Restaurant #51: Ramen Kagetsu Arashi, Taipei

I thought it was almost impossible to find a real Japanese ramen outside of Japan, but I was wrong. I finally found the one in Taipei! I know pretty good one in Los Angeles, but this is really like modern Japanese ramen. It is called “Ramen Kagetsu Arashi”, originally from Tokyo of Japan. I am a huge fan of Sapporo Ramen and have some bad experience with ramen of other areas, but this Tokyo style has some interesting flavors!

Ramen Kagetsu Arashi has several branches in Taiwan, and one branch is located in a new department store. 統一阪急百貨台北店 is very easy to access from MRT station. Many people are waiting in line everyday, as well as this day. After waiting for 10 min, a waiter led my friend and I to a small table. We ordered Chinese Chive & Egg Fried Rice (鉄板イタめしニラ玉味) and their signature item, Garlic Genkotsu Ramen (ニンニクげんこつらあめん), and an extra small Garlic Pork Rice (ニンニク豚めし).

Chinese Chive & Egg Fried Rice (韭菜玉子鐵板炒飯)

韭菜玉子鐵板炒飯, TW$ 160, was my friend’s choice. It was a great choice for not only taste but also entertainment. On the Teppan plate, beaten egg, rice with some ingredients and Katsuobushi were prepared. A waitress mixed all those in front of us beautifully. Of course, we could do it by ourselves, but first time is better to see how the professional do. (^^)

It was some sort of art that the color of beaten egg slowly changed, and smell of katsuobushi was mouth-watering. After mixed with rice, it was okay to eat right away, or also find to wait for a while to make Okoge.

Garlic Genkotsu Ramen (大蒜拳骨拉麵)

My choice was Garlic Genkotsu Ramen (大蒜拳骨拉麵), TW$ 160. For the first time, I was surprised that taste of the soup was Real. Lots of grated garlic and Seabura (背脂) make the soup strong and a bit salty. Taiwanese friends are all told me that the soup was too salty for them. Then, you can ask the worker to add boiled water to adjust saltiness.

Chashu was beautifully lying on the soup surface. Two slices; juicy and tender. If you like Chashu, you can order Chashu Ramen or add extra slices.

A half of boiled egg was in perfect condition. Bamboo Shoots didn’t have strong taste as other Taiwanese dishes, so that it didn’t kill the good smell from the soup, which was great. Green onion (negi), two slices of Chashu (チャーシュー), and Nori (Seaweed: のり) were all decorated perfectly.

If you like, you can add extra topping. I added Wakame Seaweed (わかめ) with extra TW$ 30.

Garlic Pork Rice (蒜香肉燥飯)

We ordered extra small rice called 蒜香肉燥飯 (ニンニク豚めし) (TW$ 45). This was a bit disappointment. A worker might have forgotten to bring the item right away. Once they served the rice to us, it was already cold and the meat over the rice was dry… If it was a real quality of this item, then they must improve the quality.

Overall, I love their ramen and service. All workers were friendly and energetic. Since this first experience, I frequently visit there and enjoy real Japanese ramen. (^^)

Total: TW$ 435 (for 2 people + 10% service fee)

Ramen Kagetsu Arashi: らあめん花月嵐
http://www.kagetsu.co.jp/index.html (Japan)
http://www.gbj-tw.com/ (Taiwan)
# Please check the closest branch from your location.

Restaurant #31: Ramen Sanpachi ラーメンさんぱち, Taipei

I went to New York New York, the popular mall in Xinyi district, to have Dim sum. Unfortunately, the dim sum restaurant was used for two weddings and was not available for dinner that day. Oh well… I needed to change our plan. My friend and I went to downstairs to find some restaurants, and oh my… I found one ramen restaurant there… from… Hokkaido!

I know I already ate Ramen yesterday, but I couldn’t stop myself. I entered the restaurant unconsciously! This is called さんぱちラーメン (八八八拉麵), Ramen Sanpachi. The last time I ate at Ramen Sanpachi in Sapporo was about 15 years ago, therefore I could not compare the taste between original and Taiwanese-style. According to the menu at the store, all the sauces and ingredients were imported from Hokkaido. It sounded good! We ordered Shoyu Ramen and Shio Ramen (NT$ 160 each).

Workers were friendly and well trained, but they chatted loudly when they don’t have enough customers. I hope they talk a little quietly. The décor was organized and spacious.

