Ramen^2.0

While the others went up to the mountains to ski/board, Naomi and I went for a walk around Naeba and found this shabby restaurant. We had shio-ramen.

AFURI is here.

AFURI is here.

As Mirna and I were going to visit an exhibition near Piccadilly Circus, we decided to combine the trip with lunch at Ten Ten Tei. My shio ramen came with char shu, corn, a quarter of a hard boiled egg and....you see that yellow film on the left hand side?...butter! The char shu was soooo good - rich and melting and tasty!

Setagaya is like Daniel, to Ramen lovers in japan. They have the ultimate Ramen; I compare the food here to a refined French. The broth is made like a Jus, or a Cosomme'; Organic Chicken, Dried Anchovies, Dried Scallops, Pork, Fresh Seaweed, and Mongolian Sea Salt.... Grated Bonito, but No MSG. The result is a deep, complex, golden broth that gets better and better as you slurp more and more and more! The noodles are cooked rather under to anticipate for the carry over cooking( So that it doesn't get soggy half way), and it's a blend of 5 types of noodles, some thick as Linguini, some curly ones, Angel hair looking one , and Lomein lookin' one too.. The Char shu Pork is like Foie Gras, and to dare I say it,... Kick it up a notch, they grill the sliced Pork belly! Ahhhhh!!!!! Other garnishes include a soft poached egg, Braised Bamboo shoots, Scallion Julienne, Scallion Powder, and Scallop Oil. Now if you think this is the same as eating a Cup-o-noodle, then, you should shoot yourself in the head with a nail gun. This IS the BEST RAMEN in the US right now. Period..

the place where we had ramen.. i'm not a ramen fan and would have been happier eating soba or udon.. and ramen is rather salty too.. we tried shio (salt) ramen and miso ramen, but i think the best thing in that shop was actually their gyoza. thailand's gyoza is far better than those in singapore, and the one in japan is even better (of course!) than thailand's!