San Francisco 07.11 (6) - Sapporoya Ramen

John and I were walking inside JapanTown, and were wondering what we should have for lunch. There were plenty of shops to choose from, but I didn't see anything in particular that caught my eye... until I saw a sign that read "Sapporo-ya (Sapporo House)" and the word "ramen."

It was on the second floor of the farther side (from Kabuki) of JapanTown Mall, a small shop that got my attention. The exterior of the shop did not look particularly promising, but I thought of the fact that some of the best shops I had been to look nothing special, either. I would give it a try.

From what I knew,  Sapporo-style ramen focuses on its miso-flavor-base soup, which I had not tried much, so when we were deciding which ramens to try, we chose regular charshu and miso charshu ramen. We also got an order of homemade gyoza. 

The pickled cabbages that came first were fine, and the "salad" that came with the gyoza  were an interesting touch. The gyoza themselves were fresh and tasty.

And then the ramen came. Oh my goodness weren't they yummy. Sapporo-ya prides itself for it house-made noodles, and I totally agree with them, but boy oh boy, the char-shu pork was also cooked to perfection (and they give you plenty of it,) and the soups (both the regular soy and the miso ones) had great flavors and texture.

These were probably some of the best ramens I'd had since Japan.

Oh, and the noodle room at Sapporo-ya reminded me of this tiny soba place in Kyoto that John and I visited.

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Ikebukuro: Kohmen Ramen

There were many wonderful ramen shops in Ikebukuro, and we tried to go to a few of them while in Tokyo.

On our way to Mutekiya Ramen the first night we were in Tokyo, we saw Kohmen, where I had read about it being a top ramen shop as well.

The shop was fairly close to our hotel, so when we were wanting ramen again, off we went.


Kohmen, Ikebukuro.

It was raining and a bit chilly that day, but who cares, we were going to have hot and yummy ramen.


People eating ramen at the counter.

The space was long and skinny, where we had to stand and wait behind the customers eating at the counter. No big deal. A lot of ramen shops were actually designed this way for efficiency, where the chefs could cook the ramen, and serve it to the customers across the counter right away. Plus if there's anyone waiting in line, those who are eating tend to not take too long to finish their noodles and soup, hence you get people in and out of the store quicker.

It actually didn't take too long before we were seated. My constant stares at the eating customers worked.


Now what should I get?


The Kohmen chefs.

I belive the guy on the left was the head chef. He was in charge of the soup stock and finishing "plating" before handing it to the customers. He was also helping the other guys with their stations and checking the noodles.


John got their Original Ramen.

The Original Ramen has soy sauce-based stock, while their "developed" ramen has a pork-bone based soup stock. I got the "developed" kind... but somehow the photo didn't turn out.


The plate of yummy "toppings" that came with the ramen.

You could order the ramen by itself, which had basic char-shu (grilled pork), seasoned bamboo shoots, and other vegetables, but if you ordered a "set," then you'd also get a plate full of "toppings" that go with the ramen soup.

The chefs were pretty serious, but when John and I smiled at them and said the ramen was oishii (yummy), they smiled back and thanked us and said bunch of other words that we didn't understand.

Ahhh I want ramen!

[Tokyo Fall 2008] Ikebukuro: Mutekiya Ramen

After we arrived in Tokyo, we took Narita Express (JR) and got to Ikebukuro. We checked into our hotel and decided to go to Mutekiya to have ramen.

I did some research and found that Mutekiya probably had the best ramen in Ikebukuro, and off we went. According to their web site, Mutekiya is about a 3-minute walk away from the east exit of the Ikebukuro station. I don't quite remember how long we walked when we got to the shop, but it was definitely more than 3 minutes.

We walked along Meji Dori and arrived at Mutekiya.


"Mutekiya" in kanji.

While we were in line I had to take pictures!


Mutekiya's famous "ramen bowl/wok" sign, where the ingredients of the ramen were illustrated.


After a few minutes wait, a girl from the shop brought us the menu, and took our order. Both John and I ordered their signature ramen (the one on the top right of the page), and I got a side bamboo shoots and "soft center" egg (each for 100yen).

We were able to get seated pretty soon after the girl took our order. We were guided to the seats at the bar that's facing the kitchen.


There are a few pitchers of jasmin tea concentrate (on the right side of the photo) and iced water, where customers can mix the two and make yummy iced teas to their desired strength. I drank a few glasses.


My ramen and sides. Yay!

Mutekiya's ramen was delicious. John and I thought their pork slices were probably the thickest and had the best textures and flavors among all the ramen we had on this trip. Yumminess.


There were also spicy pickles and "no-stink" garlic on the counter.


It was fun to watch and listen to people enjoy their ramen! Notice you can see John's open mouth in the photo. hahaha.

Mutekiya's ramen definitely gave our trip a great start!

P.S. These photos were taken with our Sony camcorder.