Seabream Ramen

Hangover Helper

A light ramen to end your night.

You cant have a Tokyo Food Blog without countless ramen posts. This is only my second one and if I went to a different ramen shop every night it would take me 5 years to visit them all. Plus several more years on a dialysis machine after my kidneys just turn to salt.

So let's get started with a visit to Tai Shio Soba (Salty sea bream noodles) Touka (name of the place)

Where should I eat ramen in Tokyo?

Impossible question to answer. A better question is where should I eat ramen in Shinjuku? Or whichever ward you happen to be in. Better yet, just say ramen to your phone and let Siri sort you out. Ramen is everywhere in Tokyo and you can't go wrong. Anyway, Takao and I were out at our local getting a little wine in. On the way home it was already way too late on a school night for a full dinner, which meant it was time for ramen. There are several options to choose from near our place but we wanted something a little lighter than a Tonkotsu Ramen (pork broth) or a Shoyu Ramen (soy sauce broth). So we settled for Tai Ramen.

Tai Ramen is a ramen made with Seabream Stock.

So as opposed to the usual pork broth base this soup takes on a much more clear and almost chicken noodle soup kind of quality. Don't let the fish broth fool you though, this stuff packs a lot of flavor.

The broth is in no way "fishy" despite it being a fish stock. You're just going to have to trust me on this.

 Some Ramen Rules

Good ramen should always have a line out front. There are only about 6 or 7 seats in a typical ramen place. Don't let the lines scare you. People slurp down their noodles and get the hell out. These aren't places for dining. 

You go for ramen when:

• You're about to miss your last train.
• You ate dinner already but have just a bit more room left
• You drank too much.
• You had a shit day and have no patience for cooking or even waiting for food at a restaurant
• You're hungry and want ramen.

You don't need to mind your manners at a ramen restaurant but I would suggest you don't sit around after you've finished your soup. It's time to go. Ramen shops typically have a small menu that's around 1000 yen (10 USD) so if you sit there long after you've finished your meal you are costing them a bunch of money. Some ramen places don't even serve beer to prevent this from happening. Not all, but some. So just be mindful of the line of people waiting behind you. I've seen a few ramen places back in the US and I'm sure they are good but I would say the biggest difference is that they all seem to have other things on the menu and they look more like restaurants. A ramen shop in Tokyo will have ramen, variations of that ramen and maybe gyoza and sometimes chahan (fried rice).

Meet your waitress

If you visit Touka you'll just buy some tickets from the vending machine. The red ones on the right are all ramen. Starting at 800 yen and then adding toppings. Get the 1150 Yen one (10USD) That's the "one with everything, please" button. The yellow buttons are the same BUT they are Tsukemen. This is ramen but with the noodles served on a separate platter that you then dip into the soup. Think "deconstructed chicken noodle soup", only, not lame. That light yellow one for 180 yen is just a bowl of white rice (good for dumping into the broth should you run out of noodles). The blue one is ramen but served ice cold! Exciting stuff in the summer time. Then the far left from top to bottom is Tai Ochazuke (seabream and green tea broth with rice in it) then boiled gyoza and finally at the bottom is a button for an extra serving of Chashu (pork) on your ramen.

The bottom left to right is beer, lemon chuhi and a highball.

After you've bought your tickets from the vending machine just hand them to the staff and in about 3-5 minutes you're on your way to flavor country. Population: you.

On top you'll find your fatty slice of chashu (pork) topped with green onions and zest of yuzu. Yuzu is a Japanese lemon/lime fruit that packs a lot of flavor.

Curling around the edge of the bowl will be a long slice of bamboo. I love these guys! And that adorable pink flower is a small bit of fish cake, mainly decorative.

And the most important part of the bowl...the soft boiled egg! So so so important. Get the egg!

Master at work.

 Condiemnt run down! Left we've got Yuzu Kosho which is citrus pepper, go nuts with that stuff! Then we have shichimi which is a chili pepper base, not too spicy. Last one is hair ties for the ladies and long haired lads. Unless you want seabream broth all up in your hair.

Enjoy!