三四郎 (Sanshiro)

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特うしお、¥980。
Toku Ushio(salt-base soup), Y980.

I tried this ramen shop without reading up about it beforehand and once I went inside the shop, I thought maybe it was a bad idea because the ramen shop was completely empty at lunch time on a Sunday. But the quality of the “Toku Ushio” turned out to be high; other items on the menu which I tried over a couple of visits, were all good. The shop had more customers on weekdays but still it is never crowded as far as I see. Maybe it’s the problem with the price, which is slightly higher than other ramen shops in the area, and the location is kinda hidden away. I know a ramen shop which is on the main road, the ramen is cheaper and bigger in portion but tastes no good, yet that shop always has queue waiting outside. As I was hoping that Sanshiro wouldn’t close down before I post this entry, it turns out that it is a branch of a very famous ramen shop called “Nakamuraya”. I’ve never visited “Nakamuraya” because it’s far from central Tokyo but I kept seeing it on gourmet show and review blogs etc. Well Sanshiro is good enough for me and I like the fact that I don’t have to wait.
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まさら(カレーらーめん)+ごはん、¥950。
魚粉醤油つけめん、¥800。
Masara(Curry ramen) + plain rice, Y950.
Fish-meal soy sauce Tsukemen, Y800.
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ランチセット: むらさき+ネギ塩チャーシュー飯、¥1000。
Lunch set: Murasaki(soy sauce base soup) + chashu rice with leek and special “salt” sauce.
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ランチセット: かけうしお+チャーシューのたたき飯、¥850。
あじ玉、¥150。
Lunch set(Y850): Kake-Ushio(Ushio with no toppings) + chashu tataki rice bowl with ponzu sauce. I ordered the seasoned egg(Y150) as extra topping after the staff told me that “kake” is a plain ramen. So “Toku Ushio” has the most toppings, “Ushio” is regular, “Kake-Ushio” has no toppings.

Menu: 1, 2.

三四郎 (Sanshiro)
Add: 3-26 Ogawamachi, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3294-5346

Poppoya (ぽっぽっ屋)

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The owner of this ramen shop used to work in Jiro, which explains the resemblance to Jiro in taste and style. I’ve tried the Suidoubashi branch near Tokyo Dome(left pic) and the Nihonbashi honten(right pic) which is the original shop. The two shops are similar in quality – Nihonbashi branch is a little bit more expensive(talking about ~30 yen difference), and Suidoubashi branch is less shabby and is easier to go in for female customers.

I really love the thick and chewy noodles here. The soup is Tonkotsu(pork bone broth) and soy sauce based, which is nice but I find it too salty to drink on its own. So rather then soup ramen, it’s more like ramen mixed with sauce. Just like Jiro, it’s free to ask for extra vegetable(mostly beansprouts), extra onion, extra pork fat, stronger taste, and garlic.

In the following, left pic is from Suidoubashi, right pic is from Nihonbashi.
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海の塩らーめん、¥780。+味玉子、¥100。
Umi no Shio(Sea Salt) Ramen, Y780. Ajitamago(boiled flavoured egg), Y100.
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油らーめん、¥780。
Aburamen(Y780) is the most popular item. Left one has garlic topping. Right one has ajitamago topping(I didn’t know Aburamen would come with egg already!).
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らーめん、¥700。+味玉子、¥100。
Regular Ramen, Y700. Ajitamago, Y100. Left one has garlic topping.
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つけらーめん、¥780。
Tsukemen, Y780. Left one has extra vegetable topping.
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冷やしサラダらーめん、¥850。
Chilled Salad Ramen, Y850. I only tried it in Suidoubashi branch, not sure if it is available in Nihonbashi. Pretty nice but gets a bit salty towards the end – too much dressing. Right pic is a branch in Yushima(near Ueno park). I just walked past but didn’t try.

Suidoubashi Branch’s menu here and free topping menu here.

English review here.

ぽっぽっ屋 (Poppoya)

Nihonbashi Honten
Add: 16-12 Kodenmachou, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: 03-3666-2151

Suidoubashi Branch
Add: 2-21-11, Misakichou, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-5211-8556

九州じゃんがら (Kyusyu Jangara)

