Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui (Revisited)

I actually visited Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui, a few months ago with my friends, but it was definitely well worth another stop.

With a large menu, they had plenty of options to try outside their monthly limited specials. This time I tried their Jukusei Miso Ramen which features aged miso for a deeper and stronger taste.

It was definitely rich and had a nice, smooth, savory miso flavor in the broth. The aburi chashu was a bit fatty, but the nice, grilled pork taste was fantastic.

The noodles were nice and thin with a medium-firm texture.

The ramen was 980¥ ($9 USD) and the excellent chashu rice was worth the extra 200¥.

Definitely worth another trip!

Iwamotoya (岩本屋 福井本店) in Fukui City, Fukui

Iwamotoya, a large Reinan chain of ramen shops, offers various limited monthly specials.

This time, I stopped by their Main Store to have their Hotate Soba (Scallop) for 980¥? ($9 USD). As always, regular, large, and extra large noodle portions are all the same price! Before I ordered the Hotate Soba, I asked the friendly shop guy what soup base it was… Salt? Soy sauce?  He was puzzled by my question because he said, “Hotate base.” Well, this I had to try! As with their other ramen, you can customize it a bit to your likingI asked for the strongest soup strength, heaviest oil, and softness noodle... 

And it did not disappoint. The broth had a nice, deep, and rich scallop and seafood flavor. It was creamy, rich, and savory… somewhat reminding me of a Seafood Cup Noodle, but in a good way! The three scallops from Hokkaido on top were small, but they were decently fresh, with a nice, soft and springy texture. The slice of slightly rare chashu, too, is always a treat, though I wished for a bigger piece. For the price, the extra-large portion of noodles was definitely a good value considering it was a no-cost change.

I am glad that my friend and I could enjoy a damn good bowl of ramen, especially during midday on a Saturday, as most ramen shops are closed around 3 to 5:30pm. Iwamotoya is always worth coming back to check out.

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Tsukemen Honmaru (つけ麺本丸 柳津店) in Hongu, Gifu

Tsukemen Honmaru is a chain of ramen shops from Aichi Prefecture, serving up mainly tsukemen dipping-style noodles, as their name suggests. I stopped by their Hongu, Gifu, shop with my friend for a late dinner.

They have a few unique varieties, such as seafood, chicken and yuzu, spicy, and miso.

Of those four, I opted for their large Special Miso Tsukemen for 800￥ ($7.30 USD). For added value, normal and extra large sizes are also the same price.

The set that arrived on my table shortly thereafter was highly impressive, with the miso dipping broth still bubbling in the pot.

The portion size was more than adequate, the noodles soft and thick like good tsukemen should be. This was the first time I tried a miso-based tsukemen, as they all typically have a pork and fish (usually niboshi) base. I’ll say it was definitely a unique taste!

I don’t know how I managed to take such a blurry selfie…

I’m looking forward to coming back again and trying another of their varieties for the value alone!

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Ramen Sekai (らーめん世界福井敦賀店) in Tsuruga, Fukui

Ramen Sekai (“Ramen World”) is a chain of ramen restaurants around four local prefectures: Ishikawa, Toyama, Shiga, and, of course, Fukui. I usually stop by the Tsuruga, Fukui location. This is one of those ramen places when you don’t need something fancy and something delicious will do.

And delicious it is. With a reasonably large menu, they seem to really try to cover all the basic ramen bases.

Their main specialty seems to be their Kaga Miso Ramen, made from miso from Ishikawa Prefecture. Their miso has a bit of spice and is of the red miso variety, with hints of seaweed or fish in the broth. Their noodles are thick with a simple, clean taste and texture. The chashu is one of soup highlights, with a light, salty taste. Definitely a good value for the price.

I also recently tried their seasonal Yuzu Shio Ramen, which was quite cheap at 790￥ ($7.20 USD). It has a clean, light broth which allowed the thin slices of yuzu to really shine through. While it wasn’t the most revolutionary taste, simple and satisfying is always perfect for this season.

