ラーメン環2家

Kanniya, despite the pain-in-the-butt location, is one of Kanagawa’s top Ie-kei (家系) ramen shops. Ie-kei is the local Yokohama-style that tends to be either really, really good or really, really bad. Fortunately for those who make the trek, Kanniya is one of the best in town.

You’ll wait a while outside the shop. Lines are inevitable. Take the time to decide which toppings you’ll splurge on.

Iekei ramen is one of the most customizable styles out there. When you buy your ticket from the machine, you can choose all kinds of extras. Wakame seaweed. Green onion in spicy sauce. Wood ear mushroom. Today I’m going with a normal bowl, nothing extra.

By the way, toppings written on a whiteboard should be paid in cash placed on the counter.

You’ll then be able to customize your bowl directly from the person taking your plastic ticket thingy. The firmness of the noodles, the amount of oil, and the strength of the soup are all options. Just say futsu or sonomama if you want it in the normal style. I like my noodle katame meaning firm.

Typical, amazing Ie-kei ramen. Smoky chashu and a bit of green spinach and nori seaweed. I regret not getting the wakame seaweed as well. The soup is tonkotsu with a touch of chicken, heavily spiked with salty soy sauce. Ramen for a king. Noodles are from Sakai seimen (酒井製麺), the noodle factory that supplies most ie-kei shops.

I counted nine different free condiment options to customize it even more. Fried garlic chips, freshly minced garlic (press it yourself), sesame seeds, and spicy sauce for me. Oh, and some fresh ginger. Some of these condiments are from a brand created by Ie-kei’s founding shop, Yoshimuraya.

These are fairly standard toppings, though Kanniya seemed to have more than your average Ie-kei shop. They’ve been open since 2000, so you know they are one of the old-school shops with this style. They are actually the 2nd shop to open with a direct lineage to Yoshimuraya. The 1st in the lineage is Sugitaya (review coming soon). But . . . Kanniya left the direct lineage and went independent in 2015. But . . . they apparently rejoined the lineage in 2021. The entire affair of Ie-kei shops and their lineage is a matter for a podcast discussion, and a bit more research.

Or maybe it isn’t that exciting. If you are the kind of person who really cares about this, then you probably already know the fun/misery of navigating Japanese Twitter. お客様は我が味の師なり.

I recommend a juice box afterwords to freshen your breath and help digest that garlicky meal.

Official Twitter here.

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Ramen Adventures

Ramen Shop Reviews from Japan and Abroad

ラーメン環2家 (Kanniya in Shimonagaya, Kanagawa)

麺やべらぼう (Berabo in Ginza, Tokyo)

啜磨専科 (Susurimasen in Kamioka, Kanagawa)

清陽軒本店 (Seiyoken in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture)

ラーメン 環2家 (Kanniya in Shimonagaya, Kanagawa)

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麺や べらぼう (Berabo in Ginza, Tokyo)

啜磨専科 (Susurimasen in Kamioka, Kanagawa)

清陽軒 本店 (Seiyoken in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture)

ラーメン環2家 (Kanniya in Shimonagaya, Kanagawa)

麺やべらぼう (Berabo in Ginza, Tokyo)

清陽軒本店 (Seiyoken in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture)