Nama Japan

11/04/2026

25/067 Gyoza no Ohsho - Suratanmen

You’re never too good or fancy for a bowl at Gyoza no Ohsho from time to time. Really though, you’re going for the garlic gyoza, which are setting the standard for all other gyoza out there. The ramen is mainly powered by msg, not a culinary highlight in the ramen world, but it gets the job done at a price point that is hard to beat. The Suratanmen are leaning on the Chinese hot and sour style soup, somewhat japanified.
Since there’s always a Gyoza no Ohsho nearby, they are a great way to get a quick and filling meal for a few coins. Just beware that all of your clothes will smell like food, so maybe not food to have before client meetings or a date

#ラーメン

19/03/2026

25/066 Honolu - Spicy Chicken Ramen

Tori paitan and spicy tori paitan, tried both.
Since I have sent at least a dozen people here who have asked me for halal ramen recommendations, I thought it’s about time to try this place myself.
It is run by Indonesians, most of their customers also seem to hail from there.
The ramen was not bad, but in a way tasted like as if I made some random tori paitan at home with supermarket chicken.
Not *bad* but also not very good.
The rayu also tasted a bit like supermarket rayu, but there’s a lot of it in the spicy bowl, so it actually packs quite some punch with the quite spicy soboro. The soboro was relatively cold on top, so probably comes out of the fridge or something, not a big fan.
Noodles are also some very standard fare you would expect in a random chain ramen shop.
Idk probably still one of the best certified halal ramen?
But ramen heads don’t need to go.

#ラーメン

16/03/2026

New instant ramen review article up. Doner Kebab taste instant noodles, what could go wrong?

Welcome to another episode of “Why are you doing this to yourself?” where I try random and weird instant ramen from all around the world. For today, I picked up a cup of Knorr “Fusion Noodles Doner Kebab Taste”. I like instant noodles, I like doner kebab, what could go wrong? I grabbed this ...

15/03/2026

25/065 Ando - Shiromiso Ramen

Ando is easily the best ramen shop in the Enoshima area, even though the whole area has upgraded quite a bit in terms of ramen. Before COVID it was an absolute ramen desert. Since then, the area gained a few shops, but Ando is on top for me. They have quite a bit of variety on the menu. Since I eat there at least once a year, I went with their gentei this time, a shiromiso bowl.
The soup is chicken and clam base, the shiromiso gave it quite a bit of richness and smoothness.
The people running the shop really know what they’re doing, everything is really well executed.
The shop is basically a must if you’re down at Enoshima anyway, either to go to the beach or to see Enoshima island itself. Or if you want to see that infamous Slam Dunk crossing.
Next best shop in the area is Uzu to Kaminari, which is already a few train stops away.

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15/03/2026

25/064 Butaboshi - Sho, ninniku, abura, karame

As I have said previously, Butaboshi is probably my favorite Jiro style bowl out there that doesn’t one out of a Ramen Jiro. You all should go and visit soon, that place is slowly falling apart. Like, physically.
They also run specials all the time, best check their Twitter before so you can decide what to get. But the regular sho is never a wrong choice here.

#ラーメン

09/03/2026

New video up!

Visiting a legendary shops like Chukasobaya Ito (中華そば屋 伊藤) is always a fun thing, experiencing where and how things started.Ito opened its doors in 2004, ope...

22/02/2026

26/008 Menya Eita - Eita Tsukemen

Truly fantastic tsukemen, exactly between a Taishoken style and let’s say a Tomita. Strong flavors, not as thick and gelatinous, nice acidity, richness, but not too heavy. No idea how they’re balancing it so well.
Lots of things to change up the flavor are also an easy key to my heart. First, the Karami brings a lot of flavor to the table mid-meal, a good kick, without completely ruining the meal with heat. There’s garlic, vinegar, pepper and other stuff on the table to further change things up. Of course, adding a bit of garlic just pushes it even more towards excellence.
The noodles are made in-house, there’s a Shinagawa machine proudly displayed behind a window.
Cody said in his opinion this place was even better than Kissou. High praise.

Tsukemen lovers can put this with good conscience on their to-do lists.

#ラーメン

18/02/2026

New video up!

Koshu Hanten (杭州飯店) is the most famous of the Tsubame-Sanjo style ramen shops in the Tsubame city and Sanjo city area.Lots of seabura is the name of the name...

15/02/2026

26/007 Niku no Sato - Tokusei Tonkotsu

Niku no Sato is actually a motsuyaki place under Tennocho station, means you can get all things offal in various forms. Lots of such places also put a tonkotsu ramen on their menu to use off cuts and leftovers, which sometimes means you get a quite funky and impactful tonkotsu. For 580 Yen, it’s really hard to say no (3-4 EUR/USD).
It’s really hard to complain about anything at that price point, but I crushed the bowl, it was definitely enjoyable and more rich than I had anticipated.
It was everything I would want from a local tonk place. Slight stank, probably just using whatever they can’t use for their regular menu, but still just well executed including the toppings.
Really hard to beat at that price point.

#ラーメン tonkotsuramen

07/02/2026

26/006 Ramen Go-On - Tokusei Shio

Tabelog top 100 for a good reason, this is surely one of the top chicken shio ramen out there.
I don’t think the soup is only chicken, but maybe some umami enhancers such as kombu etc.
I really loved the noodles here, very firm bite from the start, didn’t soften up a lot during the meal, good stuff.
Chashu was the “modern standard” pork and sous vide chicken breast combo, well executed, but it’s really everywhere nowadays.
It’s been a while since an egg got me excited, but this one here was fantastic, heavily leaning into the mirin side of things, but very “eggy”. They must have a good egg supplier.

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07/02/2026

26/005 Menya Kuro - Nami Ramen

Menya Kuro in Meguro, nami ramen, katame koime oome.

You all know the feeling when you get a great bowl of iekei, you take the first sip, especially after you added rice, and for a split second you know what heaven must feel like?
This shop isn’t that. But it’s pretty good and does the job. As one of the 2 noteworthy iekei ramen shops (the other being Takemuraya), it fills the role of friendly neighborhood iekei ramen shop minus the friendliness. Atmosphere inside is a bit tense and chaotic, but who cares.
Rice is free, if you don’t eat it all, they charge you a 500 Yen penalty.
The ramen itself is a good iekei standard, not a lot of funk, but good depth and richness, nothing outstanding though. The noodles were interestingly thin. They get their noodles from Sakai Seimen, but these here are definitely thinner than other Sakai Seimen noodles I have had at other shops. Interesting choice, but maybe fitting to the not super rich soup.
Even though I ordered oome, I didn’t feel like it was really a lot of chiyu as well.
Chashu was alright.
Overall a good 3 out of 5 on the iekei scale, not bad, not great. But it’s proper iekei and you will walk out satisfied nonetheless.

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01/02/2026

063 Fukufukutei - Tokusei Shio Ramen

Disciple of Shinasobaya Sano-san, very proudly displayed everywhere in and in front of the the shop.
It’s all about the chicken here. Chicken flavor so much in the foreground. Lots of chiyu. Super thin noodles in the shio which almost melt away.
Chashu and wantan are excellent, menma nice and crunchy.
I found the super finely chopped negi interesting. Plus fried onions plus some picked daikon, but everything very small cut.
Essentially just small additions to the chicken flavor, nothing to hide it away.
Really worth checking out if you are already in the area for Ida Shoten or something.
Allegedly one of the favorite shops of Ida-san? But can’t remember anymore where I heard that.

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