Shio Ramen

Our item was served quickly. The soup looked good so far. They used curly, middle-size noodle (中太ちぢれ麺), and contained sprout (もやし), nappa (白菜), seaweed (わかめ), bamboo shoots (メンマ), a slice of Japanese fishcake (かまぼこ), Chashu (チャーシュー) and green onion. I sipped the soup. Hmmm not bad! Sesame seeds were floating happily in the soup. Chashu was also tasty! The only thing I want them to improve was the quality of seaweed. It was dry, and was not fresh at all. I hope they use better seaweed…

Shoyu Ramen

Shoyu Ramen came with same ingredients, except seaweed. Unfortunately, the soup was too salty to finish up. I don’t remember the original taste of the soup, but I thought this soup was too much. After we finished the dinner, we were very thirsty. Was that because of MSG or just soup was too salty? Also, both noodles of Shio and Shoyu were, in my opinion, overcooked. Most of my Taiwanese friends like well-cooked noodle, but I prefer less cooked noodle. I believe I can ask them to cook less…

Overall, I enjoyed the dinner with my friend. However, the soup was salty for me. (Report: Jan. 24, 2010)

Total: NT$ 320 (for 2 people)

八八八拉麵: Ramen Sanpachi
New York New York Department Store Restaurant Place
B1, No. 12, Song Sou Road, Xinyi Dist.,
Taipei, TAIWAN
02-2723-3152

Restaurant #30: Kurume Ramen 魁龍拉麵, Taipei

I often see Japanese Ramen restaurants in Taipei, but most of the restaurants look different than the actual Japanese style. I am not looking for a real Japanese ramen, because I don’t think Taiwan people like Japanese ramen, especially Hokkaido style. Hokkaido ramen use seafood, Miso and the soup is oily, rich flavor. I heard from my Taiwanese friends who went to Japan, especially Hokkaido, that they felt the Ramen soup in Hokkaido was very salty. So, here in Taipei, many Japanese-style Ramen restaurants use light, Tonkotsu soup, like Kyushu style.

魁龍拉麵, located in the basement of Caesar Park Hotel in Taipei Station area. Easy to access, and there are some other restaurants in the basement. I accidentally found this new Kyushu-style Ramen restaurant. My friend and I already ate dinner, but I really wanted to try… So I asked them if it was okay to order one dish and shared… They usually set a minimum charge, but this time they allowed us to order one dish. So I ordered simple Tonkotsu Ramen (NT$ 160).

Tonkotsu Ramen

Tonkotsu Ramen contained thin noodle, sprout, corn, Chashu, egg, seaweed, bamboo and green onion. Ingredients were all fresh, and I liked it especially chashu. It was so tender… You may want to add more slices of Chashu as an extra topping. The soup was white, pork based soup called Tonkotsu. To be honest, I am not a huge fun of white Tokotsu soup because the taste is too light. However, this soup was appropriate. I guess I got used to Taiwan flavor, or I eat too oily stuff everyday… The noodle was served with pretty noodle ball. I liked it!

I might come back here again to try some other items. I hope I would find an authentic Hokkaido Ramen restaurant in Taipei soon.

Thank you for reading! (Report: Jan. 23, 2010)

Total: NT$ 176 ($160 + 10% service charge)

魁龍拉麵: Kurume Ramen
Caesar Park Hotel B1
Jhongsiao W. Rd., Jhongjheng Dist.
Taipei, TAIWAN

Restaurant #21: Ramen Tessho, Yokohama

As I mentioned, I moved to Taipei, Taiwan. Before I came here, I needed to get Visitor Visa, so I went to Tokyo to do some paperwork. I stayed at Shin-Yokohama for several days and met with my friends.

After the paperwork, I came to Shin-Yokohama to find a hotel. I found a reasonable hotel called “Super Hotel Shin-Yokohama”, located at close to Shin-Yokohama train station. I stayed two nights and it only costs about only 7800 yen, including a simple breakfast. The room is kind of small, but it is enough space for one or two. I was so hungry after checking in, so I went back to the station and found a ramen place for lunch, called Ramen Tessho (らーめん 鐵匠).

I used to work in Tokyo area, and I already tried Tokyo ramen several times. The taste was quite different than Hokkaido ramen and did not like it. Sorry! It is funny that I always expect Tokyo ramen to get better taste, even though I already know the taste is still the same… Ramen Tessho has a variety of menus in reasonable price. It seems that they have Chinese style menu. So I ordered Chicken Paiku-Men (鶏パイクー麺: 900 yen).

