It's been a while.I'm Mr.Bikini.
I received free tickets to Ichiran, a famous tourist spot, from a colleague who retired, so I went there. She told me not to eat ramen JIRO all the time, but to try other ramen every once in a while. I used to go to Ichiran a lot in the past. However, I haven't been there for a while due to the recent price hikes and the increase in foreign tourists.
And there was a long line of tourists. It took 20 minutes to even get a seat. I can't believe it, knowing Ichiran from the old days.
The price per bowl of ramen is quite reasonable, but a refill is only 210 yen!
However, this time I found a free ticket for a refill, so I got carried away and bought a bunch of toppings.
This is Ichiran's famous flavor concentration counter. You can't see the faces of the staff, let alone the customers next to you. This private space is really relaxing.
This time, I added extra noodles to my ramen (up to this point was within the free coupon range), egg (140 yen), extra pork (260 yen), and half an extra noodle (150 yen). Just adding these options would have cost 550 yen, so it would have been a ridiculous price without the free coupon.
I requested a rich flavor, lots of oil, double the secret sauce, half a clove of garlic, green onions, barbecued pork, and firm noodles, and submitted my order paper.
First of all, the soup was quite rich because it was made thicker. In addition, the secret sauce (spicy one) was spicy enough that I felt it was a bit too spicy, but there was no pork bone smell at all, and the clear yet rich soup was just as you would expect from Ichiran.
I sometimes crave the umami of this pork bone broth and the sweetness of the oil.
Next, the noodles (the photo shows the noodles I ordered with a refill) are very thin and straight, but they have a good texture because they are on the firm side. The noodles themselves have a good flavor, and the subtle aroma of wheat makes you want to go further.
By the way, I ordered extra hard noodles for half of the meal. The noodles were already hard when I ordered extra noodles, but they were even harder. However, after eating 2.5 bowls, I was full.
I always wonder why there is no plate for egg shells when I order eggs? Do they mean to put them directly in the bowl? I wish they would provide a plate for egg shells.
The egg was soft-boiled, just the right amount of salty, and the rich yolk made a nice palate cleanser. But 140 yen per egg...isn't that the price you could buy a pack of eggs for soon? It's too much.
The char siu is... nothing special. To put it bluntly, it's a bit dry... and the taste is just that good. You don't need to add any extra.
It's a great place to enjoy Japanese ramen culture. However, the prices are high for a tourist spot and there are long lines of foreigners, so it's a bit out of reach.
並んでる最中日本語がまるで聞こえてこないスピードラーニング状態でした。(後ろに並んでいたヨーロッパ系の女の子が激Vでした。)記事にするなら間違いなく外国人向けや！ということでGoogle翻訳を駆使して英語にしてみました。想像の3104倍めんどくさかったので二度とやりません。
