麺屋 宗 Menya Sou: salt of the earth

The end of the year is approaching quickly. At this time of year, a lot of shops produce a gentei (limited-time) bowl full of seasonal ingredients. Above all, I was interested in Menya Sou's gentei bowl. They're located in Takadanobaba, which is one of the biggest ramen battlegrounds in Tokyo.

Sou was pushing out a salt and butter ramen. Sounds rich! I thought to myself while licking my lips. Sou uses Beurre d'Echire butter, which is a gourmet French butter often used for high-priced sweets.

The bowl is beautiful. A slice of lemon and several more slices of prosciutto make this bowl look like an Italian pasta dish.

One sip, and I let out a moan like an porn star. The butter and mushrooms combine for an amazing flavor profile.

The Echire butter adds a creamy accent that dribbled from my mouth. I was sad to see it dissolve into the soup. The noodles were chewy, going well with such rich soup.

As an added bonus, Sou provides some rice and cheese in which to use the leftover soup for a sort of ramen butter risotto.

Pouring the rest of the soup on the rice and shredded cheese was very yummy.

We enjoyed this gentei til the very last drop. A wonderful Christmas present for my belly. Unfortunately, this bowl is no longer available at Sou, but I'm sure they'll have more, so visit them and let us know!

Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku, Takadanobaba 1-4-21
Closest stn: Takadanobaba

Open from 1130am-4pm and 6-10pm

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