Chicken Paiku Men

Chicken was thin and crispy—easy to bite. The chef just deep-fried it. I could smell and taste the special Chinese spices (sorry I don’t know what it is called.) Crinkle, curly noodles were thick, and easy to mix with the soup. I personally thought noodle was a bit too thick. Soup is always difficult to be judged, it is because it really depends on personal preferences. I prefer rich flavored soup. Tessho uses duck and chicken for the main broth, so it was “assari” (light) taste. Plus, Paiku is a Chinese-style chicken, so this ramen tasted very different than regular Japanese ramen, although it had an original flavor. The ingredients were simple—Paiku and bok choy.

I was impressed that the chef was nice and friendly. There were only two workers, and sometimes the waitress was busy to take care of some customers. Then, the chef himself brought the dish and welcomed the customers. Those services are sometimes important to attract more customers. People have various reasons to go out to eat. The main reason would be that they want to eat delicious food. Yet, some could be to chat with the chef or workers. It really happens, and the simple conversation makes a customer happy.

Again, ramen is a personal preference, so it is the best that you go and taste it and decide if you like it or not. As I always say, I would like to try all kinds or ramen, but my favorite is always Hokkaido ramen!

Total: 900 yen

Ramen Tessho
Bekkan 1F, Cubic Plaza Shin-Yokohama
2937, Shinohara-cho, Kohoku-ku
Yokohama
045-471-1100

Restaurant #20: Ramen Tetsuya, Sapporo

One week passed since I moved to Taipei, Taiwan. I’ve already missed Sapporo’s delicious food, although Taipei food is delicious enough. It is just some of my favorite dishes are hard to find in Taipei. That is all. Ramen is a great example.

Noodle place, Tetsuya, is from Sapporo, Hokkaido, but now, it seems there is one branch in Tokyo area. I don’t know Tokyo people like this kind of taste, but I hope they will be successful. There are 5 or 6 branches in the city of Sapporo, and one is in my neighborhood. I am just lucky!

The décor is very simple. It is neat but small. I only know a few branches, but usually there are only 10 to 12 people can eat on the counter table. That is all.

Shoyu Ramen

Shoyu Ramen (Soy sauce taste: 醤油らーめん) (735 yen) is their signature menu. As you can see, it comes with Negi (green onion: ねぎ), Memma (bamboo shoots:メンマ), Nori (seaweed: 海苔) and two slices of Chashu (チャーシュー). The soup’s broth is basically from pork; they use selected Genkotsu (pork bone), Baraniku (pork belly: バラ肉) and Tonsoku (Chinese Braise Pork Knuckle: 豚足), and cooked the soup for over 12 hours. The broth doesn’t smell the pork at all, and the color is purely white. The soup of Shoyu Ramen is coved with Seabura (pork backfat: 背脂), produced from the domestic pork. If you like lighter taste, then you might feel this soup is too strong. I personally like their kotteri soup a lot!

Miso Ramen

Miso Ramen (みそらーめん) was 840 yen. The ingredients were almost same as Shoyu; instead of seaweed, Miso came with Moyashi (sprout: もやし) and Wakame (wakame seaweed: わかめ). The soup was thicker than Shoyu, because Miso was used. In addition, I smelled the garlic. Ah… Yummy! The noodle (麺) was provided by Nishiyama Seimen, the famous noodle company in Sapporo. “Chijile” (curly), medium thick noodles nicely matched with the rich soup. Miso is also their popular item.

So, which Ramen do you want to try? :)

Total: 2415 yen (for 3 people)

Ramen Tetsuya
1F, Art MS, 2-19, Minami 7-jo Nishi 12-chome, Chuo-ku
Sapporo
011-563-0005

Restaurant #13: Ajisai, Sapporo

There is a place called “Ramen Kyowakoku” (ラーメン共和国), the 10th floor of the ESTA building, in front of Sapporo JR station. As a ramen lover, I frequently come here and try different ramen. You’ll find eight ramen shops from around Hokkaido and a gift shop in this ramen park. Shops are in and out every 6 months or a year, so visitors can always enjoy different shops. Don’t forget to stop by at the gift shop to find some ramen goodies. It would be fun to take a look at this park, because the décor is quite fascinating that they reproduced the old style Japanese small town.

It has been five years since this park was opened. In October, some new shops were opened; one of shops is called "Ajisai" (あじさい), from the city of Hakodate. Hakodate ramen is famous for shio taste broth. I tried another Hakodate ramen a few months ago, in Ramen Kyowakoku, and I liked it. So I was excited to try Ajisai’s Shio Ramen.

