無鉄砲 Muteppo: the midnight meat train

From all-seafood to all-meat...such is ramen life in Japan.

I still remember my first bowl of Ippudo that got me hooked, off the deep end like that blue. That wonderful brown. I became an addict, staggering from shop to shop, bowl to bowl, looking for the next hit. And while I found some great new highs - bowls that eclipsed Ippudo's skills in every way - I could never find the bowl that replicated that first wave of ecstasy.

Until now. Enter Muteppo. The new reigning king and conqueror of tonkotsu in Tokyo.

Like Ramen Jiro or Taishoken, Muteppo cobbled together parts from other bowls to become an earthy creation all its own. Hailing from the Kansai region, it is unlike the milky white bowls of tonkotsu from Hakata, Kyushu, nor is it like the fish and pork bowls of gyokai that have taken over Tokyo. These aren't even like the ubiquitous jiro-kei bowls of pork, fat, and cabbage that have dominated the ramen rankings for the last couple of years.

Ramen (700yen)

Muteppo makes their soup every day entirely with pork bones and fresh water. There is no bonito, vegetables, or chicken stock added. Just 300kg of pig bones in a steel pot, stirred with big wooden planks by strapping cooks. The meat and bones are melted so long and hot that they become a sort of congealed pork stew. The soup becomes a brown sludge, coating every crevasse of the firm noodles, shipped straight from Kyushu. While this might sound as disgusting and heavy as a bowl of Jiro, Muteppo remains refreshing and much more flavorful, with hints of sweetness and complex umami. This is because the master chefs use no lard or other fats and oils to make their broth. They have the utmost confidence in their pork and their ability to extract the deepest flavors from every ounce of meat, gristle, and bone. If its still too heavy, you can cut the fat with a bit of fish broth or extra green onions. And if its too light, get an extra helping of noodles and wipe that bowl clean.

Muteppo's bowl is the ultimate ode to the swine. It is a creation from an unassuming shack by friendly but seriously dedicated cooks that is every bit as savory, thoughtful, and brilliant as anything that might come out of your glistening Michelin kitchens.

One wishes Muteppo was less difficult to access out in the nether reaches of Nakano, but this simply adds to its treasured status as a crazed and solitary genius, like an Ingmar Bergman directing masterpieces on a secluded island. Muteppo has also put out a tsukemen shop nearby and, legend has it, a bowl of even more intense tonkotsu that is served only in the middle of the night, because ramen addicts can't sleep. The next bowl, the next hit, awaits...

 
Tokyo, Nakano-ku, Egota 4-5-1
Closest stn: Numabukuro

Open from 11am-3pm and 6pm-11pm Tuesday-Sunday

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