Shougetsu (めん魚房 松月) in Tsuruga, Fukui (Strawberry Ramen)

Last month I went to Shougetsu in Tsuruga, Fukui, and had their seasonal Nishin Ramen (herring), but starting in March they introduced their new Strawberry Ramen… this I had to try! With the exception of their famous Lemon Ramen and other Yuzu citrus ramen, I have never had any fruit-inspired concoctions...

Arriving shortly at our table was this beautifully attractive bowl. I was surprised to say the strawberry tartness actually works pretty well for a ramen dish! There was also a bit of strawberry sauce around the top of the soup which gave the whole broth a bit of a lighter feel. It was definitely a unique taste that I enjoyed!

Unfortunately, I think the thickness of the broth and onions drowned out much of the strawberry flavor… if the broth was a lighter shio soup base, I think it would’ve been just about perfect. For a very reasonable portion at 1000￥ ($9 USD), you too can enjoy this limited seasonal fruit ramen!

Shougetsu (めん魚房 松月) in Tsuruga, Fukui

It’s been awhile since I last visited Shougetsu in Tsuruga, Fukui. This Japanese restaurant has a large varied menu, but to me, the thing I always order is their Lemon Ramen, a light salt broth ramen with a few tart slices of lemon to really lighten the flavor.

This time, however, I opted for a change… their seasonally-limited Nishin Ramen for a very reasonable 830￥ ($7.50 USD). A piece of herring fish in my ramen? Could it really be worth ordering over the usual favorite? I was hesitant at first, but the friendly proprietor assured me that it was delicious.

And it was! The fish was preserved, so it was salty and sweet, reminding me much of a canned fish found in many Chinese dishes. The fish pared decently with the soup, which was lightly savory and creamy, but with a hint of spice. It was definitely an interesting combination I don’t think I have ever tried before at any other ramen shop.

The portion of noodles was quite good so the asking price was well worth it for something this uniquely savory and delicious! The only thing that I would like to see are some additional toppings or maybe even a few slices of their lemon to lighten up the whole taste.

Unfortunately, by the time you read this in March, the limited ramen will already be out of season. Maybe next year he’ll bring it back, but the next seasonal ramen coming up is an Ichigo (Strawberry) Ramen! Look forward to my review soon!

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Chuka Soba Ryo (中華そばRyo) in Sabae, Fukui

Chuka Soba Ryo is a popular ramen restaurant in Sabae, Fukui known for their chicken-based ramen. Their main options all have some chicken in the broth as opposed to the more frequent pork used in other shops.

They offer shoyu soy-sauce, salt with niboshi (baby sardines), toripaitan (creamy chicken), and spicy maze mix soba. Of the four, I was recommended the salt or creamy variants by the waitstaff, so I opted for the Nibo Salt Chicken Soba for 780￥ ($7 USD), large-sized for 130￥ more, and a side of Chicken Chashu Rice Bowl for 350￥ more.

The light clear broth was quite lovely, imparting lots of fish and chicken flavors, while having a really clean and light finish. I’ve had soups before that end up oily due to the chicken and fish used, but this was not the case here. The noodles were also quite chewy and soft, portioned well at the large size. The chicken toppings were also delicious, with a perfect texture that had a great balance of softness and firmness.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the chicken bowl. While it was deliciously light and refreshing, it was not quite worth the extra yen unless you’re really hungry. I’d recommend just going with a larger side or extra helping of noodles.

Definitely a good restaurant if you’re looking for nice, unique bowls of chicken ramen that are becoming more popular, especially in the Kansai area of Japan.

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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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Ramen Zenya (らーめん善谷) in Ishinomaki, Miyagi

Ramen Zenya in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, is one of those ramen shops only accessible by car, in the middle of not much. I probably have driven by hundreds of shops similar to this without knowing what delicious treasures lay inside.

However, if I didn’t stop here, I would’ve missed out on an amazing Michelin-reviewed bowl of ramen… and probably one of the best light soups I’ve had in a long time.

