Ajino Sapporo Onishi (味の札幌 大西) in Aomori City, Aomori

Ajino Sapporo Onishi is arguably one of the most famous ramen restaurants in Aomori. Their most popular is a Miso Curry Milk Ramen for a very reasonable 830￥ ($7.50 USD). It seems unique enough to draw a crowd fairly late on a weekday evening, apparently even being featured on local TV. So I braved the hour-long line and tried it myself. Starving for a good meal, I ordered the large size for only 100￥ more.

Placed down in front of me was undoubtedly what I consider a “large.” The bowl, soup, and ramen portion was definitely great for the price. The smell of miso and curry was certainly distinct. But how was the taste?Amazingly, it was a nice and flavorful, yet medium-light broth with distinctly rich miso and the aftertaste of a creamy curry, giving it a uniquely smooth feel that I really enjoyed. The thick noodles complemented the ramen with soft flavors and textures all around.

However, I expected a clearer “milk” taste given the name, but it wasn’t quite as milky or creamy as I hoped. Once the butter melted into the ramen, the butter taste was all but swallowed up by the curry and miso. I think if it had one more slice of butter, I think it would have been perfect.

They certainly earned their popularity with this uniquely delicious ramen at a great price. If you’re ever up in Aomori eating their famous apples, check out this famous local establishment, too.

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A Happy Pancake (幸せのパンケーキ) in Kyoto

I can’t always eat ramen when I go out, can I? This past weekend, I went with some friends to Shiawase no Pancake (“A Happy Pancake”) in Kyoto. They are actually a chain of fluffy pancake shops, so you can find them around Tokyo and Osaka as well. Its popularity speaks volumes about the chain, as they are always busy at all times of the day.

They have a few variations of their pancakes, mainly varying toppings and prices.

While everything looked delicious, I opted for their Rich Cheese Mousse and Berry Sauce Pancakes for 1250￥ ($11.50 USD) and a hot coffee for 200￥ more.

Jenny ordered the Kyoto-only Hojicha Tiramisu Pancakes and Josie the Seasonal Fruits Pancakes. As you can see, they all looked absolutely deliciously decadent.

The texture was unbelievably fluffy, soft, and pillowy. Never before have I ever had such light, yet rich pancakes, though they do not taste at all like the typical American diner pancakes. They are more akin to the eggy taste of a Chinese egg tart with the softness of a bread pudding. Which means delicious.

The toppings, too, were varied between our dishes, though I definitely think I had the best choice with the creaminess of cheese and whip complementing the sweet eggyness of the pancake, cut with tartness from the berry sauce. Ridiculously delicious with a price to match.

Would it be worth the wait? To those seeking a savory-sweet snack (there are those options available) or a sweet treat, definitely. I’d personally prefer to wait for a ramen, but you know, sometimes having a lovely meal with some lovely ladies is a nice change of pace.

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Menya Teru-no-Suke (麵屋 輝之介) in Fukui City, Fukui

While I don’t live near Fukui City, I go there often enough to try many of their ramen shops and sometimes, I am quite surprised. Spoiler alert: Teru-no-Suke Ramen is one such restaurant that I really enjoyed recently. For us single diners, they have a few “single booths” that are comfortable, wide, and offer a nice view of the street. Overall, the decor seemed quite clean and modern, leading to a good first impression.

Their menu had six total variations: Black, Red, White, Chinese-style, and Black and White varieties of Tsukemen “dipping-style” ramen. Their Black is what they recommended, so as my first time, I always try to go for the shop favorite. At 850￥ for the regular and 1000￥ ($9 USD) for the large, the bigger size was my choice this time, along with an unusual curry rice side for 190￥ more. Their Black is so named because of the charred garlic oil-based broth, combined with tonkotsu. This should give it a creamy savoriness from the pork bone soup with a salty, rich, and deep garlic taste.

