With the year winding down, I had to go to Shin-Okubo for some year-end tax paperwork… so while I was in the area, I dropped by a ramen shop that’s famous around there. Japan is a country where you’ll find a great ramen shop wherever you go, which is reassuring.
The counter
Turns out they have two more branches, in Ginza and Ueno. That tells you how popular they are.
Special ramen
Ago means flying fish, and the soup is made from dried flying fish that’s been roasted. It doesn’t have that heavy niboshi (dried sardine) aroma; if anything it’s on the light side, so it pairs with each topping to create a different kind of harmony. The soup tastes different with the nori and with the green onions, but everything works together well. A high-level bowl.
The noodles
The noodles were cooked just right, too. That’s the least you’d expect from a renowned shop.
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