Sōsakumen Kōbō Nakiryū — Restaurant in Tokyo

Instant happiness.

I came to this restaurant on a Saturday morning (10.30am) to reserve a seat (there is an iPad placed outside). There were still some seats available at 3pm and at 3.30pm. I chose the first time slot available. Arriving back at 2.45pm, I joined the small queue across the street, five to ten minutes later I was allowed in. Once inside, you have to choose your dishes on a large touch screen. At the top left, there is a button that allows you to choose the menu in English. I first chose my two side dishes: gyoza, and prawn dumplings with spicy sauce. For the main course, I chose their famous signature dish: tantanmen. I paid 2000 yen (the equivalent of 12 euros). They gave me a seat at the counter.

The side dishes came first. As a true gyoza lover, I immediately attacked the goyza. Actually, I could have eaten the three gyoza in less than a minute, but they were so delicious that I forced myself to take my time, to fully appreciate the flavours of this beautiful dish: that's how good the gyoza were. After this, I started eating my prawn dumplings, which I found possibly tasted even better than the gyoza. Just like many others write in their reviews, these dumplings must have been most likely the tastiest dumplings of my life, for me too.

Now a word about the tantanmen (ramen) I had: again, this was most probably the best ramen ever (and I have eaten quite a few in my life). As a matter of fact, this ramen was instant happiness.

(Side note for those who worry that this tantanmen would be too hot or too spicy: don't worry, it's not.)

I read that some people don't like the fact that the ramen is served in a different bowl than usual, and I also read dissatisfied reviews about the, what some call "too thin", noodles. In my opinion, both reviews are unjustified; I explain why below.

First, the inverted conical shape of the bowls serves a purpose (I guess): it allows you to experience the dish chronologically, in layers. The mise-en-place of this beautiful dish can be found chronologically in the flavours you taste as you slurp up this delicious dish: I saw the chefs first pour two different ‘tares’ into the bowl, then the noodles and broth, then thickly minced meat, and at the end the toppings.

Of course, this savouring experience only happens on condition that you do not immediately start stirring the ramen as soon as it is served. So: no stirring is the message here.

The broth, which you taste first, is mild in flavour and well-balanced. The first noodles you slurp up are cooked perfectly al dente (please do slurp them), and thanks to their thinness they absorb more flavour than if they had been thicker.

As you continue eating more noodles, the dish gradually becomes richer in flavour, also creamier, as you pull noodles from more down the bowl. The meat, sesame flavour, and nutty flavours at the bottom will surprise your taste buds, individually, as was, most probably, the chef's intention. Moreover: what many ramens lack, but certainly not this one, was a varied texture. The chewiness of the noodles, combined with the chopped nuts at the bottom, combined with the thickly minced meat: everything has its place, and the combination of both flavours and textures makes this dish reach perfection.

For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that this restaurant no longer has a Michelin star. It does, however, have a Bib gourmand recommendation (also from Michelin). Why this place lost its star is incomprehensible to me, because compared to the other Michelin-starred restaurants I visited, the dishes I enjoyed here are really worthy of...

The restaurant opens at 11 AM. The first time we tried going there they closed that Sunday. So we ended up trying again a week later on our last leg in Japan.

If you want to get in as a first batch or 2nd batch then I highly recommended going there between 7:30-8:15 AM. We got there at 8:02 AM and we were the last two to get the first slot. It depends on the day. Weekends will be more busy for sure. We went on a Wednesday. On weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) you will need to be there earlier.

When we got there at 11 AM, there were still a few slots opened for later hours (2-3:30 pm). So the point I am trying to make is you will have to wait no matter what time you go. The new reservation system is efficient in my opinion.

First off, I like tonkotsu ramen base because I like the savoury taste. I went to another Michelin star ramen in Kyoto (soy sauce base) it was great but wasn’t my favorite. If you want to know why then please check my review.

The service was impeccable. The male and female chefs looked exactly like on YouTube. I got people’s fav and most popular ramen (Tantanmen). 1200 yen for a bowl. Soft boiled egg was 150 yen. We also ordered the shrimp dumplings and pork with mayonnaise on rice as side dishes (500 yen each).

Let me tell you, that was the best shrimp dumplings I have ever had. It looked spicy but it’s not. The chili oil, sesame, their special light soy sauce and tiny bit of vinegar (I am guessing) went really well together. I wanted to lick the bowl of sauce lol of course I didn’t. This is a classy place.

The ramen was delicious. I believe it had peanuts in it so for anyone with peanuts allergy so sorry. But you can ask them to be sure? I could be wrong. The broth was rich and flavorful. It’s not as flavorful as the tonkotsu but when you try it you will feel that it’s not a simple recipe. You have to appreciate the craftsmanship when they put together a bowl of ramen.

We also had the pork on rice with mayonnaise as most people recommend. I was already full from the ramen and the shrimp dumplings but man…the dish was so good that ended up finishing it too lol.

Everything was delicious as expected. I could see why people would wake up early and wait in line for this but it’s hard for foreigners like myself to get used to it. I recommend going on a weekday and book a reservation and then do our shopping and come back.

Overall, I highly recommend this Michelin star restaurant. Once you try good ramens in Japan. All ramens in Canada are average I feel. And the ramen in Japan is much cheaper!! You can’t get a good bowl of ramen in Canada for less than $15-$16 without...

This is my third visit to a Michelin star ramen shop in Tokyo but I wasn’t blown away. Perhaps the experience was blunted a little by the high expectations that a Michelin star brings. Nonetheless it is certainly an enjoyable bowl of ramen.

I had the tantanmen ramen for which they are famous. I understand that this bowl is reminiscent of the original Chinese Sichuan dandan noodles which evolved into modern day Japanese tantanmen ramen. However I must say I prefer the classic modern day Japanese tantanmen.

I ordered chashu slices, ajitama, ‘very hot’ chilli paste and extra noodles (kaedama). The standout element in this ramen was the noodles which are on the thin side and a pure joy to eat. The ajitama is great and the pork chashu is just ok.

As with all tantanmen there is a serving of minced pork. However the pork didn’t really register and was not the deep brown and aromatic mince that I was looking forward to. The green negi was beautifully presented on top and complimented the broth nicely.

I sensed a subtle taste of either cinnamon or star anise from the broth which was pleasing. There is also raw chilli powder dusted on top of the separate chilli paste but I didn’t like the flavour of raw chilli powder in the broth. I feel chilli powder needs to be fried to develop its flavour. Tasting raw uncooked chilli powder in the broth seemed incongruous to me.

Overall the broth is still enjoyable and I didn’t leave any behind.. however as I examined the broth closely, I found that it’s missing that shimmering little galaxy of fat bubbles thats always an indication of lip smacking delicious ramen broth goodness. This broth had a small amount of fat bubbles but not enough in my opinion. There is a nuttiness to the broth but it’s very light.

Nakiryu apparently means ‘crying dragon’. However the low spice level in this tantanmen left professor ramen with dry eyes. I would have preferred double the spice level and a higher fat content in the broth. I would also prefer a more nutty flavour. So it’s not the best tantanmen I’ve ever had but it’s still worth a visit. The noodles alone are worth the wait!

I arrived at 09:30 on Saturday morning. There were already about 12 people waiting in line. The shop opened at 11am and by then there were about 70 people waiting. I entered the shop at 11:30am. You might consider visiting on a weekday rather than a Saturday...