Ajisai’s menu was various; even though Shio is the most popular item of them, I found them trying to invent new items, such as curry ramen or ikasumi (イカ墨: squid ink) soup! I was really interested in ikasumi soup, but since it was my first time here, and I didn’t want to be adventurous, so I chose a simpler item. We ordered Ajisai Shio Ramen (750 yen), Seabura Ramen with Shoyu (850 yen), and Menma Ramen with Shio (850 yen).

Ajisai Shio Ramen (味彩塩拉麺)

I believe this is their signature menu. Simple is the best! I heard that their soup is crystal clear, and now I know it was true. The broth is made of pork and chicken based, added vegetable and seaweeds (昆布). All the extract essence from those is for a dignified taste. If you prefer heavy taste, then you might feel that something is missing. It might be the reason why there are many ingredients over the straightened noodle. Two thick slices of Chashu (roasted pork) were melted in my mouth and no need to chew. Negi (green onion) almost covered the clear soup. Because the soup’s taste is light, strong taste of negi gives more appetite.

Seabura Ramen, Shoyu (背脂拉麺: 醤油)

My choice. Seabura (背脂) is pork back fat, and it is popularly used in ramen. I usually don’t eat seabura that much, because it is too oily. This time, however, I know the soup taste lighter than my preference, so I tried this with Shoyu (soy sauce) taste. I actually chose the right one. Adding extra seabura pork lard, shoyu based soup had much richer taste and seaweed broth matched with shoyu. Amazing! Noodle was beautifully strengthen, and easily made me full. Tons of sliced negi and chashu (チャーシュー) covered over the tasty soup, and my favorite mizuna (水菜) gives a fresh taste. Lastly, a crispy fried wonton was laid under menma (メンマ: bamboo shoots).

Menma Ramen, Shio (メンマ拉麺: 塩)

Basically, it was Shio Ramen, with extra menma (bamboo shoots). However, the soup became much richer flavored because of extract essence from menma. If you like menma, go for it. My brother ordered this, and he loved it.

Overall, I enjoyed their taste. It really depends on your preference when you enjoy ramen. Soup, noodle and ingredients… The best way to find your own favorite is keep eating all kinds of ramen and know what you like the most.

Sooner, I need to go back to Ramen Kyowakoku, because “Nantsuttei” (なんつッ亭) from Kanagawa just opened! I just need a little more time to save some money…

Total: 2450 yen (for 3 people)

Ajisai
at Sapporo Ramen Kyowakoku
10F, Sapporo ESTA building
Kita 5-jo Nishi 2-chome, Chuo-ku
Sapporo
011-213-2111
http://www.sapporo-esta.jp/ramen/ (Sapporo Ramen Kyowakoku)
http://www.ajisai.tv/index.php (Ajisai Official Web)

Sapporo Autumn Fest 2009: Part 1

Sapporo Autumn Fest is a wonderful event that people can enjoy the richness of food production around Hokkaido, share the travel information, and celebrate the autumn harvest from all over Hokkaido. This wonderful event just started last year, but it already became one of popular events in Sapporo. There are some well-known events in Sapporo; Yosakoi Soran Festival (in June), Pacific Music Festival (PMF: in July) and Sapporo Snow Festival (in Feb.). I hope this Autumn Fest would be a big event in the fall season.

Sapporo TV Tower and and visitors

There are two things that I liked about this event. First of all, the event was held from 9/18 to 10/4; yes it’s almost two weeks! During this period, the restaurants had been changed frequently to serve different dishes, so visitors had never got bored. I only visited twice. I wish I could’ve visited more… Second thing is the location. The event was held in the Odori Park (大通公園), the symbolic sightseeing spot in Sapporo. The five sites along the Odori Park bring us to the food and cultural world of Hokkaido. This event showcases not only the delicious food but also wonderful culture and people involved in this event.




My family and I went there on Monday, Sept 21. The weather was cloudy, and it was pretty cold. We started walking from 4-chome site. This site provided some pottery and craft works. I should have taken a walk slowly, but we were so hungry and rushed to 5-chome site.




5-chome site was a huge food court. There were about ten restaurants providing Ramen noodles and local dishes. Since this event is for Hokkaido, the basic rule for the restaurants was to use all ingredients from Hokkaido. We chose two ramen noodles and two local dishes.

“Asahikawa Shoyu Ramen” from Asahikawa

Asahikawa Ramen (旭川ラーメン) is famous for soy sauce taste. This Asahikawa Shoyu Ramen (旭川醤油ラーメン) was 700 yen. The noodle was made of Hokkaido wheat, and Chashu (チャーシュー), roasted pork, was delicious! The pork was also grown in Hokkaido. It was simple, but the broth was well cooked carefully.

