Week 3 気むずかし家 – Kimuzukashiya really brought it with this surprise winner. Beautiful fried chicken, made from local birds from the Shinshu region of Japan, were standard. They could easily have charged 300 yen for this exquisite topping. The soup was just light enough to balance with the tartar sauce and homemade pickles. And the…
大つけ麺博 Here is the order I would rank the 2nd week’s entries. I have to preface it, though, with the weather. The weather has been either frigid and rainy, or humid and warm these days. This plays a huge roll with the Grand Tsukemen Fest. The bowls are plastic, and you are sitting outdoors. Thus,…
Don’t worry, these shots are from the first week of the event. There are still plenty of opportunities to have some delicious tsukemen this year. This is what happens when you have great weekend weather and a lot of hungry people in Shinjuku! 売切れ – Urikire – means sold out! http://dai-tsukemen-haku.com/en http://dai-tsukemen-haku.com/en http://dai-tsukemen-haku.com/en http://dai-tsukemen-haku.com/en
せかいでニホンGO Definitely the strangest TV show I’ve been on. Sekai de Nihongo is a general show about how the world sees Japan. They sit around a digital koi pond and the fish swim to the people who are meant to comment. There is also a CG robot announcer with an annoying high pitch voice. Welcome…
大つけ麺博 Here are the six bowls of tsukemen from the first week of the festival, in the order I would rank them. Enjoy! 麺屋あっ晴れ (Menya Appare) is a gritty, intense tonkotsu gyokai. The quail eggs are a nice touch. This bowl was worthy of the long line. Over an hour at times. 稲葉 (Inaba) is…
And this is what the entrance looks like. Let me break it down. Be sure you buy your ticket before lining up. One ticket works for any shop. You’ll probably want the blue one. The pink is ladies size (smaller and ladies only), and the yellow one is for a 0% alcohol beer. There are…
Ramen Live Hype Show! We did an hour long Google+ Hangout to promote the upcoming Grand Tsukemen Fest! On hand, some fellow ramen nuts from around the world. We had Ben from Osaka (http://www.friendsinramen.com/), Sam from California (http://www.ramenshop.com/), and Hans from Washington (http://www.theramenrater.com/). With MC George Williams, we also had Tomita-san there to discuss the…
スクール革命 School Revolution. You guessed it, a panel of famous people watch videos and talk about them. Shinoyama-san is the son of a very famous photographer. His character is that of a spoiled school boy at a prestigious university. Yeah, every one of these talents has a specific character. This one was a little strange.…
Announcing the official English page for the 2013 Grand Tsukemen Fest! Now you can see which shops will be serving their signature tsukemen each week of the festival. Warning, this page will make you hungry! Will Tomita, Japan’s #1 ranked tsukemen shop and winner of last year’s Grand Tsukemen Fest, defend their belt? Or will…
知っとこ “Wa-su-a-pu?” Satomi Shigemori’s character is cute and clueless. A well-known idol / talent / bikini model, if you watch TV with any regularity in Japan you should see her face pop up. As always, we took her around to some ramen shops. This time was a double dose of ramen-loving foreigners, with Abram and…