And that it did. I was actually surprised at the strong, flavorful broth, with the black part of the soup the oil and the remainder tonkotsu. A quick taste of the black only revealed an incredibly savory, garlicky, and slight bitter flavor. Mixed together and the broth was sublime, a bit on the heavy and oily side, but amazingly delicious.

The rest of the dish was also amazing, as the plentiful, thick, and soft noodles soaked up and carried all the broth flavor. The bamboo shoots were firm, but soaked in a bit of flavor. The chashu was also quite flavorful and would be worth ordering an additional topping of it next time.

The only minor downside was the egg which was salty and tasty, but a bit overdone.

And lest I forget, the unusual (for a ramen restaurant) curry and rice side dish. While small, at only 190￥ it was well worth the price, as it was chunky, slightly spicy, and quite good to complement the richness of the ramen. Though it is slightly sweet so it’s similar to what you may have eaten at other Japanese curry restaurants.

As you can see, I quite loved their ramen and I will definitely leave it on my list to try again in the future.

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Menya Nanabe (麺屋菜々兵衛) in Sapporo, Hokkaido

Menya Nanabe is a small ramen shop in the suburbs of Sapporo, serving up Michelin-rated Bib Gourmand ramen. With a recommendation like that, how could I pass it?

They had a two-page menu that was relatively simple, but their main seller is their Toripaitan Shio Chicken Ramen for 780￥ ($7 USD). I opted for a large for 50￥ more and a soft-boiled egg for 100￥.

Despite the lunch hour, I only had to wait about 30 minutes before I could get the bowl I was eagerly awaiting. The thin noodles were firm, yet had a delightfully springy texture and the large portion was well worth the extra yen and definitely filled me up. The egg, slice of chicken, and chashu were all flavorful, soft, and deliciously satisfying.

However, all was not perfect. While the broth was decently flavorful, it was a bit thin and watery compared to some famous toripaitan shops Kansai is famous for.

Still, I heartily recommend this place and I could definitely understand why it has a coveted rating from Michelin.

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Hōheikyō Hot Spring (豊平峡温泉) ONSEN Restaurant (ONSEN食堂) in Sapporo, Hokkaido

The Hoheikyo Hot Springs are amazing. The huge outdoor area has plenty of space and nice, sulfur-y hot water at a perfect temperature. I just wished there was a sauna area too, but overall it was a great, relaxing experience.

However, you didn’t come to read about the onsen, did you? Half the reason I went there was because of a recommendation to check out the attached Indian restaurant! In fact, it seemed pretty popular online and at the time, with quite a few customers waiting. For a place literally in the boonies, it was surprising.

They have a huge plastic food display so I can browse the options. I chose the Chicken Masala Curry at a hot spice level for 980￥ ($9 USD) which comes with a regular naan along with a Cheese Naan for 480￥. I really struggled at that latter choice, though… it was between cheese and the local ? berry. At that moment, cheese won over.

Now, I’m pretty familiar with Indian / Nepalese Curry Restaurants in Japan, as I have two within a few minutes from my house and I have visited some dozen or so around the country. I’m not an expert nor am I very knowledgeable, but I think I can say I safely know how it should taste.

That being said, I was pretty disappointed with this place. The curry lacked the depth and spicy flavors of true Indian curry, as it felt it was heavily adjusted for “Japanese” tastes, moreso than other similar shops. I liked the chicken though, oddly enough, the predominate note reminded me of tomato-sauce. I was even imagining it was made from pre-made curry packages with some tomato soup mixed in… not at all Indian.

To add insult to injury, the pricey cheese naan had little cheese and no hints of spices as found in most other places and the regular naan was actually… lukewarm. If the regular naan had additional free servings, it might have been acceptable.

Perhaps it’s unfair for me to say, but I cannot recommend this place due to many of the other better shops like Spice Town in Tsuruga. (Not to say they are “the best,” but comparatively speaking, they are better.) ONSEN Restaurant might be considered good for Hokkaido, but not for Hokuriku.

It was also a mistake to eat after my onsen because of the lingering curry smell, but it was still worth the relaxing trip down to the outskirts of Sapporo.