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九州じゃんがら(角肉・味玉子入り)、¥900。
Honten(original shop) in Akihabara.
Regular Kyushu Jangara ramen(tonkotsu or pork-bone broth) with ajitama(flavoured boiled egg) and buta-kakuni(stewed fatty pork) for toppings, Y900.
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ぼんしゃん、¥700。 からぼん(全部入り)、¥1150。
Bonshan, Y700. The straight Tonkotsu broth has a really strong pork smell which is a bit too much for me.
Karabon (zenbu-iri), Y1150. A spicy version of Bonshan. The spice covers up the pork smell perfectly so I enjoy it much more than Bonshan.
“Zenbu-iri” means “with all the toppings”. The ajitama is hard-boiled so I’m not so crazy about it. Other toppings included are buta kakuni and chashu(roasted pork) and mentaiko(spicy cod roe).
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きのこむぎちゃん、¥850。チャーシュー、¥200。味玉子、¥100。
肉そぼろごはん、¥250。
Mugi-chan with mushroom(autumn menu), Y850. Additional toppings of chashu(Y200) and ajitama(Y100). The regular Mugi-chan without the mushroom is available all year round. Mugi comes from a slightly sweet Mugi(barley)-miso which is blended into the soup.
On the right is Niku-soboro-gohan(rice with chopped and seasoned meat), Y250.
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九州じゃんがら みそ、¥650。 ドライカレー、¥180。
Kyushu Jangara Miso, Y650. The miso used is the regular kind and is not as sweet as the one used in Mugi-chan.
Dry-curry rice, Y180.
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こぼんしゃん、¥700。めんたいマヨごはん、¥250。
Kobonshan(Garlic flavour), Y700.
Mentaiko and Mayonnaise rice, Y250.
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スプリングじゃんがら(カレーと春野菜)、¥680。
レッドじゃんがら(激辛)、¥700。
Curry and spring vegetable(spring menu), Y680. I really like this one. Too bad it is not available anymore.
Red Jangara(super spicy and has tomato flavour), Y700. It is the seasonal menu available at the moment…..but it is so spicy that I can’t taste anything after a while….
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ホットつけちゃん(魚貝風味の醤油味)、¥800。
The branch near Kanda station.
Hot Tsuke-chan(fish and soy sauce based soup), Y800.
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コールドつけちゃん、¥780。
Cold version of Tsuke-chan is available in summer, Y780. Plus Kakuni topping.

Ironically, my favourite ramen after trying all the variations in Jangara is Hot Tsuke-chan, which is NOT tonkotsu broth that Jangara is specialised in or Kyushu ramen is famous for. ^^;;; The noodles for Hot Tsuke-chan is thicker and more chewy compared to the thin noodles for other menu(thin noodles is Kyushu style though). Somehow when I order “kaedama”(additional portion of noodles to add to the leftover soup, Y150), the noodles is a lot harder and much nicer. Unfortunately I find it a bit embarassing to ask for “katamen”(hard noodles) from the start because it’s embarassing enough to be the only female in the shop, but if you are a guy and you like al dente, I suggest you request for “katamen”.

I tried a couple of side rice bowl but they are nothing special. Better to save stomach space for kaedama.

There are a couple of branches(e.g. Harajuku, Akasaka) and each of them has only a few variations of ramen available at a certain period of time(e.g. at night only). I managed to try all the variations by visiting the Akihabara original shop, the branch in Kanda, and the branch in Nihonbashi. Do check what is available in each branch from their homepage.

Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

九州じゃんがら (Kyusyu Jangara)

Akihabara Honten
Add: 2-17-6 Soto-Kanda 3-11-6, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3251-4059

Kanda Nishi-guichi branch
Add: 2-11-8 Uchi-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03 -3251 -4905

二代目つじ田 味噌の章 (Nidaime Tsujita Miso no Shou)

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玉子入り味噌らーめん、¥900。
Miso ramen with half-cooked egg, Y900.
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玉子入り辛味味噌らーめん、¥1000。
Spicy miso ramen with half-cooked egg, Y1000.

I had just posted an entry of the soba shop opened by my favourite ramen shop Tsujita only a while ago, and I was a bit surprised to find out that the soba place has already closed down and the same location has now turned into a new ramen shop also run by Tsujita. The new ramen shop specialised in Hokkaido miso ramen – regular miso or spicy miso. I’ve tried them both and I really like them! Usually Hokkaido-style miso ramen is too salty and oily for me, but Tsujita’s version is mild enough that I can actually drink the soup without feeling ill afterwards. I also like the finely-chopped seaweed – apparently Yamagata-style – that you are supposed to mix into the soup bit by bit.

Location is about 10 mins walk from Akihabara. Open on Sat and Sun too. There is no queue yet even on weekends.

Menu here.

