Epic Tsukemen Ramen at Rokurinsha

Situated somewhere on the basement floor of the busy Tokyo station lies one of the best Tsukemen Ramen I've ever had so far. Tsukemen is a Japanese noodle dish consisting of ramen that is consumed after first dipping it in a separate bowl of soup. There seems to always have a lineup regardless of how late or how early you arrive; it's honestly that good. Just when you thought you could beat the system, there's a ton of other locals and foreigners alike that are trying to do the same thing as what you're doing.

Tokusei Tsuken

I ended up ordering the most expensive item on the machine since I didn't want to settle for anything less after waiting for over 30 minutes. It was the one that was priced at 1050 YEN which has the addition of shredded pork in the broth. The noodles were cooked perfectly "Al Dente" - nice and chewy. I don't usually praise much with how noodles are cooked but boy it was perfection. I don't know if anyone could master what they did to it. The broth was made of both chicken and pork bones with many dried fish flakes (bonito, mackerel, sardines). It also had green onions, fish cake, a slice of Chasu (fatty braised pork) and seaweed. There was also what I believed to be some sort of dry fish powder which gives it a very fishy flavor to the broth that I never had tasted ever before and it surprisingly works very well together.Without hesitation, I would come here to eat my Tsukemen when I'm in the area.

Ramen Vending Machine

Egg soft-boiled to Perfection!

Store Front

Name: Rokurinsha Tokyo Tokyo Ramen Street
Address: Tokyo Station Ichibangai B1, Tokyo Ramen Street, 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan
Google Maps: Click Here!
Website: Click Here!

Ramen Newbie? Try this place and you'll wonder why you waited for so long!

Yes that's right! The worst kept secret is revealed! One of the places to get the various interpretations of ramen is somewhere in Japan. This place is called Ichiran (一蘭) Ramen. Unfortunately they don't like the idea of franchising outside Japan but recently they cave in into allowing one in Hong Kong but I'm sure it took a TON of convincing as Ichiran has been around for over 50 years. Don't get too hopeful on expecting one in the United States anytime soon :(

Their specialty is Tonkotsu Ramen and its soup is pork-based broth. Much like KFC, Ichiran's original red sauce consists of 30 types of spices and it's only known by 3 of their "experts". Their sliced pork is so naturally sweet and complements the broth and noodles very nicely. They claim that they have a special water filtration system in place to make their noodle tastes amazing and easy on the stomach and liver. I can kind of believe this as I have drank their broth completely on multiple occasions and never felt bloated or uneasy at all afterwards. For the health minded individuals, it has 0% trans fats!

On to the details, you have the ability to customize the ramen to your preferences by choosing the following:

• Flavor Strength
• Richness (oiliness)
• Garlic
• Green onion
• Sliced pork (shoulder meat)
• Red Sauce
• Noodle texture

They are so keen to detail that I was able to distinguish the differences in the above (richness and spice level) with my friend's bowl that tagged along to try this place.

Without a doubt, this is a must-try ramen joint in Japan! It is one of the best ramen out there.

Name: Ichiran (一蘭)
Location: Shinjiku branch, 新宿3-34-11 ピースビルB1F, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan 160-0022
(Don't worry they have a ton of branches throughout Japan)
Website: Click Here
Google Maps: Click Here

Order from a Vending Machine

Tickets are printed

Perfectly Cooked Egg!

Victory!

Best Classic Tonkotsu Ramen I've ever had so far!

I had another local friend take me to one of his favorite places to eat his Ramen and I have got to say it exceeded my expectations. This place in English is called Ichiran. Coming back to my previous post about how Japanese enjoy being alone or perhaps raised in a culture like this and keeping to themselves with little interaction around the world, notice the arrangement of this place! You also have to order using a Vending Machine here too! There's no concept of group eating at all. It basically feels like a bunch of individual photo booths and you can't even see the chefs making your meal! It's absolutely dead quiet in here aside from people slurping on their noodles which is customary as a sign to the chefs that you enjoy the food (quite the opposite in the Chinese behaviors when it comes to consuming noodles). You just are given a piece of paper and pencil in each booth and you just simply slide the paper in front and all you will see is a hand to take your order. Luckily enough we had our local friend ask for English translated papers so we could customize our Ramen without any struggling. You can customize your Ramen any way you want, these were some options:

Flavor Strength - was recommended Medium as a first timer
Richness - was recommended medium as well for first timer
Garlic - how much do you love Garlic?
Green Onion - how much you love Green Onion?
Sliced Pork
Secret Sauce - was recommended regular as a first timer
Noodle texture - up to you!

Once you have placed your order and your food comes, they close the drapes all the way down to leave you in peace to eat your food. Even getting your tea is self serve. It's really quite the experience, I've never been to a place that runs like this before.

I don't usually drink the broth but it was so good that I drank the whole soup! My friend told me to either finish it because they is some writing at the bottom of the bowl for the ones that finish the broth! Unfortunately I forgot what it said but I'm sure it was something cool like how fortune cookies work! I really want to believe that their broth was MSG (mono sodium glutamate) free because I did not feel sleepy or too thirsty after my meal which are usually obvious indicators on whether and how much MSG was in my food.The noodles were cooked to perfection as well and they were home-made! It was super bouncy which is usually a term to describe how good the quality of the noodle is aside from cooking it. If someone says that the noodles were super bouncy, it's high appraisal! The sliced pork was marinated and cooked really well. They focused on the natural sweetness of the meat. I also ordered a whole egg (100 YEN or $1 USD dollars extra) which was cooked perfectly! The yolk was bright orange and had amazing flavor and texture. Tasted much better than what I have had in the USA. Some other worthy notes about this place is that there's ZERO trans fat in their food and contain Natural Collagen in their broths which is a type of protein fibrous in nature that is good for skin strength and elasticity (or health and beauty)!

This place reminds of how KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is very hush hush about their secret ingredients that Colonel Sanders came up with. Ichiran's original red sauce has 30 types of spices that were aged and cooked slowly for nights and days. The secret recipe is only known by 3 of their experts.

Definitely for all the Ramen lovers, this is a MUST try! You will not be disappointed!

Name: Ichiran (一蘭)
Website: http://www.ichiran.co.jp/english/html/map.html
Phone: 03-3796-7281 (Roppongi location)
Address: Roppongi GM Building 2F, 4-11-11 Roppongi Minato-ku Tokyo-to 106-0032
Google Maps: Click Here!

Second Floor

 

Front Entrance

Vending Machine

My Order - Ramen Soup and Egg

Individual booths

Completely blocked off as if you were inside a voting booth!

Slightly opened near the bottom so they can take your order/piece of paper

Customize

Classic Tonkotsu Ramen from the 60s!

Delicious Noodles!

Soft Boiled Egg Perfection

Victory!

03-3796-7281