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レディー・シート・ベルト

A look into the cool and bizarre, focusing on the Japanese import car culture and delicious ramen. Updated weekly.

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Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui (Revisited)

May 08, 2020 by William Tjipto in Ramen, Thick Broth, Shio

I actually visited Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui, a few months ago with my friends, but it was definitely well worth another stop.

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With a large menu, they had plenty of options to try outside their monthly limited specials. This time I tried their Jukusei Miso Ramen which features aged miso for a deeper and stronger taste.

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It was definitely rich and had a nice, smooth, savory miso flavor in the broth. The aburi chashu was a bit fatty, but the nice, grilled pork taste was fantastic.

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The noodles were nice and thin with a medium-firm texture.

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The ramen was 980¥ ($9 USD) and the excellent chashu rice was worth the extra 200¥.

Definitely worth another trip!

May 08, 2020 /William Tjipto
TSURUGA, 敦賀, FUKUI, 福井, RAMEN, ラーメン, SALT, SHIO, SHIORAMEN, 豚骨, CHASHU, PORK, チャーシュー, JAPAN, 日本, こってり, UMAMI, うまみ, JAPANESEFOOD, 日本料理, 和食, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, READYSEATBELT, MISO, MISORAMEN, 味噌, みそ, 味噌ラーメン
Ramen, Thick Broth, Shio
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Europa-ken Tsuruga Shop (敦賀ヨーロッパ軒 中央店) in Tsuruga, Fukui

April 01, 2020 by William Tjipto in Katsu

I visited several times over the years and most recently at their main shop in Fukui City. Since Sauce Katsu is such a famous Fukui dish, we wanted to show a visiting friend the premier example of it at Europa-ken, this time in Tsuruga. I was recommended the ? mince breaded cutlet or the mix bowl this time. Of all the times I’ve been here, I’ve never had anything other than their regular breaded sauce pork cutlet, so I decided to try the sampler bowl that is the Mix Bowl, which has one slice of chicken, fish, and mince for 1100¥ ($10 USD).

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I actually like this mixed bowl way better than their regular katsu bowl! Of note, the chicken was surprisingly juicy and the mince was surprisingly soft, with the light, saucy, crunchy breading complementing the softness of the meat. The fish cutlet was also good and gave a nice fishy contrast to the other meatier slices. The rice portion, as always, was plentiful and gave the bowl a decent value. I only wish they provided a side dish of their delicious sauce like when you order the katsu teishoku set since I like mine a little saucier.

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While I still say that there may be other pork cutlets I like better elsewhere, their mix bowl by far has me really impressed and I would be more than happy to have it again next time!

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

April 01, 2020 /William Tjipto
KATSU, かつ, カツ, SAUCEKATSU, ソースかつ丼, ソースカツ丼, DON, RICEBOWL, 丼, UMAMI, うまみ, JAPANESEFOOD, 日本料理, 和食, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, READYSEATBELT, TEISHOKU, SET, 定食, FUKUI, 福井, 郷土料理, ご土地グルメ, LOCALFOOD, TSURUGA, 敦賀
Katsu
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Shougetsu (めん魚房 松月) in Tsuruga, Fukui (Strawberry Ramen)

March 24, 2020 by William Tjipto in Ramen, Shio

Last month I went to Shougetsu in Tsuruga, Fukui, and had their seasonal Nishin Ramen (herring), but starting in March they introduced their new Strawberry Ramen… this I had to try! With the exception of their famous Lemon Ramen and other Yuzu citrus ramen, I have never had any fruit-inspired concoctions...

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Arriving shortly at our table was this beautifully attractive bowl. I was surprised to say the strawberry tartness actually works pretty well for a ramen dish! There was also a bit of strawberry sauce around the top of the soup which gave the whole broth a bit of a lighter feel. It was definitely a unique taste that I enjoyed!

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Unfortunately, I think the thickness of the broth and onions drowned out much of the strawberry flavor… if the broth was a lighter shio soup base, I think it would’ve been just about perfect. For a very reasonable portion at 1000¥ ($9 USD), you too can enjoy this limited seasonal fruit ramen!

