煮干し Noodles Nibo Nibo Cino in Shinagawa, Tokyo

0 Reviews

煮干し Noodles NiboNiboCino

Nibo Nibo Cino makes niboshi-spiked soupless ramen that is meant to resemble Italian pasta dishes. My kind of bowl! And it didn’t cost me a dime!

Let’s talk about this free ramen. In 2019, Ramen Walker Magazine expanded its magazine to include more coupons. Before that, they had many, many coupons for free toppings. The value of these was about 100 yen. Now each annual issue has half a dozen or so coupons for completely free bowls. You heard me correctly. These bowls of ramen are free. NiboNiboCino was already on my list. Score.

Sleek shop here.

I’m definitely a fan of hotel-level fancy water. Mint and lemon detox water is perfect for the ramen hunter who may have already eaten a bowl or two before coming to NiboNiboCino.

A very unique bowl of mazesoba. Tender chunks of stewed pork, some chopped red onion, and what I can only describe as niboshi colored noodles.

The niboshi here is brought in from the Pacific coast of Chiba Prefecture. Kujukurin Hama (九十九里浜) is one of Japan’s best places to fish for the sardines and flying fish that make this bowl special. Another kodawari point is the top-level garlic from Aomori Prefecture. The flavor of this one was great. Obviously, it was fishy. The textures of the noodles, pork, and raw onion had a good balance. Delizioso!

On a side note, I visited northern Italy a few years back and was delighted to learn that they make a local kind of niboshi in Lago d’Iseo, Lake Iseo, near Brescia. Freshwater shad are caught with nets and salted for 48 hours before drying another month. I was in the area at my friend’s ramen shop, Verde Ramen, and asked if we could make a local niboshi. Unfortunately, the Italian version of the dried fish is many times more expensive than the Japanese version. Too bad!

The master recognized me! He was working at the Ginza branch of Ito some years ago when I shot a TV show there. Small world.

The other menu choice, nibonibonara, is inspired by Italian carbonara. Gotta go back!

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