家系ラーメンとらきち家

Yokohama has somewhere around 130 ramen shops serving their namesake style. Iekei (家系) ramen is ignored by the gourmet fine-dining hunters and embraced by the masses. The lines are long but the customers eat quickly. It can be hard to choose a favorite, but a few rise to the top. Torakichiya is one of those.

Torakichiya is part of the Odoya (王道家) group of iekei shops and a direct descendant of the original Yoshimuraya (吉村家ラーメン). If you are interested in seeing the family tree, this slightly outdated site does a good job of showing who came from whom. This lineage of iekei shops is one of those rabbit holes that leads to many porky tidbits of knowledge. For example, Sakai Seimen (酒井製麺) only sells their noodles to the official direct descendants of Yoshimuraya. Some stores offer quail eggs as a topping. Well, that is another indication of a different lineage, the Ramen Ichirokuya (ラーメン壱六家). There are many independent shops out there doing their own thing. Hiiki comes to mind.

The pork chashu at Torakichi is top-level. Smoky and meaty. The soup is on the intense side. The standard trifecta of green is there as well with a bit of nori seaweed, green onion, and boiled spinach. It is a beautiful bowl that does the iekei thing very, very well.

Don’t forget to load your bowl up with the free condiments on the counter. Ginger, vinegar, spice, and of course garlic.

Garlic three ways. Seasoned with the shop’s tare, minced, and grated. Did you know that garlic will naturally turn green when grated? Well, it does! Minced garlic will keep the white color and taste a bit sharper. I think the green stuff is the way to go. Admittedly, I am not a huge garlic (smell) fan, especially when it is raw, but as long as I’m not meeting anyone for a smooch later that day, I’ll indulge.

Official Twitter here.

Ramen Adventures

Ramen Shop Reviews from Japan and Abroad

家系ラーメンとらきち家 (Torakichiya in Yokohama)

ベジ郎 (Vegiro in Shibuya, Tokyo)

やきとり結火 (Yakitori Musubi in Otsuka, Tokyo)

家系ラーメン とらきち家 (Torakichiya in Yokohama)

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ベジ郎 (Vegiro in Shibuya, Tokyo)

やきとり結火 (Yakitori Musubi in Otsuka, Tokyo)

家系ラーメンとらきち家 (Torakichiya in Yokohama)