March 24, 2020 /William Tjipto
RAMEN, ラーメン, SHIO, SALT, SHIORAMEN, SALTRAMEN, しお, 塩, 塩ラーメン, CHASHU, PORK, チャーシュー, JAPAN, 日本, こってり, UMAMI, うまみ, JAPANESEFOOD, 日本料理, 和食, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, READYSEATBELT, TSURUGA, FUKUI, 敦賀, 福井, 限定, LIMITED, ICHIGO, STRAWBERRY, FRUIT, いちご, イチゴ, 苺, フルーツ
Ramen, Shio
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Steak and Hamburg (ステーキ宮 ステーキ&ハンバーグレストラン) in Tsuruga, Fukui

March 10, 2020 by William Tjipto in Western, Steak

Steak Miya (aka Steak & Hamburg) is a chain of meat restaurants all over Japan. I never stopped by the Tsuruga, Fukui, shop before, despite passing by hundreds of times. So finally some friends and I decided to check it out to see how it compares to other meat restaurants like Ikinari! Steak or other regular family restaurants like Coco’s or Tomato & Onion.

The whole menu seems a bit pricey, but nonetheless, it’s the norm here in Japan. For example, here is 225g (8 oz) of hamburg steak and 75g (2.6 oz) of grilled steak that go for 1890¥ ($17 USD). Honestly, I was a bit worried because Ikinari is a bit cheaper than that…

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But since they also offer a rather cool salad, soup, and drink bar (not alcohol), we thought we’d try it anyway. I ordered ? and the salad and soup bar for ?. The hamburg patty was pretty juicy and the steak was surprisingly succulent, soft, and delicious. Unfortunately, it was tiny. The soup and salad bar had a solid selection of options and everything was fresh. The killers were the sauce options… especially the gravy. We were all surprised at how legitimately tasty and rich it was!

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I definitely had a nice meal with my friends there. If this was my only option in town, I’d come back, but unfortunately, there are other choices in Tsuruga that might be better worth the visit.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

March 10, 2020 /William Tjipto
TSURUGA, FUKUI, BEEF, STEAK, MEAT, TENDERLOIN, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, JAPAN, READYSEATBELT, 敦賀, 福井, 牛, 牛肉, ステーキ, ヒレ, ヒレステーキ, 肉, 洋食, 日本, SALAD, GRAVY, サラダ, グレイビー, グレイビーソース
Western, Steak
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Shougetsu (めん魚房 松月) in Tsuruga, Fukui

March 06, 2020 by William Tjipto in Ramen, Shio

It’s been awhile since I last visited Shougetsu in Tsuruga, Fukui. This Japanese restaurant has a large varied menu, but to me, the thing I always order is their Lemon Ramen, a light salt broth ramen with a few tart slices of lemon to really lighten the flavor.

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This time, however, I opted for a change… their seasonally-limited Nishin Ramen for a very reasonable 830¥ ($7.50 USD). A piece of herring fish in my ramen? Could it really be worth ordering over the usual favorite? I was hesitant at first, but the friendly proprietor assured me that it was delicious.

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And it was! The fish was preserved, so it was salty and sweet, reminding me much of a canned fish found in many Chinese dishes. The fish pared decently with the soup, which was lightly savory and creamy, but with a hint of spice. It was definitely an interesting combination I don’t think I have ever tried before at any other ramen shop.

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The portion of noodles was quite good so the asking price was well worth it for something this uniquely savory and delicious! The only thing that I would like to see are some additional toppings or maybe even a few slices of their lemon to lighten up the whole taste.

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Unfortunately, by the time you read this in March, the limited ramen will already be out of season. Maybe next year he’ll bring it back, but the next seasonal ramen coming up is an Ichigo (Strawberry) Ramen! Look forward to my review soon!

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Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

March 06, 2020 /William Tjipto
RAMEN, ラーメン, SHIO, SALT, SHIORAMEN, SALTRAMEN, しお, 塩, 塩ラーメン, CHASHU, PORK, チャーシュー, JAPAN, 日本, こってり, UMAMI, うまみ, JAPANESEFOOD, 日本料理, 和食, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, READYSEATBELT, NISHIN, にしん, HERRING, TSURUGA, FUKUI, 敦賀, 福井, 限定, LIMITED
Ramen, Shio
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Rairaitei (来来亭 敦賀店) in Tsuruga, Fukui

March 02, 2020 by William Tjipto in Miso, Ramen, Shio, Shoyu, Tonkotsu

Previously on Instagram, I reviewed Rairaitei, a chain of ramen shops all around Japan. Having been there several times over the years, but not in a few years, I stopped by the Tsuruga, Fukui, shop with some friends. After the loads of delicious bowls of ramen I’ve consumed in the intervening years, how did it fare?

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Honestly, Rairaitei still stands up as a solid ramen restaurant with cheap, but delicious bowls. This most recent time, I opted for a Kotteri (rich, heavy) Ramen for 780¥ ($7 USD) with Wonton dumpling toppings for 110¥ more. While I wasn’t blown away, it was still a great meal, offering good value at a good price.

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As a bonus, here are a few photos I’ve taken over the years at some other shops around Japan.

