Asia 2013: Know Your Noodle

I'll admit that, on my first trip to Japan in 2010, my first impression of Tokyo was not the best. Granted I only gave myself approximately 2 days to enjoy a mega-city like that, and it was on the tail-end of the trip and I was sad about the idea of returning to work so soon. But one of the best things I took away from my first time in Tokyo was meeting up with my friend Nai for my first ever bowl of real ramen.

2010: Niboshi (fish-flavored broth) ramen at Nagi in Golden Gai, Shinjuku

On my 2nd trip in 2012, over the course of 10 days, my friends and I had at least 5 bowls of ramen each. It ranged from thick and spicy miso broth to the light and understated/underrated shio (sea-salt flavored) broth.

This time around, I knew I was going to have just a hot minute in Japan, and a couple of days were already accounted for. So I did a little research into what is the one bowl of ramen I should have on my layover in Tokyo before arriving in Singapore.

Fortunately, there's a number of American expat bloggers dedicated to sampling all of Tokyo's best ramen joints. The one in Ueno that they give glowing recommendations is Ramen Daiki Tenjinshita. They specialize in more of a chicken-based recipe. When I arrived, the first good sign was the line of people out the door.

Shoyu (soy sauce flavored) at Ramen Daiki Tenjinshita in Ueno

At first, the soup tasted like little more than chicken broth. But going deeper, I realized there was a lot more going on. It was nice and light like shio broth. I guess I've gotten so used to the thick tonkotsu (pork bone) broth that's more popular, and is available at Austin ramen houses Michi Ramen and Ramen Tatsu-ya. This soup was subtly complex, light, and doesn't bog you down in the end. And the toppings of green onion and clover sprouts accented it perfectly. So did the chashu (pork belly), cooked so well that the fat was nicely rendered off but the meat still tender enough to break apart with the slightest bit of chopstick pressure.


About a week later, after being shown the wonders of the foodie metropolis that is Singapore, and after rediscovering real relaxation off the gulf of Thailand, I got to spend 2 days with Nai in his swank Osaka bachelor pad. That 2nd night, he took me out for what would probably ruin me for this variety of ramen for the rest of life.

Itadakimasu

Tsukemen is a style of ramen where the soup is kept separate from the noodles so that you can dip each mouthful of noodles in it. San Ku (三く) is a special tsukemen shop in that it's not run by your typical ramen chef. It's been in operation for about 1 year now, and the chef is trained more in classical Japanese cuisine. So he takes flavors and techniques you find in fancy Japanese haute-cuisine, and twists them into his soup.

Thick noodles topped with what we think is dried husks of rice/wheat grains. And dat soup.

Normally, when you see the soup that thick and cloudy, it's from the marrow and fat rendered out of the pork bones. San Ku's soup, on the other hand, is flavored with bonito fish (?) and is thickened with grated Japanese mountain potato. I first learned about the mountain potato at my splurge-meal during my first visit to Kyoto. So you don't feel as bogged down and heavy in the end as you would with a tonkotsu soup.

Another feature the chef puts into the soup is a stash of "treasure" at the bottom of the bowl: bits of Japanese pickled plum (umeboshi) and shiso leaf under a super thin slice of crunchy lotus root. Shiso is like basil + mint + parsley + love. Umeboshi is strong and sour on your first try, but in small amounts it really enhances other flavors in your mouth, and it's pickled with some shiso leaf.

Nai tells me that he's gone to San Ku so many times now that he and the chef know each other by name now. And that sometimes when Nai goes to the shop, he's privileged with samples of the chef's new experimental recipes. Now I'm determined to change jobs to a company that will let me expat in the Osaka area.


Good God, I'm in shiso withdrawal right now.