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Overview
Style: Fukuoka-style Tonkotsu ramen
Overall rating: 9.4/10.0
Location: Fukuoka (Origin), Tokyo, and New York City
I used to work late night all the time in Tokyo (and by late, I'm talking midnight or sometimes 2-3am. It was crazy. I looked back and asked myself from time to time how I managed to pull that off on a daily basis. Anywho, my point is that when you work late, you need a midnight snack to keep you sane and/or awake, either way. So one day my colleagues and I decided we were going to take a break and eat something. One of my colleagues is a Brazilian guy who speaks fluent Japanese (crazy, right?). He's 31 years old and likes to play stuff animals with me in the office (yes my colleagues are very cool). He brought us to this ramen shop in a little corner off from Roppongi crossing. He was telling me that this was the best ramen shop in Japan, and I was like, "this is completely overrated". Apparently it wasn't, as I found out later that the owner of this store has won the ramen master title from the famous TV Champion game show, with the original Hakata style all the way from Fukuoka. The ramen is not the kind that would get you hooked on the first try, but it can grow on you. The sophistication of the broth's flavor and the soft, juicy chachu pork remind you that this is no ordinary ramen.
The Signature Bowl
The must try is no doubt the Akamaru ramen (photos above). The tonkotsu soup is boiled from pork bone simmered with Miso and Sake to give that complex flavorful taste. It is added with a trace of roasted sesame oil to give that fragrant smells spurring your appetite. ALWAYS order with boiled eggs and extra scallions. If you're like me, you will also put in a generous amount of fresh grinded sesame seed and crushed garlic to add texture to the soup. It is recommended that you eat it with one special signature condiment, the kimchi sprouts. The kimchi sprouts actually taste quite good I always snack (a lot) on it before my food comes. But lucky me (and lucky you too) it's all you can eat condiments here ;) The noodles are soft and springy, and I like its medium thickness. The "deluxe" chachu pork with a little bit of fat is soaked in a special tare (sauce) until it reaches the perfect softness and the sauce flavor is completely absorbed into the meat.
What else is on the menu
They also have quite a variety of other flavors, such as the shiromaru ramen, with the original Hakata style tonkotsu broth and hosomen noodles. The one pictured here is the karakamen, one of my favourites here. (I feel the torture writing this blog by the way lol, just so you guys know. It makes me hungry). The soup is the same original recipe tonkotsu base added with miso paste blended with various types of spices to bring out the flavor. It is strongly recommended to slowly dissolve the miso into the tonkotsu soup while letting the scallions or the sprouts to simmer in. Then when you put the scallions or the sprouts into your mouth, you will taste the excellent flavor of the broth slowly dissolving into your mouth. Absolutely ecstatic! They also have various nigiris (rice balls), fried rice, and fried gyoza. The fried gyoza here is mini, bite-size, which I thought was cute. The pork fillings inside were somewhat so-so though.
Price range
Ramen ranges from 800-1000, depending on your choice and toppings (a few hundred yen for each topping). Gyoza is about 500 yen (if I remember correctly).
Ratings
Noodle: 10.0/10.0
Hosomen type. Nice texture.
Soup: 10.0/10.0
I would give it an 11.0 out of 10.0 if I can. The flavor, the fragrant, the texture. Absolutely how I like it.
Toppings: 9.0/10.0
All the basic toppings are there and they did it right. But no special toppings or anything.
Side dishes: 8.0/10.0
Too few variety. The fried rice and the gyoza fillings are very so-so.
Condiments: 10.0/10.0
I love the kimchi beansprouts, self-service crushed garlic and grinded sesame.
Atmosphere: 9.0/10.0
Nice atmosphere with some tables apart from counter seats, a bit cramp though. What is funny is that their wallpapers are made with noodle spoons! Who knows where they get the idea from, but well, a little creativity in your life is always a good thing.
Service and staff: 9.0/10.0
Food is fast. Staff is friendly. They're not too whiny when you keep asking them to refill beansprouts, which is nice :)
Menu variety: 10.0/10.0
The ramen variety is quite diversed.
Location: 10.0/10.0
They have a few locations in Tokyo, many branches in Fukuoka, and a branch in NYC. Very convenient.
Value for money: 9.0/10.0
For something of this class, it's not going to be the cheapest around, but again, there's no close substitution to this.
Overall Rating: 9.4/10.0
Location and access
Store: Roppongi store
Address 4-9-11 Roppongi, Minatoku, Tokyo 106-0032
Access 3 min walk from Roppongi crossing. Take subway Hibiya line or Oedo line and exit to the crossing. The store is behind the Vodafone showroom.
Phone 03-5775-7561
Store hour 11.00am - 4.00am. Friday: 11.00am - 5.00am. Sunday: 11.00am - 1.00am
Store: Fukuoka main store
Address 1-13-14 Chuuo-ku, Fukuoka prefecture
Phone 092-771-0880
Store hour Weekdays and Sunday: 11.00am - midnight. Friday, Saturday, and public holidays: 11.00am - 2.00am
Overview
Style: Spicy tsukemen and ramen.
Overall rating:
Location: Hiroshima (origin), Tokyo, and Taiwan(!)
Hiroshima and a nearby breath-taking island called Miyajima are not to be missed. Hiroshima is the site where the Americans dropped the A-bomb back in WW II. Today it is an interesting historical site where almost all the constructions that the eyes can see are new and built after the devastating destruction, except for one government building which you can still see remnants of it. There is a museum complex dedicated to documenting the terrible effects of war and nuclear bombs on humanity, which is a must visit. How nuclear and radiation create genetic disorders looks scary enough in the movies, but when you can see what actually happened in real lives, those movies are not even half as terrifying. The museum is called the peace museum, for an obvious reason, because I'm sure anyone with some heart would not be able to drop any more nuclear bombs on our planet if you have seen what has happened.