二代目つじ田 味噌の章 (Nidaime Tsujita Miso no Shou)
Add: 1-1, Ogawamachi, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku

太陽のトマト麺 (Taiyo no Tomato men)

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A chain ramen shop near Tokyo Dome that promotes LOHAS(heathy + environmental friendly). Usually I try not to go near chain/franchise food joints simply because of the high chance of having a 21-year-old part-timer cooking in the kitchen, but this shop is alright even though the cook is different depends on the day of the week and all of them are pretty young. Their homepage says the soup base is low-fat chicken, the noodles have soy milk blended in, the vegetables are low in agricultural chemicals, and organic tomatoes from Italy are used(why not use local ones? ). Healthy claims aside, I think the food is not bad in general, and it does feel good to have a bowl of noodles that is not oily or salty and has a lot of tomatoes in it. Plus it is cheap, it is non-smoking, and it opens all day, everyday of the week.
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太陽のチーズラーメン、¥830。らぁリゾ、¥150。
Cheese ramen. “Risotto” that you can put into the leftover tomato soup.
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鶏パイタンBランチ(鶏パイタン麺+鶏めし)、¥780。
Lunch set available during Mon-Sat lunch hours. Chicken paitan(white soup) ramen + chicken rice.
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太陽のボンゴレ麺、¥880。唐揚げ、¥100。
Vongole-men. The clams are just toppings. Kara-age(fried chicken). This one is juicy but I had a really dry one before.
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太陽のエッグラーメン、¥780。にんにくネギめし、¥280。
Egg ramen. Garlic and spring onion rice.
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鶏パイタン麺全部のせ(にんにく・味付玉子・アオサのり・ねぎザル盛)、¥930。
チーズの包み揚げ、¥380。
Chicken Paitan ramen with all the toppings(garlic, seasoned egg, seaweed, spring onion). Fried cheese dumplings.
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太陽の茄子ラーメン、¥800。替玉たまご、¥200。
Aubergine ramen(slightly spicy). Kaedame-tamago(extra portion of noodles plus a raw egg to put into leftover soup).
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アサリ野菜炒め、¥480。炙り鶏チャーシュウ麺、¥780。
Clams and vegetables. Chicken charshu-men – the chicken is heated with a burner.
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太陽のAランチ(太陽のラーメン+ネギめし)、¥850。ランチ味玉、¥50。
Lunch set available during Mon-Sat lunch hours. Taiyo no ramen + spring onion rice. Plus a seasoned egg topping(Y50 at lunch time)

Menu(J): 1, 2, 3.

太陽のトマト麺 (Taiyo no Tomato men)
Add: 2-17-8 Misakicho, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3239-4343

大喜 (Daiki)

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とりそば(塩味)、850円。味玉子、100円。
Tori-soba – chicken ramen. I thought simmered egg was not included so I ordered it as extra toppings…ended up with 1.5 portion….^^;; This ramen reminds me so much of Cantonese soup noodles because of the clear chicken soup, the soft and juicy chicken topping instead of pork, and the thin noodles used. Very very good!

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n731336567_511166_4712(Mar 22, 2008)
とりそば(塩味)、850円。みそらーめん、¥800。餃子。
Tori-soba. Miso ramen.Gyoza.

0905110026(May 11, 2009)
特製醤油らーめん、¥950。
Special shoyu ramen. The soup is okay but the noodles is soggy…

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(May 14, 2009)
かしわもりそば(太麺)、¥900。
Kashiwa Morisoba. Thick cold noodles with hot dipping soup which is chicken-based and has chicken meat and chicken meat balls in it. The soup is great but the noodles is too soggy again.

大喜 (Daiki)

粋な一生 (Iki na Isshou)

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特製醤油ラーメン、¥750。味玉、¥100。チャーシュー丼、¥300。
Tokusei Shoyu Ramen(Special soy sauce noodle) plus Aji-tamago(seasoned boiled egg). Chashu-don(rice with roasted pork).
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味噌つけ麺、¥850。
Miso Tsukemen.
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塩ラーメン、¥700。味玉、¥100。味噌ラーメン、¥750。
Shio(Salt) Ramen plus Aji-tamago. Miso ramen.
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つけ麺(塩味)、¥750。手作り餃子、¥300。
Tsukemen(Salt-based soup). Store-made Gyoza(only available at dinner and Saturday lunch).
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0811140054醤油ラーメン、¥650。炒飯、¥600。
Shoyu Ramen. Fried rice(available at dinnertime only).

Ramen shop in Akihabara. Doesn’t usually have queues except busy weekday lunch hour. I like the soup(shio, miso, shoyu) here which is not too salty and full of flavour, but unfortunately the noodles leave a lot to be desired….for this reason I enjoy the ramen with soup more than tsukemen. My favourite is Tokusei Shoyu Ramen. Aji-tamago is a must-add topping. “Rice service” at lunch time where you get a small bowl of rice for free. The portion for fried rice is a bit too big for me to eat with the ramen but it is nice too.

Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

粋な一生(Iki na Isshou)
Add: 1-27-2 Taito, Taito-ku
Tel: 03-3837-8117