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I will definitely come again.

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March 02, 2020 /William Tjipto
RAMEN, ラーメン, 醤油, しょうゆ, SOYSAUCE, SHOYU, SHOYURAMEN, 醤油ラーメン, CHASHU, PORK, チャーシュー, JAPAN, 日本, こってり, UMAMI, うまみ, JAPANESEFOOD, 日本料理, 和食, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, READYSEATBELT, TSURUGA, FUKUI, 敦賀, 福井
Miso, Ramen, Shio, Shoyu, Tonkotsu
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Texas Hands (テキサスハンズ 敦賀店) in Tsuruga, Fukui

February 14, 2020 by William Tjipto in Pizza, Western

Texas Hands is a chain of pizza shops around the Hokuriku region of Japan, including Fukui, Ishikawa, and Toyama.

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Let’s take a second to look at their store logo…

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They offer a range of typical pepperoni pizzas to outlandish toppings like crab, squid, corn, fish egg (tarako)… well, those are pretty normal here in Japan.

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Regardless of what you choose, the pizzas and toppings here are delicious… for Japan. They are definitely smaller and more expensive than what you’d typically get stateside in America. Their Large sizes, around 2000¥ ($18 USD), are more akin to a Medium in the U.S. The sauce and cheese also have a lighter profile, more suited for Japanese tastes than the heavy, greasier stuff at many chain pizza restaurants I’m very familiar with.

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Do they sell pineapple toppings for their pizza? Not that I know of, so we brought some in! And if you don’t like pineapple on pizza, well…

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Regardless, I often visit the Tsuruga, Fukui, location with my friends whenever I’m craving a taste from home.

I’ll neither confirm nor deny my hand is in this photograph…

I’ll neither confirm nor deny my hand is in this photograph…

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

February 14, 2020 /William Tjipto
JAPAN, 日本, JAPANESEFOOD, 日本料理, 和食, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, READYSEATBELT, TSURUGA, FUKUI, 敦賀, 福井, PIZZA, ITALIAN, ピザ, イタリア料理, CHEESE, チーズ, PINEAPPLE, パイナップル, HAWAIIAN, ハワイアン
Pizza, Western
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Ramen Sekai (らーめん世界福井敦賀店) in Tsuruga, Fukui

January 27, 2020 by William Tjipto in Miso, Shio, Ramen

Ramen Sekai (“Ramen World”) is a chain of ramen restaurants around four local prefectures: Ishikawa, Toyama, Shiga, and, of course, Fukui. I usually stop by the Tsuruga, Fukui location. This is one of those ramen places when you don’t need something fancy and something delicious will do.

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And delicious it is. With a reasonably large menu, they seem to really try to cover all the basic ramen bases.

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Their main specialty seems to be their Kaga Miso Ramen, made from miso from Ishikawa Prefecture. Their miso has a bit of spice and is of the red miso variety, with hints of seaweed or fish in the broth. Their noodles are thick with a simple, clean taste and texture. The chashu is one of soup highlights, with a light, salty taste. Definitely a good value for the price.

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I also recently tried their seasonal Yuzu Shio Ramen, which was quite cheap at 790¥ ($7.20 USD). It has a clean, light broth which allowed the thin slices of yuzu to really shine through. While it wasn’t the most revolutionary taste, simple and satisfying is always perfect for this season.

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Their fried rice is also quite good with a savory, salty taste. If you crave more than just ramen, I highly recommend it.

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Overall, this is a good place to stop when you need a quick bite without much fuss. The price is right, hours are long, and locations are pretty convenient.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

January 27, 2020 /William Tjipto
RAMEN, ラーメン, MISO, みそ, 味噌, MISORAMEN, みそラーメン, CHASHU, PORK, チャーシュー, JAPAN, 日本, こってり, UMAMI, うまみ, SPICY, 辛い, JAPANESEFOOD, 日本料理, 和食, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, READYSEATBELT, YUZU, ゆず, 柚子, 敦賀, TSURUGA, FUKUI, 福井, SHIO, SALT, SHIORAMEN, SALTRAMEN, しお, 塩, 塩ラーメン
Miso, Shio, Ramen
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Myeongdong (明洞2号店) in Tsuruga, Fukui

November 28, 2019 by William Tjipto in Ramen

Myeong Dong is a Korean-style restaurant in Tsuruga, Fukui. This is actually their second shop (2号店) in the city. While it seems to be a more of an izakaya-style restaurant, I came for this: ramen that comes piping hot in a stone bowl.

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I ordered their popular Special Ramen for 1080¥ ($10 USD) which comes with cheese topping, kimchi, veggies, and meat, all bubbling hot, spicy, and delicious.

