Umami Dashi Noodle 素良 Sora: real [CLOSED]

Anyone can use social media to spread out anything very easily to world nowadays. I also always see a lot of people who use or put a phone on the table when they eat. I personally don’t like those kinds of behaviors because I really want to concentrate on the meal, enjoy conversation, and not look at unnecessary information while I eat. So I'm sometimes disappointed to see people looking at their phone in front of wonderful meals.

Sora is a ramen shop where you can just enjoy and concentrate on the food without caring about the behavior of others. You're not allowed to use phones, apps, or cameras inside. Mr. Miyazaki, the owner of Sora no Iro, quietly opened this shop in February in the old Salt and Mushroom location. He didn't promote it heavily, didn't allow any media sites to come and hype the shop up. He just really wants customers to enjoy ramen by activating their five senses thanks to the clean ingredients and fresh produce from local suppliers and farmers.

For Hearts and me, his rules aren't strict at all, but some might be put off from having to be untethered from their phones. Some people seem eat to take a photo in order to get “likes” or to improve their restaurant review site. They are surrounded by so much information but they haven’t even tried the ramen yet. Here, we can hear the sound of the cooking, the conversation between staff. 

We were allowed to take photos for a special five-year anniversary of Sora no Iro. It was also a fundraising charity drive, where all proceeds from the anniversary bowls would go towards the victims of the Kumamoto earthquake. For this special day, Miyazaki-san whipped up a special bowl. 

A shio broth enhanced by cod dashi, several types of domestically and sustainably grown chashu and vegetables, sautéed oyster mushrooms, bright orange seasoned egg, and topped with a mushroom espuma that came from a collaboration with Sapporo's MEN EIJI and Seto's Menya Katabutsu. The curly handmade noodles were excellent and reminiscent of a Kitakata style bowl.

Isn’t ramen so beautiful? I thought we could enjoy this so much more than usual without the typical technological disturbances. Since this was a one-day only special, you'll have to visit the shop to see what high quality bowls Sora puts out on a daily basis.

Hearts and I really agree with Mr. Miyazaki’s concept. We kept talking and talking and talking after we finished eating at Sora, being truly satisfied with good ramen. I think directly because of our modern times we need to enjoy and appreciate meals. Ramen can teach us what is truly important.

Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku, Kojimachi 3-4-3

Closest stn: Kojimachi

Open from 12-3pm (closed Sundays and Mondays) 

Lum

中華蕎麦 蘭鋳 Ranchu: serenity

Ranchu has been on our radar for some time now, but they have weird hours and it's always been a little bit of a chore to get there. They serve a polished niboshi shoyu with some of the best chashu in the city.

Ajitama soba (900yen)

Unfortunately, there was no chashu-men, so I settled for a bowl of chopped chashu covered in scallions. Meaty and paired well with the crunchy scallions, this appetizer would have been even better with a beer, but it was only noon, a good hour before I usually start my Tuesday drinking marathon, so Lum and I just munched on them sober.

A subtle niboshi flavor permeates this bowl, but after experiencing some recent other gutsier shops, I was expecting a little more punch. The noodles, from Mikawaya Seimen, were excellent. The chashu was as good as advertised, rare and pink and tender when it arrived. The only problem with this kind of slow-roasted pork is that you have to eat it within the first minute or two; otherwise, it will get cooked in the soup into a less appetizing hard beige slab.

Ranchu's well-balanced bowl is served in a quiet setting despite being on a busy thoroughfare, and the customers inside were intent on savoring the chefs' handiwork. A serene atmosphere for appreciating ramen.

Tokyo, Suginami-ku, Horinouchi 2-13-13
Closest stn: Honancho

Open from 12-2pm and 6-9pm (12-3pm on Saturdays, closed Sundays)

Hearts

麺庵 ちとせ Chitose: kind hearts and coronets

The weather was chilly at the end of March, but that's not enough to prevent us from getting to a shop early and getting the first round of seating. Akebonobashi is becoming a small ramen district, and Chitose is about a 5-10 minute walk from the station. While we were in line, an old guy asked us if we the ramen shop was famous. We just him it was our first time there and heard good things, and the old guy thanked us and walked away.

