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中華そば 西川 (Nishikawa in Setagaya, Tokyo)

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中華そば 西川

Top-class niboshi ramen at Nishikawa out on the west side of Tokyo.

The menu is a simple one. Chukasoba on the top, aka the niboshi ramen, and tsukesoba on the second row. They also have frequent limited bowls and summer-only cold ramen. And of course, like all newish niboshi shops, you can get an order of flavored kaedama (味付き替え玉). This is an extra serving of noodles with some added sauce on top.

Niboshi ramen is big out in Tokyo. Big fish flavors. Big slices of sous vide chashu. Big slurps. Of the dozen or so highly-ranked shops, Nishikawa is up there. At the time of writing, only Ibuki has a high ranking on everyone’s goto Tabelog. Sure, these rankings don’t mean everything, but they definitely can help lead you to a good bowl.

This is a top-class bowl, assuming you like niboshi. I feel like I always have to give that warning. Niboshi ramen is made with copious amounts of dried seafood and the result can be a fishy punch to the face. I’d never think of bringing overseas guests to a place like this unless I really, really knew what they could handle.

Three kinds of iwashi sardines go into the ramen here as well as kelp, pork bones, chicken feet, and onions. Soy sauce from Shodoshima and white soy sauce from Ibaraki Prefecture. Sea salt completes the kodawari of the bowl. For those who aren’t obsessed with such detailed knowledge, just know that some really nice craft soy sauce and really nice blend of different fish is what’s going on here.

Mega-umami vinegar that isn’t for the faint of heart. To me, it looks like a Kraken fighting a giant whale. Be careful with this stuff, it really adds a lot of fishy flavors to the bowl.

Though the style wouldn’t suggest it, the master here trained at two famous shops, Takechan and Eifukucho Taishoken. I like that. Instead of jumping headfirst into the world of strong niboshi ramen, he learned from two of the greatest shops known for their subtlety. Then he jumped in headfirst.

The shop is only open for lunch and will most likely have a bit of a line.

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