Before heading off to Haneda I stopped by Tokyo Station for a bit. The Talisker 175th Anniversary bottle I’d spotted at Liquors Hasegawa a while ago kept nagging at me, so I went back specifically to buy it. I opened that single malt recently, and while it’s on the pricey side, it turned out to be a single malt that’s easy to drink even for beginners (which apparently is exactly why a lot of Talisker diehards dislike it..). The bottle is pretty too (same design as the Talisker 30 Year Old), so it looked like a nice one to collect, but collecting, my foot.. one meetup and it was gone.. Even though it’s a commemorative bottle, quite a lot of them were released, so I’ll have to buy another one next time.
I still had a little time before my flight, so I dropped by Junk Garage, a ramen shop I’d had my eye on last time. There are ramen shops at Haneda Airport too, but I wanted to try maze-soba, the latest trend in Tokyo.
It’s a popular ramen shop, so a wait is a given.
The punk vibe starts with the signboard, and the music playing inside really is punk rock. I’m not sure ramen and punk go together, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen a ramen shop with this clear a personality of its own.
Here’s the inside..
It feels like some kind of CD shop. The interior smashes the usual stereotypes about ramen shops, and the ramen itself was really unique too.
Maze-soba
The chashu and the other toppings were cooked to a first-rate standard, but there was mayonnaise in there too, and even Baby Star, the snack made from fried ramen noodles. It felt like looking at the very essence of junk food and B-grade gourmet. It’s not as if this kind of mix-it-up ramen didn’t exist before, but this is the first time I’ve had one made this seriously.
The noodles
Thick and tender. Tsukemen noodles focus on chewiness, so they sometimes make your jaw ache, but since maze-soba is all about mixing, they don’t serve them that firm. Easy to eat, and there’s plenty of volume.
And underneath, there’s this broth..
A tonkotsu-shoyu base with a slightly spicy kick. At this point it’s a long way from traditional ramen. I think this might be the very essence of Tokyo’s evolving ramen scene. I’m curious about the shop’s other dishes too, so I’ll order them next time I get the chance. That said, with high-calorie ramen that rivals the Jiro-style bowls like this, you have to steel yourself before eating, so I don’t know when I’ll be back.