らぁ麺紫陽花

Ajisai is considered one of the top slurps in Nagoya. Refined ramen is all the rage in recent years, with every city having a popular shop like this.

What does refined mean in the world of ramen? Ingredients sourced from top spots around Japan. No store-bought MSG. All of the umami in this one comes from the kombu and dried fish. And, unfortunately, refined ramen usually creates massive lines.

Homemade noodles as well.

The menu at Ajisai is heavy on the shoyu. Shoyu ramen, shoyu tsukemen, and a niboshi ramen that (I assume) uses a shoyu tare. They also offer spicy tantanmen. Is the shoyu ramen is the one to get? Tantanmen at shops like this is usually excellent. See those stickers on the ticket machine?

Hash Royal is an absolute beast of a ramen hunter. He seems to know every shop in the country, and visits around 600 a year. I quickly sent him a message asking whether I should go with shoyu or tantanem. He replied in about six seconds.

The soy sauce blend uses mainly Yugeta shoyu (弓削多醤油) from Saitama. This nama shoyu is a bit on the sweet side. Homemade noodles using flour from Bifunsai in Hokkaido (美粉彩春よ恋). Gorgeous pork from Yamagata.