COURRiER Magazine

Why is Keizo so happy?



That's why! The NY Times article was translated into Japanese for the uber popular COURRiER Japon magazine. This magazine was described to me as the Japanese Newsweek. Except it's monthly. Spread the love people, spread the noodly love.



What better way to celebrate than with a bowl of Green Curry Ramen from Bassanova.

我武者羅 (Gamushara in Hatagaya)

我武者羅



Taking my life into my hands, I embodied a true gamushara, or daredevil, as I set out on another ramen adventure. But I wasn't alone as I delved into the extreme. Today I was joined by Robb from bento.com. We strapped on our glasses, put on our game faces, and kicked it into gear.



The only real danger here was when our glasses fogged up upon entering the shop. The lack of risk now apparent, it was time to get down to the noodles.



This shop is actually 3. Weekdays for lunch and early dinner it's a milky pork broth flavored with snapper. Then late on weeknights it becomes a Niigata inspired blend of fat and more fat. Weekends is a spicy curry ramen, also a Niigata speciality. The spicy weekend fare looks pretty nice too, just head over to ramenate.com for a look.



A weekday at noon means the easiest bowl of the bunch.



The fish stock is key here. Not as refined as somewhere like Kaijin, this soup is truer to Niigata, where maybe a strong punch is needed to outlast the strong winters.



To truly taste the essence of a broth, adding rice is a great idea. Much the way a whiskey aficionado dillutes his single malt with water.



So I cut the broth with a free lunchtime bowl of rice. Fantastic flavor.



Salt, miso, and tsukemen are also options.

We sat discussing the recent tsukemen boom (1 sided, advantage me) and how a Michelin 3 star sushi spot is different from a Michelin 1 star sushi spot (1 sided, advantage Robb). It's always good to talk food with another foodie. And no, nothing daredevil-ish was consumed this day. Maybe a trip out to a new meat theme park from some meat ice cream would have been more gamushara.


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バサノバ (Tom Yum Ramen at Bassanova)

バサノバ



After mentioning that a bowl of Tom Yum ramen at Bassanova would be in the near future, I couldn't stop thinking about it! Dreams of spicy lemon grass. Dreams become reality when the shop is on the same train line you ride after work.



Reality indeed.



This ramen isn't Tom Yum with hints of ramen. It's a very Japanese tasting bowl of thick pork broth with some added spices thrown in to kick it up. Although reportedly invented by an old Thai chef who used to work at the shop, purists may be in for a shock.



With a nice tasty topping of Thai pan fried dumplings.



When I came in, Bassanova was jumping. About 8 or 9 people diligently slurped. But when my bowl was at it's end, the place was empty. No problem, I could chat it up with the staff.



After playfully making fun of Ms. "Small Room" behind the counter, I let her get back at me by writing my name using as many ramen related kanji as possible.



巻濁酢豚 - A roll of pork, cooked in unfiltered vinegar. That's pretty cool, considering that is sort of what chashu is. And you can't have ramen without chashu!


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玄武 (Genbu in Simo Kitazawa)

玄武



I've walked by this place a few times before on the way to an izakaya that sells 180 yen beers. By the way, you will have an adventure in hallucinations if you drink too many of those beers. This is coming from multiple sources. You've been warned.



Anyways, I like the storefront here. It's very hai-kara, high class. Billed as more of a gyoza shop, you might have trouble finding the door. Very sleek looking.



Look for the yellow arrow.



If you go to their site, or look at the photo on the signboard outside, you'll see a much... prettier version of this tonkotsu ramen. Watered down and not too flavorful. I'd rather have another hallucination off of fake beer than ever eat this again.

But in the shop's defense, the gyoza looked pretty good. You can get a gyoza set with 18 pieces of 3 different styles for about 1200 yen. Not a bad place to stop and have a drink and snack with friends before going somewhere more substantial (like the beer bar Ushitora). In case you didn't notice, they have Zima.

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ブーゲンビリア (Bugen Villa Thai Ramen)

ブーゲンビリア



There's a back story on this one. I usually wouldn't adventure out to to a Thai restaurant for ramen. But I teach an English lesson here once a week to the kids of the family that runs the place. Part of my payment for instilling proper grammar into a couple elementary school students is a free dinner. Not a bad deal! So I thought I'd give the Tom Yum Ramen a try.



Many Thai places to a Thai soup ramen. It's a bit of a gimmick, in my opinion. It's just the standard soup with some noodles thrown in. But the soup... wow.



Delicious, spicy Thai soup. Even though they all taste pretty similar to me, it's a taste I will always love.



I prefer rice added, even more than the ramen noodles. That spicy lemongrass taste just doesn't seem to work with Japanese noodles. If only we could take the awesomeness of spicy Thai soup, add it to some traditional Japanese broth, and then finish it off like a proper bowl of ramen. If only that was an option...

Of course, I'm making a vague reference to Bassanova, one of my favorite ramen shops in Tokyo. The big news is that Keizo is now working there part time. Expect a big writeup about Bassanova in the near future, with photos of, yes, the Tom Yum Ramen they have on the menu.

宗家一条流がんこラーメン (Ganko in Ikebukuro)

宗家一条流がんこラーメン



Another Ganko on the list. This time, it's a lot less of a secret (I'm referring to the one in Baba). Not really a ramen zone, but more of an entertainment and food zone, the area out the West Exit of Ikebukuro should be visited by anyone looking for some interesting food.



The trademark bone and black tarp, of course.



The view from the chairs outside. No line today, but the shop was full inside. RameNate and I had to wait for about 10 minutes. Who else has waited at this same shop, you might ask? Good question. Maybe you've heard of a man called...



... Kenny G?



And... Martha Stewart? A veritable A list of Hollywood's best.



The master kindly requests that you, the ramen manic eating at this popular shop, put away your magazine and cell phone when your soup gets here. The last line is great. "From a nice old man who likes ramen!"



Presenting the nice, ramen loving old man!





I had the shio, even though my ticket was for the shoyu. It's hard to decide who has the best shio ramen, the Ganko shops, or Ivan. Best to keep eating at both. I preferred the Baba Ganko one a little though, the green chilies you could add were a perfect addition.



The shoyu was no slouch either.

Once a month, they serve a "special" shio ramen. All the Ganko shops do this, a special once a month thing. Stay tuned!

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太陽のトマト麺 (Taiyo Tomato in Otsuka)

太陽のトマト麺



When does ramen cross over into the realm of soupy pasta? Purists would say the soup. Shio, shoyu, tonkotsu, or miso. Anything else and it's not ramen. But these days ramen soup has crossed into the realm of anything goes.



Then is it the noodles? The addition of kansui is what gives ramen noodles it's difference from many western noodles. But in these modern times of the magic of science, we can simulate this naturally occurring sodium carbonate with ease.

So where do you draw the line?



It doesn't really matter, as long as you're enjoying the adventure!

Taiyo Tomato is a chain with a dozen or so shops, all serving up a tomato soup with angel hair-esque noodles. They are really into a healthy image, using a lot of natural ingredients, and relying on the nutrition of tomatoes to draw in customers.



Not sure how healthy my bowl, which was covered in parmesan cheese, was. But it sure was tasty!



Tasted just like it looks. A rich bowl of hot tomato soup. Campbell Cream of Tomato is almost spot on.



Warhol would approve.

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