Ramen^2.0

Juno is still hot for 4 days 3 nights! Went by the local tsutaya (cd, dvd rental) store to check out what's new. Had my usual dose of Rasuta ramen and need to digest some. ^^. Made a note to self to watch this after I've finished writing my dissertation. Anyone seen this? Is it good? This donkey needs some carrots hanging in front of him. ^^. Found the "Still Hot!" sticker over her head quite amusing. ^^.

Before heading to terminal 2, I found an Ajisen ramen store in Terminal 1's arrival area. I was too hungry to look for somewhere else to eat, and wanted to see if this Ajisen was any better/worse than the Toronto counterpart. Ordering the Hokkaido clam noodles in pork broth, this was only mildly enjoyable. The noodles were firm and al dente; just the way it should be. With plenty of clams inside, I thought it was a generous portion, even though the taste was somewhat lacking. The broth was not much like the typical Japanese pork broth that I was hoping for. I have to say, this dish didn't change very much in terms of quality, with respect to the ones from the Toronto branch.

Broth was so so... noodles were meh. They were like thin Chinese egg noodles. B's noodles were actually like ramen noodles. Dunno why we got different ones. What's up with that? Halu Ramen still takes the cake.

Like chilled soba served with cold dipping sauce, Tsukemen is a dish that chilled ramen noodle served with hot dipping sauce. If you got a chance to visit Koenji, try this place, Hayashimaru. They are one of the best noodle bar in Koenji, that's for sure.

1. レンジ屋：味噌ラーメン, 2. 和歌山 井出商店：中華そば, 3. 支那そばや:醤油らぁ麺, 4. 九州大牟田ラーメン:きらら, 5. 博多ふくちゃんラーメン：ラーメン, 6. 蒼龍唐玉堂:白胡麻担々麺, 7. 会津 牛乳屋食堂：ラーメン中太, 8. 金龍ラーメン：金龍ラーメン, 9. 札幌ススキノ欅：卒業ラーメン（醤油）, 10. 一蘭: 天然とんこつラーメン, 11. 一竜: ラーメン, 12. 一幸舎: とんこつラーメン, 13. 空海: 味玉とんこつ, 14. 空海: 味玉ラーメン塩, 15. 山頭火: 辛味噌ラーメン, 16. 一風堂: 赤玉 Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Loc really wanted to try his hand at making a Tonkotsu broth, so while we were in Chinatown last weekend we bought some pork ham and neck bones to try it out. It was a rainy, wet and cold day yesterday, really perfect for a steaming bowl of noodles. We already had half a leftover pork loin roast and some udon in the fridge which we used instead of the more appropriate ramen (we're economizing here...). I reheated the roast by braising it in a mix of the tonkotsu broth with some soy sauce, sake, mirin, a litle rice wine vinegar and sugar. Slice the meat up, add some menma (bamboo shoots), scallions, ground toasted white sesame seeds, nori, some freshly pressed garlic and a soft soft boiled egg, and it's a bowl of noodles perfect for inclement weather. * It may be blasphemous, but I actually mixed a little white miso base and added it to my bowl for a little miso tonkotsu ramen. delish.