Chūka-soba Aoba Nakano — Restaurant in Tokyo

Aoba is a soba ramen shop that is quite popular, perhaps due in no small part to their inclusion as a Michelin Gourmand Bib selection, which is how I heard about this restaurant. I stopped in shortly after they opened to try a bowl of their shoyu fish-infused broth.

For 730￥ ($6.50 USD) for the regular or 900￥ ($8 USD) for the special portion ramen with egg and extra chashu, it is definitely an inexpensive way to try some quality ramen. Large sizes and tsukemen dipping-style is also on offer. I was quite impressed with the broth, as it was clean and slightly light, yet had a nice, rich Chinese-inspired flavor. I actually thought there was something else in the soup like pork or duck, but I could be wrong. The portion wasn't huge, nor the chashu plentiful, but the quality is worth it.

If you're hungry after shopping for all those anime goods at Nakano Broadway, this is a great...

言わずと知れたラーメンの有名店です。 セブンイレブンのカップラーメンで見たことがある人も多いと思います。

シンプルイズベストのラーメンです。

下記、公式ホームページからの引用です。たまに無性に食べたくなります。

■商品説明

風味とコクを両立させた「ダブルスープ」 青葉の中華そばは、「東京ラーメン」と「九州ラーメン」、両方の良さを取り入れたものです。 「東京ラーメン」は「香り高い和風だし」が魅力ですが、スープが淡泊すぎ、私にはもの足りなく思えました。 一方、「九州ラーメン」は「濃厚なコク」がありますが、私にはニオイや脂が強すぎるので苦手でした。 両方の良さを合わせることが出来ないか？そこで考えたのが「ダブルスープ」でした。 これは、「九州ラーメン」のトンコツ、鶏ガラといった「動物系スープ」から脂を分離し「コク」だけ残したスープと、それに負けないような濃い、かつお節、さば節、煮干しといった「魚系の和風スープ」。 この二つを別々に抽出し、丼で合わせたものです。 現在は、より安定した品質を守るため、丼で合わせる形ではありませんが、「ダブルスープ」のスタイルを守っています。

■豊富なゼラチン質 青葉のスープは、一般のラーメンの約3倍のゼラチン質が含まれています。これは、トンコツ、鶏ガラを贅沢に使って、初めて実現しました。 ゼラチン質豊富なスープは、濃厚な上、脂分や塩分を控えることができます。（塩分は、一般のラーメンの約3分の2です） また、ゼラチン質は、美肌効果などで注目されているコラーゲンとほぼ同じもの（化粧品や食品に使用されているコラーゲンの大半は、豚から抽出したものです）なので、女性にもお勧めです。

It is a well-known ramen restaurant. Many people have seen it in the Seven-Eleven cup ramen.

It is a ramen where simple is best.

The following is a quote from the official website. I sometimes have an irresistible urge to eat it.

Product description

Double soup" for both flavor and richness Aoba's Chinese noodles are a combination of the best of both Tokyo Ramen and Kyushu Ramen. The Tokyo Ramen has an appealing "fragrant Japanese broth," but the soup is too bland for me. Kyushu Ramen, on the other hand, has a rich, full-bodied soup, but I didn't like it because the smell and fat were too strong. I wondered if it was possible to combine the best of both. That's when I came up with the idea of "double soup. This is a soup made by separating the fat from the "animal soup" of Kyushu Ramen, such as tonkotsu (pork bone) and chicken bones, and leaving only the "richness" of the soup, and a "fish-based Japanese soup," such as bonito flakes, mackerel flakes, and dried bonito, which is as thick as the soup. These two soups are extracted separately and combined in a bowl. Currently, in order to maintain a more stable quality, we do not combine them in a bowl, but we still maintain the "double soup" style.

Rich in gelatin Aoba's soup contains about three times as much gelatin as ordinary ramen. This has only been achieved by lavishly using pork knuckle and chicken bones. The gelatin-rich soup is thicker and contains less fat and salt. (The salt content is about two-thirds that of ordinary ramen. In addition, gelatin is almost the same as collagen, which is attracting attention for its effect on beautiful skin (most of the collagen used in cosmetics and foods is extracted from pigs), so it is also...

A wonderful place for a reasonably priced lunch in the middle of winter. A rich soup and springy noodles are just the start of it. With an excellent tsukemen broth complementing springy and chewy noodles, Aoba serves up some of the nicest dining within easy walking distance of Nakano Station.

The bamboo shoots were flavourful and supple, yet with enough firmness to provide a chew. The chashu was melt in your mouth soft, and although slightly salty, was an excellent complement to the noodles and broth.

The broth is warming, and its gradual increase in spiciness as you work your way though the noodles feels fantastic. A...