麺屋 彩未 Saimi: the rambling guitarist

Sapporo is known not just for great ramen, but great food in general, from fresh dairy to grilled lamb and value revolving sushi. The city's claim to fame is miso, so Lum and I trekked over to the top-ranked shop in the city. Saimi is the highest rated miso shop on Tabelog and numerous ramen ranking sites in all of Japan. Get there well before it opens on a weekday and the lines won't be too bad.

Miso ramen (750yen)

Saimi puts out a refined miso in the vein of Sumire or Sapporo Junren, but without the added layers of back fat that tends to weigh those bowls down. Saimi goes heavy on fresh ginger to cut some of the fermented saltiness of the miso, and adds in several little touches to vary the texture, from the chewy bits of pork to the thin and crunchy menma. They also use a very high quality miso blend, with a tonkotsu soup that is also cut with some gyokai broth. The result is a bowl that is smooth to the very end, without any cloying miso aftertaste, and one of the very few miso bowls I didn't get sick of midway through.

Another reason this bowl is so strong is the chewy yellow noodles, a staple of most miso bowls. These are springy and full of hearty bite. Some of the best noodles of any bowl I've ever had.

Whether or not Saimi is your number one is all a matter of taste and perspective, but at worst, this is a very accessible bowl that doesn't inspire haters, and at best, is one of the smoothest, most balanced bowls of miso in the country.

Hokkaido, Sapporo, Toyohira-ku, Misono 10-5-3-12
Closest stn: Misono

Open from 11am-315pm and 5-730pm (closed Mondays)

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