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HEP Five ferris wheel along with Ippudo (ramen) and Matsuya (gyudon) – Osaka, Japan
What better way to draw attention to your shopping center than to put a giant ferris wheel on top? Ferris wheels weren’t my destination on this evening. Nor were Ippudo or Matsuya (for once). Instead, I was heading to BAR MiDiAN. If you can’t find something of interest in this part of Osaka, well, let’s just say, you may not have any interests.
Mirakutei ramen in Portland, Oregon
Whenever we visit a “big city” these days we try to find the best ramen they offer. Ten years ago such a thing would be impossible in the USA, but there are now decent ramen shops in some places. Portland is one of them. This time we tried Mirakutei (味楽亭). The waitresses were all Japanese. The cooks were Mexican, but the ramen was still authentic.
Three of us had the, above pictured, Tonkotsu Ramen. One other went with the Original. Everyone was satisfied. The Original is your more typical Japanese ramen. The Tonkotsu is subtle but still wonderful.
Mirakutei is east of the river on Burnside.
Tetsu tsukemen storefront Roppongi Station (Tokyo, Japan)
As I exited the Roppongi Station turnstyle I seemed to remember from seeing “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” a couple years ago that his shop was in the underground maze between stations. I had some time to kill so instead of immediately exiting I took a route I hadn’t before. (Turns out I was confused and the original shop is in the Ginza Station, not Roppongi, and his son’s shop is in Roppongi but not in the station.)
I was also hungry so when I saw Tetsu I decided it was a good time to eat as I vaguely remembered seeing it on Ramen Adventures as a top choice.
哲 つけめん
Tetsu looked delicious, and the first couple bites were OK, but I grew tired of it quickly. By the end I decided it wasn’t one of my better ramen or tsukemen experiences. Perhaps the one in Sendagi (千駄木), reviewed by Ramen Adventures, is better.
Beef-based Matador Ramen near Kitasenju Station in Tokyo, Japan
I have always been a fan of the most common types of ramen (pork-based or tonkotsu or 豚骨), miso (味噌ラーメン), shio (salt or 塩ラーメン), and shoyu (soy sauce or 醤油ラーメン). However, it turns out that my favorite kind of ramen is beef based or at least the Matador version of beef-based ramen. I’m pretty sure this bowl was the most delicious I have ever had from beginning to end.
Overheard from the mouth of the owner to a customer as I was eating this bowl is that Matador will soon be opening another store in Takadanobaba! Those of you going to Waseda University will be able to eat this on a nearly daily basis if you so choose. Count yourself lucky and expect a long line!
Honkki Japanese Restaurant menu (near back gate of Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea)
Most Korean restaurants aren’t set up for single, foreign travelers. The menus are only in Korean, the portion sizes (and prices) are for two to four people ordering one thing, and the tables are set up for parties of four (or less frequently parties of two). Some places even turn you away if you come in by yourself. One workaround if you can read Japanese is to patronize Japanese restaurants in Korea. Although the employees won’t likely be able to speak English or Japanese, the two that I have been to have menus in both Korean and Japanese so at least I know what I’m ordering.
On this day I went with the Miso Ramen (みそら～めん).
It was good, one of the better bowls of ramen I’ve had outside Japan. The half a hard-boiled egg was a little different than how eggs are usually served in Japanese Ramen, but other than that it seemed pretty authentic.
Ippudo Ramen (一風堂ラーメン)
I have shown you the red bowl version of Ippudo Ramen (from New York) before. Today’s photo is of the white bowl variety and comes from Takadanobaba in Tokyo, Japan.
Ippudo has now expanded beyond Japan and New York. Buy a first class (or business class) ticket on ANA, and you can have yourself a bowl while in flight.