I’ll admit my first impression was not very good, seeing the large menu and a long wait. While the shop was huge, there were even more chefs behind the glass window at different stations. This looked like a food factory, an assembly line better suited producing instant ramen than Bib Gourmand bowls. They advertise locally-sourced and produced noodles and in-house made broths. Sure, with production facilities out back, perhaps...

Given that I live in Obama City, a place known historically for our catch of saba (mackerel), I was curious to try their take with Saba Ramen for only 800￥ ($7.50) for a large size. The smell was the first thing I noticed, a savory scent of salted fish. I took a sip and I was transported to ramen broth heaven, imagining fishermen and their fresh saba haul pouring them into a hilariously large pot, then straight into my mouth. The taste was so unexpectedly flavorful with the unique smokey, rich taste of saba in every sip. What I did expect was the broth to be slightly greasy, given the high oil and fat content in saba.

The chashu was exceptionally soft, making me wish I had a side order of extra chashu. The noodles were thin, nice, and firm, tying the whole ramen together. The only minor let down was the egg, which wasn’t particularly tasty or cooked well. One could forego that issue because the rest of the bowl was exceptional.

Wow.

 

Shiotetsu (塩てつ) in Echizen, Fukui

Shiotetsu is a small ramen shop along a busy street in Echizen, Fukui. Coming back from Fukui City at night, I was hungry for dinner and this seemed to fit the bill. Parking was limited up front until I saw the large parking lot behind. Seats inside the restaurant are reasonably plentiful with some group seating and a few counter spaces. Their menu consists of a few variations of primarily Shio Salt and Miso Ramen with a wide variety of sides like Gyoza, Rice, Fried Chicken, and the like.

I tried their most popular ramen, a Shio Dragon Ramen with Garlic Ramen noodles for only 670￥ ($6 USD) for a regular. As a huge fan of garlic in ramen, I was deeply intrigued so I ordered the larger size at only 795￥. What arrived shortly thereafter really impressed me with the sheer value of size for the price, the smell of savory umami and garlic hitting me.

I think a lot more ramen shops should do this! The noodles were a bit firm, but had a really unbelievable amount of garlic flavor imbedded within each strand. If you love garlic, you’ll be in heaven! The salt broth was good and light, but rather greasy so it was not particularly memorable. There was only a sliver of chashu, but it was good. Perhaps next time I’ll order a larger grilled portion.

Maybe their Dragon Ramen is so named because you are going to breathe some major garlic breath after eating it! But I loved it!

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

Mensho Kaguya (麺匠かぐや) in Tsuruga, Fukui is currently offering a limited-time Kani Miso Noko Shio Ramen for 1080￥ ($10 USD) starting Monday, November 11th for the winter crab season, so I went by with my friends Jenny and Josie on their first opening day to try it. Luckily, when we showed up shortly after 6pm, there wasn’t much of a crowd.

They have signage proclaiming the crab ramen in front of their shop and on the menu so we were not led astray. Given that I didn’t have much for lunch, the 120￥ more for the larger size could be justified.

Here was the beautiful bowl of ramen that arrived: A slice of beautifully grilled aburi chashu, medium-thin ramen noodles, and thick, fatty broth, topped with wakame seaweed, scallions, and a crab shell. The crab was beautifully prepared with kani miso and scallions. Kani miso is actually the innards of the crab, perhaps because the consistency is much like soybean paste and it also has a strong flavor.

I was actually surprised at the clean and clear shell of the crab. My guess is they likely boiled the whole thing to clean and strain off every last bit of crab miso.

I’ve actually visited Kaguya before, so I am familiar with their thick, rich, and flavorful tonkotsu pork bone broth. Their noodles are medium-firm and their chashu nice, fatty, and soft; both a perfect complement to their soup. We were recommended to mix in the kani miso into the broth and it subtly added a creamy, salty sea taste with a hint of the bitterness of the miso.

The large portion was well-worth the value and I couldn’t help but gulp it up quickly, despite my burning tongue’s protestation. Especially given the price, the crab is an absolutely amazing value.

If you can, I highly recommend you try their limited-time ramen, but even their regular ramen is also quite good.

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