“Hokki Clam Miso Ramen” from Tomakomai

Hokki Clam Miso Ramen (苫小牧ホッキ貝味噌ラーメン) (700 yen) was an interesting noodle I even had. This noodle soup was pretty strong taste of Miso (fermented soybean paste) and seafood. I usually do not like seafood ramen, but this one was pretty tasty. I thought the taste of Hokki clam would be too strong, but miso taste kept the good balance between. I liked other ingredients: sprouts and seaweeds.

“Shrimp & Octopus Dumpling” from Haboro

Shrimp & Octopus Dumpling (羽幌えびタコ焼き餃子) (600 yen) was the most popular item of that day. There was a long line in front of the booth. I waited for 45 minutes only for this dumpling. You might think it is not smart. Yet, this was delicious! It was worth to wait! They used the small Sakura Ebi (桜えび: sakura shrimp) yet it had rich flavor, and Tako (たこ: octopus) was amazingly delicious! Of course, all ingredients were made of Hokkaido. You dip it into the sauce or eat it simply with shrimp flavored salt.

“Omelet Curry” from Furano

Unfortunately, Frano Omelet Curry (富良野オムカレー) (700 yen) was already eaten by other family members while I was waiting for dumpling and I couldn’t taste it… (ToT)

to be continued...

Restaurant #08: Ichiryuan Ramen, Sapporo

Ramen (ラーメン) is one of Japanese’s favorites. Taking hours and hours to cook its original soup makes this symbolic Japanese food an art. You see many TV programs talking about popular Ramen restaurants in Tokyo area, but I prefer Sapporo ramen. Many big cities have original style of Ramen, and people travel to find their own favorites. I am amazed how Sapporo people travel so much for delicious food. They are aggressive in a good way! Among cities in Hokkaido, Sapporo, Asahikawa, and Hakodate ramen are especially popular. Sapporo is famous for Miso taste (味噌); Asahikawa’s ramen is Shoyu (醤油: soy sauce), and Hakodate’s Shio (塩: salt).

This Ramen place, Ichiryuan, is a small noodle house, clean and neat. One lady serves and two chefs take care of the kitchen. Kitchen is in small space, and you see how they work from the counter chair you sitting. Interestingly, they only prepare 200 ramen a day; they use their limited space and keep the best quality as possible. The background music was good selection of the Beatles. Chef’s favorite!?

We came here at around 1:30pm, and ordered Shoyu Ramen (750 yen), Miso Ramen (750 yen), Lunch Set (Miso Ramen and small fried rice) (850 yen). Unfortunately, fried rice was already sold out, so instead, the chef served us Natto rice (納豆ごはん).

Shoyu Ramen

Shoyu Ramen had solid soy sauce taste; not too light, not too strong. I liked their light flavored soup, and I felt it was healthy. I didn’t feel it oily at all, like some other noodle places. Are they using seafood stock? Ingredients were different than the menu’s picture. I ordered Shoyu just because I thought I could take different pictures of Shoyu and Miso Ramen. Maybe the ingredients were already sold out due to the rush hour for lunch. Thick, rich noodle came with sprout, green onion, and grilled pork. Simple, but it is the best way to enjoy the each flavor. You see something colored brown on the pork, that is Kogashi-negi (焦がしねぎ: well cooked green onion). It gives the crispy flavor. Chinese-style barbecued pork, so-called chashu (チャーシュー), was juicy and perfect, although it was thin. I will order Chashu Ramen next time, which comes with some extra slices of thick, tender BBQ pork.

Miso Ramen

Their signature item is Miso Ramen. The ingredients are same as Shoyu (or I should say it was the same as described on the menu). I tasted the soup. Wow… Opposed to Shoyu Ramen, Miso soup had much strong, richer flavor. Both were tasty, and I loved those. Yet, now I understand the reason why their Miso Ramen became popular.

Lunch Set was supposed to be Ramen of your choice and small fried rice. As I mentioned, instead of fried rice, it came with Natto rice. The chef suggested to put Ramen soup into the rice cup. It is your choice, you can eat Natto rice as usual, or you may try to put soup and eat it together.

A very simple place, clean and quiet, and of course non-smoking. The design of their noodle balls is pretty. If you are in Sapporo and not try their Ramen yet, please try. I strongly recommend this Ichiryuan.

Total: 2350 yen (for 3 people)

Sapporo Ichiryuan, Ramen
B1F, Hokuren Bldg
Kita 4-jo Nishi 1-chome, Chuou-ku
Sapporo
011-219-3199
http://ichiryuan.com/tenpo.html