ビンギリ Bingiri: spicy love soup

Cherry blossoms are gone and the leaves are finally turning green. There's still the occasional cold night, but the days are getting warm. I had a day off, so I decided to go to a hot spring in Ogikubo. Even though the I was sitting in boiling water, I was craving something hot to eat. Naturally, ramen.

Luckily, there are plenty of ramen shops in Ogikubo, which is a sort of mecca for old school ramen. I chose Bingiri, which is famous for a katsuura tantanmen.

Katsuura tantanmen (800yen)

This type of tantanmen has a shoyu base with a lot of chili oil, chopped onions, and minced meat. Katsuura tantanmen originally came from the industrial fishing city of Katsuura in Chiba prefecture. It used to be a meal just for fishermen or divers to make their bodies warm after a cold day on the job.

This bowl had a strong impact. Contents: extremely hot!

The amount of numbing pepper was especially ridiculous, but I couldn't stop eating. This isn't just a spicy bowl; the spices blend very well with the mild sea flavor of the soup. Though extremely spicy, this is a flavorful, enjoyable bowl.

Tokyo just has it all.

Tokyo, Suginami-ku, Momoi 1-12-6
Closest stn: Ogikubo

Open from 12-230pm (closed Sundays)

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