Kazuki Ramen (Hiro-o - 広男)
The Tokyo food tour has begun in earnest. After a day of trying to keep dry in a somewhat rainy Shinjuku, it was time again for ramen.
One bowl! (image from Kazuki's website, apologies in advance for nicking this, I had no camera this evening)...
Kazuki Ramen is a small gem among many ramen places in Tokyo. I'm sure it's not the absolute best ramen place but to me it serves a pretty near-perfect bowl of ramen. There are at least two locations of Kazuki that I have seen: one near the Azabu end of the Hiroo suburb and one out near Yokohama near Higashi-Totsuka.
Want a steaming, comfrorting bowl of noodles? Here's what's in store...
...Kazuki has a ordering system typical of thousands of shops serving hot, fast and delicious food. You queue up to a ticket vending machine and insert your money then press the button for the dish you want. Out pops a ticket that you then give to the counter person. Minutes later: food!
The choices at Kazuki are many. The basic roasted pork ramen (char-shuu ramen) is inexpensive by Tokyo standards but it's much better dolled up with other ingredients. Seaweed (laver), shredded green onion (spring onion), bamboo shoots and more are available for piling on top of rich pork broth and thin, chewy noodles. My favorite combination is roasted pork, spring onion, bamboo shoots and a semi-hard boiled egg (a "seasoned" egg). Total: ¥1200 (about $11.50)
The broth is a rich but not too thick concoction that has definitely benefitted from hours on flame. The broth itself is medium brown and flavorful but the extra flavor kick is provided by pouring it through a smallish ladle of pork fat (of the same pork used to create the broth). You can specify "less oil" or "more oil". The difference is the number of times the broth is poured through the pork fat. The "regular oil" bowl (not less, not more) broth is a nice balance, so I opt for that. I have had the "less oil" version as well and it's good too.
You can also specify the softness of the noodles. Again, the "regular" style is best although I have had the slightly more chewy version. I still prefer the regular.
After settling down at the counter, it only takes a few minutes for your ramen to arrive. You get a wide and pretty deep bowl, steaming hot. All that's left to do is grab a pair of chopsticks and dig in.
Actually, before you dig in you can further season the ramen with a bit of crushed garlic, white pepper and other condiments on the counter. A bit of garlic and pepper usually does the trick.
Now, I cannot emphasize how hot the ramen is. One of the main reasons for slurping noodles is to cool them so you don't singe your tongue. So slurp with wild abandon - you will thank yourself for it. (One tip: exhale before you start guding the noodles into your mouth. Exhaling before will allow you to have the breath to slurp...)
Almost nobody (I mean *NOBODY*) finishes all of the broth in a bowl of ramen. You pick your way through all of the ingredients, slurping and chewing and ladling spoonfuls of the broth to wash it all down. At some point, all of the noodles, pork and other things are gone and that's around the time to stop. Kazuki's broth, though, is so good that you may be tempted to finish the whole thing. Massive fullness awaits you if you do...so be warned!
There is something very satisfying about ramen in Tokyo. Kazuki is my favorite and if you're in town, it's worth the trek.