Their fried rice is also quite good with a savory, salty taste. If you crave more than just ramen, I highly recommend it.

Overall, this is a good place to stop when you need a quick bite without much fuss. The price is right, hours are long, and locations are pretty convenient.

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Thunder Ramen (拉麺点心雷堂) in Misawa, Aomori

Ramen Tenshin Ikazuchido in Misawa, Aomori is affectionately called “Thunder Ramen” in English.

Frequented by locals and foreigners alike, they offer a reasonably wide menu of typical soups with their own variations. As it is a small restaurant, wait times are pretty long during the lunch hour. We were seated for a while before our order came out.

Their most popular menu item is definitely their BBQ (Chashu), which is grilled and charred to perfection. You can have their BBQ on any of their ramen, but I opted for their BBQ Miso Ramen at 920￥ ($8.50) which was a very reasonable portion for the price.

As my friends mentioned, it definitely had a spicy miso taste that was just perfect. The miso was strong and flavorful, offering a savory richness to the broth. The noodles were deliciously soft and chewy which made the whole ramen experience wonderfully satisfying. While I can’t say it is the most complex bowl I’ve ever enjoyed, this certainly was one of the highlights of my trip to Hokkaido.

Thanks for the meal! ごちそうさまでした!

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Ajino Sapporo Onishi (味の札幌 大西) in Aomori City, Aomori

Ajino Sapporo Onishi is arguably one of the most famous ramen restaurants in Aomori. Their most popular is a Miso Curry Milk Ramen for a very reasonable 830￥ ($7.50 USD). It seems unique enough to draw a crowd fairly late on a weekday evening, apparently even being featured on local TV. So I braved the hour-long line and tried it myself. Starving for a good meal, I ordered the large size for only 100￥ more.

Placed down in front of me was undoubtedly what I consider a “large.” The bowl, soup, and ramen portion was definitely great for the price. The smell of miso and curry was certainly distinct. But how was the taste?Amazingly, it was a nice and flavorful, yet medium-light broth with distinctly rich miso and the aftertaste of a creamy curry, giving it a uniquely smooth feel that I really enjoyed. The thick noodles complemented the ramen with soft flavors and textures all around.

However, I expected a clearer “milk” taste given the name, but it wasn’t quite as milky or creamy as I hoped. Once the butter melted into the ramen, the butter taste was all but swallowed up by the curry and miso. I think if it had one more slice of butter, I think it would have been perfect.

They certainly earned their popularity with this uniquely delicious ramen at a great price. If you’re ever up in Aomori eating their famous apples, check out this famous local establishment, too.

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Iwamotoya (岩本屋) in Tsuruga, Fukui

Iwamotoya is a chain ramen restaurant born in Fukui Prefecture, but the closest one to me is in Tsuruga City. They have the standard varieties of Salt, Soy Sauce, and Tonkotsu ramen and they also often run limited monthly specials. For this season, they have a delicious Vegepote Miso Ramen for 980￥ ($9 USD) and the spicy version is just 1080￥. Sadly, we just missed their previous limited Clam Ramen.

One thing I love about Iwamotoya is their customization options. You can choose the noodle hardness, soup strength, amount of fat, and with or without garlic. If you order a spicy ramen, you can also select the spice level. I don’t know if it’s a recent change, but the large and special large sizes are also the same price! Given those options, I ordered the large, base-level Spicy Vegepote Miso Ramen with thicker broth, highest fat, and garlic.

Iwamotoya’s thicker noodle just soaks up the broth. And the broth was exactly what I hoped; thick, fatty, garlic-y, spicy, and full of flavor. Of course, the flavor profile was a bit plain and heavy, but the raw, chopped onions and bean sprouts helped to lighten the palate. The chashu was thin, but quite soft and delicious. Overall, a great, filling ramen for the price.

My friend clearly didn’t like the raw onions, so she piled them up on me. So the lesson is: avoid this month’s special if you hate them. But by all means, come for their other flavors.

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