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While it is a bit pricey for the portion size, but it is definitely more reminiscent of real Korean food taste than many other dishes I’ve had here. They even start you off with some banchan!

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November 28, 2019 /William Tjipto
TSURUGA, 敦賀, FUKUI福井, RAMEN, ラーメン, JAPAN, 日本, SPICY, 辛い, KIMCHI, キムチ, CHEESE, チーズ, うまみ, KOREA, 韓国, KOREANFOOD, 韓国料理, JAPANESEFOOD, 日本料理, 和食, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, READYSEATBELT
Ramen
Comment
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Nakau (なか卯) Chain Restaurants

November 19, 2019 by William Tjipto in Udon

Nakau is a huge, nation-wide chain of "Kyoto-style" udon and rice bowls from Osaka. Given that I could find it everywhere, I never had the inclination to visit. Not to mention, their menu options of rice bowls and Kyoto-style udon didn’t sound particularly interesting.

“Kyoto-style,” or more commonly known as “Kansai-style,” differentiates itself from the Kanto (Tokyo) variant by using a lighter soy sauce and seaweed broth. “Kanto-style” uses a darker soy sauce and fish-based broth. This generally means Kansai udon is lighter and has a nice non-fishy, umami savory taste.

So when they recently offered their Granblue Fantasy collaboration, I figured it was time to try it. (To be fair, it wasn’t for me.) I sadly missed out on their Evangelion collaboration earlier this year… woe is me.

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While their beef and chicken bowls are good, undoubtedly the star to me is their Kyoto-style chicken udon, which is surprisingly way more deliciously light and full of chicken flavor than I expected. Of all the (admittedly not *that* many) variants of udon I've had, this was one of the more unique ones. If I had known their chicken udon was this good, I definitely would've stopped by earlier!

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Nakau is just another great example of finding good food all over Japan, even at chain restaurants.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

November 19, 2019 /William Tjipto
NAKAU, なか卯, TSURUGA, 敦賀, FUKUI, 福井, UDON, うどん, CHICKEN, チキン, 鶏, BEEFBOWL, 牛丼, BOWL, RICEBOWL, 丼, 丼ぶり, KYOTO, 京都, KANSAI, 関西, JAPAN, 日本, BEEF, 牛肉, 和食, 定食, JAPANESEFOOD, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, READYSEATBELT
Udon
Comment
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Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui

November 15, 2019 by William Tjipto in Ramen, Thick Broth, Shio

Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui is currently offering a limited-time Kani Miso Noko Shio Ramen for 1080¥ ($10 USD) starting Monday, November 11th for the winter crab season, so I went by with my friends Jenny and Josie on their first opening day to try it. Luckily, when we showed up shortly after 6pm, there wasn’t much of a crowd.

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They have signage proclaiming the crab ramen in front of their shop and on the menu so we were not led astray. Given that I didn’t have much for lunch, the 120¥ more for the larger size could be justified.

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Here was the beautiful bowl of ramen that arrived: A slice of beautifully grilled aburi chashu, medium-thin ramen noodles, and thick, fatty broth, topped with wakame seaweed, scallions, and a crab shell. The crab was beautifully prepared with kani miso and scallions. Kani miso is actually the innards of the crab, perhaps because the consistency is much like soybean paste and it also has a strong flavor.

I was actually surprised at the clean and clear shell of the crab. My guess is they likely boiled the whole thing to clean and strain off every last bit of crab miso.

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I’ve actually visited Kaguya before, so I am familiar with their thick, rich, and flavorful tonkotsu pork bone broth. Their noodles are medium-firm and their chashu nice, fatty, and soft; both a perfect complement to their soup. We were recommended to mix in the kani miso into the broth and it subtly added a creamy, salty sea taste with a hint of the bitterness of the miso.

The large portion was well-worth the value and I couldn’t help but gulp it up quickly, despite my burning tongue’s protestation. Especially given the price, the crab is an absolutely amazing value.

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If you can, I highly recommend you try their limited-time ramen, but even their regular ramen is also quite good.

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Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

November 15, 2019 /William Tjipto
LIMITED, 限定, TSURUGA, 敦賀, FUKUI, 福井, CRAB, かに, かにみそ, RAMEN, ラーメン, SALT, SHIO, SHIORAMEN, 塩, 塩ラーメン, 豚骨, CHASHU, PORK, チャーシュー, JAPAN, 日本, こってり, UMAMI, うまみ, JAPANESEFOOD, 日本料理, 和食, FOODIE, ILOVEFOOD, READYSEATBELT
Ramen, Thick Broth, Shio
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