is prepared with attention to detail, using different cuts and processing techniques, and the bowl is filled with carefully prepared Char Siu that hides the wontons completely. However, when you uncover the Char Siu, the wontons are neatly tucked underneath, which is reassuring. First, I slurped the soup, and wow, it's delicious!! The style is nostalgic, but the sharpness and aroma of the soy sauce, combined with the richness of the broth, are at a high level and incredibly tasty. When you go to a local Chinese restaurant and have soy sauce ramen, sometimes you encounter a somewhat blurry-tasting soup, but this is the taste of nostalgia! I've had moments in the past where I compromised and thought, "Well, this is also good!" but the nostalgic soup here was so delicious that there was no need for any compromise. The rich and sharp flavor is superb, so tasty that you'll want to keep drinking the soup. The thin noodles in the soup, when slurped, spread a rich umami taste that glides down your throat, making your taste buds and sense of smell rejoice. The delicate preparation of the Char Siu exudes the unique charm of this restaurant. The meat, which is not excessively tender, offers a delightful texture of firmness and moistness, with a well-infused soy sauce flavor. While simmered pork belly is also good, this kind of Char Siu is not bad at all. The wontons have a bouncy skin filled with well-seasoned meat, which is rich in flavor and extremely delicious. The snap peas and narutomaki add a nice color contrast, complementing the nostalgic taste perfectly. Anyway, in terms of soy sauce ramen at this restaurant, the stars are undoubtedly the soup and the noodles. The Tantanmen with salt soup is also good, but the ramen with soy sauce soup is not bad either. It was such a restaurant! Thank you for the meal!