Jankugarejji Omiya 2 Goten — Restaurant in Saitama

I have some thoughts regarding the ramen at Junk Garage, but as it can fall into the nitpicky territory, here's the TLDR: this place has some truly amazing miso ramen. Worth checking out for the broth alone.

The menu offered at Junk Garage is a lot more focused than one would initially expect. You really are choosing from two different dishes: your typical ramen bowl and mase soba (same noodles, more toppings, less to no broth). When it comes to the ramen, you also have the choice of a spicy version. As this was my first time visiting Junk Garage, I opted for the regular miso ramen. Something to note is that after you get your ticket from the machine, you will be asked what ingredients you would like more of. Here, you technically have four choices: more vegetables, more lard, more ginger/garlic, or more of everything. You can ask for double or even triple of all those ingredients. Should you choose to triple everything, you will literally get a mountain of vegetables. I went with an increase of everything and in a few minutes, I had a decent looking bowl of ramen in front of me. What immediately caught my attention was the lack of the staple ramen toppings. There was no egg, no naruto (kamaboko), no menma (bamboo shoots), and no nori (seaweed). There was a slice of chashu, and lots of bean sprouts. To be honest, that was disappointing to see. Especially the no egg. There is something magical about having the yolk of a half-boiled egg seep into a glistening broth, but no egg meant no magic here. With tempered expectations, I took a sip of the broth and...it was phenomenal. So much flavor, so much potency, so complex, and so, so delicious. I absolutely loved it. I took quite a few sips of the broth before I actually turned my attention to the noodles. Here I found another surprise. The noodles were not the typical ramen noodles that most ramen stores buy nowadays. You could tell care and love was put into making these noodles that had a different color, texture and even taste. The noodles on their own were great. Really enjoyed them. However, this brings me to my biggest gripe with Junk Garage's ramen. A lot in that bowl is really good, outstanding even, but they have no synergy whatsoever. The flavors and textures (or lack thereof) do not compliment each other, do not elevate the experience. Drinking the broth and slurping the noodles was great, but together it felt like they were fighting for the limelight. The beansprouts were just there. They barely soaked in the broth and since they tend to be so watery, each bite meant that I was tasting less of that amazing broth. This bowl could really have done with some of the other staple toppings. To be clear, they do offer the half boiled egg as a side, but the egg is synonymous with a bowl of ramen and I really don't think it should be something that you have to pay extra for.

As I was eating my bowl of ramen, I noticed that most people were eating the mase soba. It turns out that the mase soba comes with a lot more toppings than the ramen. Even the egg is included! I can definitely see how the textures of the noodles would lend themselves well to a dish with little broth and more variety of flavor profiles.

Again, the broth was fantastic. Some of the best miso ramen that I have had, but the experience is really brought down by the lack of the staple ramen ingredients and even more so by the lack of synergy between the noodles, broth, and bean sprouts. While I do not think that I will go out of my way to get a bowl of ramen here, I do plan on returning one day to try their mase soba. For now, you might find a more complete ramen experience elsewhere, but if you are craving really good miso and don't mind the cons, then you cannot go wrong with Junk...

【女性にも優しい二郎系⁉︎...

前にも書いたが、とにかく店員が酷い。料理に関しては何も言わない。ここは味というより量を食べに来ているから。過剰なサービスも求めない。それだけのお金を払ったとも思わないから。

だが、今回は別だ。食べている最中の客の器のそばにゴミを捨ててく？　あり得ないだろこんな事。画像の上に捩れたティッシュのカケラのようなものが見えると思う。これは、体格のいい、プロレスラーのような恰幅の男が、客席側からキッチンに入る際に、私の器数センチのところに捨てていったものだ。

当然、二度目が無いように私は通り口から器を離している。離してこれだ。あまりにも信じられない事で、今も頭の中が整理できてない。

男は恐らく無意識だろう。手についたゴミをちょっと落とすくらいの感覚だったのではないか。それでも、それでもだ。客が食べてるカウンターの上でやるか？　あり得ないだろ。

混雑どきだったから、その場で注意なんてしてみようものなら、他の客に迷惑を掛ける。そう思って黙っていたが、やはり、飲食店経験者としてあれは許せない。途中からあまりにも不愉快で、食べていた食事の味もしなかったほどだ。

初めて見る店員だった。あの男が続けるなら、私はもうあの店には行かないだろう。失礼とか、サービスの質が悪いとか、そういうレベルを超えている。

客の器にゴミを入れかける。そんな店員のいる料理なんて、金輪際...