Gaijins In Tokyo

Located near the Ikebukuro West exit is a ramen shop called 神座拉面. We passed by this shop a few times while we were walking to the train station or getting back to the hotel.

Being ramen lovers, we decided to try te ramen here one day. Outside the shop is this recorded broadcast that is played over and over again saying that this ramen is the best in Kamakura (I think). Well, if they are so bold to play this broadcast, they HAVE TO be good...

The customers are free to add toppings to their noodles at extra charges shown below. We ordered 2 ramens, Oiishi Ramen with a soft boiled egg topping and a Tsukemen (dipping noodles).


Lots of condiments to eat with your noodles: chilli, garlic and spring onions marinated in some kimchi sauce.


K's noodle: Oiishi Ramen with a soft boiled egg. Well, the truth is, on first look, the ramen doesn't look special to K. The soup looks rather thin although it smells special.


My noodle: Tsukemen. The noodles are separated from the soup so that the taste of the noodles can be enjoyed on its own. I got a shock when I saw the amount of noodles and quickly double checked with the menu, gosh thats 200g of noodles for my dinner.


The noodles weighs a freaking 200g and I thought that I will not be able to finish it. I was so wrong. And so was K's first impression.

This was the best ramen that me and K had for the entire Tokyo trip. So good that even till now, we can still remember the taste of the soup. Sweetness from the Chinese cabbage in the soup, saltiness from the soy sauce and fragrance from the bonito. OH SO GOOD. *SLURP*

Adding the spring onions marinated in the chilli sauce will make the bowl of ramen taste different, like a new bowl of ramen. We can eat this over and over again!

2nd trip to 神座拉面:
After a disheartening dinner at Piss Alley at Shinjuku, we had to come back here for ramen to satisfy our taste buds. We decided to share a bowl of ramen and some side orders as we were not very hungry. We ordered a plate of gyoza and a special menu item, a bowl of ramen that is only available during summer.


Gyoza. Nothing to rave about, we'll have preferred the gyozas to be pan fried instead of deep fried.


Now here is the available-in-summer-only ramen. The soup is CLEAR, totally oiless, and is COLD. Yes, COLD to beat the heat of summer. The fresh slices of tomatoes, cucumbers, and grated white radish makes this bowl of ramen more refreshing! To top this all up, right in the centre of the bowl of ramen, is some mashed up preserved plum that will enable this bowl of ramen to be able to cool anyone from the heat of summer.

OIISHI! WE WILL BE BACK FOR MORE~~

*Tip - Do not mix in the plum into the soup as the soup will taste too sour and will ruin all the bonito flavour. Instead, put all the plum and some noodles as your first bite so that the soup won't get too sour.