Other than that, Hiroshima and Miyajima will be a pleasant to visit. It's famous for foliage leaves in autumn. Miyajima is also famous for its floating red tori-gate and the floating temple, where you can walk to the tori-gate when the tide is down. Around the area there are many deers walking around. You can rent a bike to ride around the island. The must-try cuisine in miyajima is the oyster, on top of the ramen of course :)
The Signature Bowl
Something you've got to try is, no doubt, this authentic Hiroshima-style spicy tsukemen. The noodles are hand-pulled made fresh everyday, and served cold. They come in a plate topped with generous portion of boiled cabbage, cucumber, sliced spring onion, and sea weed, and two thick pieces of lean chachu pork (it's not quite fatty as the normal chachu). You can choose the four different portions of noodles, which is perfect for someone who perfers not to eat lots of carbs like me. Do not miss to add the hard-boiled egg topping. The broth is made with the store's secret chilli paste, and you can choose the level of spiciness. Here are the levels on the menu and it was quite funny I'm gonna have to translate it for you guys.
0 : Even babies can handle it1 : For people who can usually handle a bit of spice
2 : Where do we go from here!!??
3 - 5 : For people who likes it spicy
6 - 10 : Sweat sweat sweat! falling from your face
11 - 15: I can see fire coming out of your mouth! (this is my level)
16 -20 : WAGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
The way I like to take it is to dip every single bite into the broth before eating it (egg, vegetables, noodles, pork, everything). When you soaked it in the broth, everything just tastes about a million times better. I also put in extra sesame into the spicy broth, or dipped the noodle in to the spicy broth then sprinkle the sesame over before putting everything into my mouth. The soft noodles soaked in the spicy soup, covered with sesame, really give a good blend of the spice and the extra texture and smell of sesame seeds.
What else is on the menu
I usually order a set lunch of spicy tsukemen with either Onigiri (rice ball wrapped in seaweed), Karaage (Crispy fried chicken), or Gyoza. The fried chicken is very well done here, with only breast meat, no bones, and the fried batter is just about right to give that crispy crunchy feel without being too oily. It came with a pepper-salt dip, but I bypass it and dip the fried chicken into the spicy broth instead, hmmmm!!! I also like the nigiri here, because they use the Korean sylte seaweed for the wrap. It is very crispy and has a fragrant smell of sesame oil. They also have tsekusoba, a few other types of tsukemen, and ramen, which is also a good alternative if you like it hot rather than cold. Available toppings are eggs (3 different boiled levels), bean sprouts, extra vegetables or chachu pork, and seaweed. For dessert, they have almond tofu, which sweet almond taste and soft creamy texture to calm you down after all the spices.
Price range
750 - 1000 yen, depending on noodle portion. Side dishes are about 400-500 yen (gyoza, karaage). Toppings 100-300 yen each. Set lunch is a good deal where you can add gyoza or karaage, and onigiri for only 200 yen.
Atmosphere
The shop has mostly counter seats with some tables, but the moment you walk in, there will be something that will definitely catch your eyes. It's the wallpaper made from wishboard! Now you may ask, what the hell is wishboard? Can I eat it? (No...). If you have been to temples in Japan, I'm sure you have seen the big bulletin board where people hang a smaller wooden board with their written wishs on it. It is always fun to read them and look for people you may know (I have successfully and coiincidentally found a board written by my friends in English from the states!). Here at Bakudanya, it's pretty much the same concept, although people pretty much draw or write whatever they want on it, not necessarily wishes. At your table, you will see a few empty wooden boards with color markers, and from here, only your imagination is the limit. They also play contemporary Japanese karaoke songs, which remind me of countless crazy karaoke allnighters with my friends.
Ratings
Noodle: 9.0/10.0.
I like the texture overall. They also have a thin soba type noodle if you don't like the hoso-men type.
Soup: 10.0/10.0.
I applaud the secret chilli paste with the sesame, they compliment the taste real well.
Toppings: 10.0/10.0.
Good variety, and they all taste pretty good.
Side dishes: 10.0/10.0.
The taste of the side dishes is just perfect, with good variety to choose from. The fried chicken is really crispy and it goes so well with the spicy dipping.
Condiments: 9.0/10.0.
They have all the right condiments here (shoyu, vinegar, chilli oil) and of course the all you can sprinkle sesame seeds, love it!
Atmosphere: 8.0/10.0.
The usual small place, but I love the fun idea of the wishboard (it keeps you busy when you're waiting for your food).
Service and staff: 9.0/10.0.
It's clean and quick, though there isn't anything I feel exceptionally impressed with.
Menu variety: 8.5/10.0.
The variety of the side dishes is superb, but the noodle menu itself has only about 3 or 4 choices on it. Extra points for the flexibility of the spicy level.
Location: 9.0/10.0.
Only 3 stores in the west of Tokyo, but they do have about 11 stores in Hirosima and also taiwan.
Value for money: 9.0/10.0.
The set lunch is a really good deal, but only two pieces of chachu will not satisfy meat eaters.
Overall Rating
9.2/10.0
Location and Access
Nishi-shinjuku store:
Address 7-7-27 1F Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Access 10min walk from JR Shinjuku station
Phone 03-5338-7569
Store hour 11:00 - 23:00
Hiroshima store:
Address Miyauchi Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, 4489-1
Phone 0829-38-4251
Store hour 11:30 - 24:00
Overview