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Aji no Daio (味の大王) in Tomakomai, Hokkaido

Curry soup is a food famous in Hokkaido, but Aji no Daio also offers a curry ramen version. Although I know it is not the typical curry soup I really wanted to try, my trip to Hokkaido was meant to be a ramen one, so when I was doing a bit of food research, I came across this chain around Hokkaido. And I just happened to be driving by the honten main store in Tomakomai, Hokkaido!

As expected, there was a line even though it wasn’t the peak lunch hour. Their menu has a few options and a few toppings, but I came here for their speciality. What goes great with curry? Cheese! I ordered one of their popular options, a Cheese Curry Ramen for 950￥ ($9 USD). After placing the order, I got a numbered ticket and took a seat. Around 7 or so minutes later, they called my number.

The smell of the curry was quite evident and the cheese looked absolutely mouth-watering. While it definitely is not the most beautiful of dishes as curry tends not to be, I couldn’t wait to dig in. The noodles were soft and the portion very reasonable, every ramen bite carrying the curry flavor. The curry broth itself was not simply just “watered down” curry, as it had plenty of meaty, rich taste. Since the soup was so strong, the cheese was simply not necessary and couldn’t really be distinguished. The chashu, too, was lovely and soft, but I wanted more.

Unless you’re a huge curry lover, though, I found myself halfway through the ramen wanting to cut the taste with some rice or some veggies to lighten it up. Still, it was worth having if you’re in town.

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Iwamotoya (岩本屋) in Tsuruga, Fukui

Iwamotoya is a chain ramen restaurant born in Fukui Prefecture, but the closest one to me is in Tsuruga City. They have the standard varieties of Salt, Soy Sauce, and Tonkotsu ramen and they also often run limited monthly specials. For this season, they have a delicious Vegepote Miso Ramen for 980￥ ($9 USD) and the spicy version is just 1080￥. Sadly, we just missed their previous limited Clam Ramen.

One thing I love about Iwamotoya is their customization options. You can choose the noodle hardness, soup strength, amount of fat, and with or without garlic. If you order a spicy ramen, you can also select the spice level. I don’t know if it’s a recent change, but the large and special large sizes are also the same price! Given those options, I ordered the large, base-level Spicy Vegepote Miso Ramen with thicker broth, highest fat, and garlic.

Iwamotoya’s thicker noodle just soaks up the broth. And the broth was exactly what I hoped; thick, fatty, garlic-y, spicy, and full of flavor. Of course, the flavor profile was a bit plain and heavy, but the raw, chopped onions and bean sprouts helped to lighten the palate. The chashu was thin, but quite soft and delicious. Overall, a great, filling ramen for the price.

My friend clearly didn’t like the raw onions, so she piled them up on me. So the lesson is: avoid this month’s special if you hate them. But by all means, come for their other flavors.

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Myeongdong (明洞2号店) in Tsuruga, Fukui

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.

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.

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!

 

Butanchu (豚人) Ichijoji Honten in Kyoto

Although I've stopped by Butanchu before, I went with my friend to check out their Honten (Main Store) in the Ichijoji area of Kyoto.

This area is famous for a ton of other main stores and amazing shops and Butanchu is no exception. Their huge variety of ramen choices and customizable broth and toppings are amazing... every time I've stopped by one of their shops, it has been delicious.

Instead of the “Bakusho” (LOL) crazy mountain of toppings I ordered last time, I went with their popular Doko Tonkotsu Ramen with Dragon Noodles, thicker broth, more pork fat, and more garlic... all for only 830￥ ($7.60 USD). The price, value, and portion was absolutely perfect. That soft chashu and thick, fatty broth were unbelievable.

The noodles were surprisingly awesome, as one side of the noodles had serration-like teeth that helped to really hold on to that thick broth, hitting me with a spike in flavor with every bite!

Definitely worth coming here again.

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Nakau (なか卯) Chain Restaurants

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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