This was a particularly icy morning and we wanted to eat immediately. As soon as entered, one of the staff said to all the customers, "Thank you very much for waiting in the cold weather." He kept repeating that whenever a customer would come into the shop. This sort of consideration touched my heart.

Ajitama ramen (850yen)

The ramen touched our hearts as well. There is a lot of care in this bowl, with many distinctive ingredients providing the perfect harmony for a very tender shoyu ramen. The flat noodles are made of flour flown in from Hokkaido, the tare is composed of five types of soy sauce, and various other ingredients are locally sourced, including fruits, seaweed, scallops, and free-range chickens.

Chitose also has a frequently changing gentei, "limited-time" menu. This month, the featured bowl was a tantanmen that wasn't much to look at, but was different from the normal salty-sweet bowls in that it really emphasized the shoyu ramen base. This was like a tantan shoyu ramen, with the shoyu notes being accented with sesame nuttiness and just the right amount of chili oil and numbing pepper spice. We slurped till the last drop and told the staff we would be back for sure.

Tantanmen (850yen)

On our way out, we saw the old guy waiting in line with his coworker. Hearts told him, "Really good!" And it was. I believe that having a gentle heart creates good things that connect our spirits and lead to success.

Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku, Ichigayadaimachi 18-5
Closest stn: Akebonobashi

Open from 1130am-330pm (closed Saturdays)

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松戸中華そば 富田食堂 Tomita Shokudo: diner

Matsudo is synonymous with Tomita, the highest rated "rich style" tsukemen in Japan. But another Tomita exists in its shadow: a tiny 7-seat counter that serves up a mean niboshi chukasoba.

Chukasoba with egg (medium 850yen)

Open from morning to the middle of the night, Tomita Shokudo is the more accessible, late-night ramen diner version of Tomita (shokudo is Japanese for "cafeteria). They serve a morning ramen, a mid-day "thick" tsukemen, and an ultra fatty bowl after 8pm. Their trademark chukasoba is rich and salty and littered with chopped scallions in the vein of Nagi's sardine laden funk, with a signature pile of wakame seaweed that is more commonly found in cafeteria ramen bowls (hence the shop name). Hand picked and chewy, this is solid chew that cuts some of overly salty soup.

The handmade noodles of medium thickness are expectedly excellent, but the chashu deserves special mention - grilled right in front of you so that the smells permeate the shop, this is particularly tender and juicy meat. Apparently they've gone through several different chashu incarnations, all of which present a fresh take on grilled pork.

The same attention to detail, care for customers, and homey feel translates to Tomita's sister shop, with slightly more manageable lines (think 15 minutes versus 2+ hours).

Chiba, Matsudo-shi, Matsudo 1240-3
Closest stn: Matsudo

Open from 7-2am (open from 10am on Wednesdays)

Hearts

麺や ひだまり Hidamari: the town

My first trip to Sendagi was when I was a college student. I went there to take my resume photo for job hunting at a small photo studio. I really hate the memory of job hunting right after the economic recession, so I always associate Sendagi with seeming like a boring part of town.

Wafu shio ramen with egg (820yen)

Hidamari, which translates to "sunshine," is about a five minute walk from the station. It's also one of our favorite slice of life anime from Shaft, but that's neither here nor there. We avoided the lunch rush, but all the seats were still occupied. While we were waiting, we could check out the shop's menu (written in English and Japanese).

Behind the shop, some niboshi (bonito) were drying in the sun. If I was a cat, I would definitely steal them.

The shop's interior is full of wood furniture and relaxing jazz music. The owner apparently learned his trade at Sou, one of our favorite shio ramen shops, so I went with the shio. Hearts got the shoyu. 

Shoyu ramen with egg (820yen)

The noodles are silky, soft, and are made of 100% wheat flour. Both bowls have a lot of chicken umami. On your first visit, I recommend you try the shio.

These aren't heavy bowls at all, and the noodles are a bit more tender than usual, perhaps to cater to the older population in the area. Sendagi isn't so bad; the local shopping street has a cafe, steak house, bakery, tea shop, izakaya, and some good ramen. It's a good area to explore in a peaceful mood.

Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Sendagi 3-43-9
Closest stn: Sendagi

Open from 1130am-1030pm (closed from 3-6pm on weekdays)

Lum