You talkin’ ramen to me? You talkin’ ramen to me?
The ramen game in Japan is a hard one to get into. With the vast range of restaurants out there, it really takes a lot to stand out from the crowd. One way is with a catchy, memorable name, and you don’t get much more memorable than a name like “Ramen Deniro,” but this newly opened restaurant in Tokyo doesn’t stop there.
And since it’s only a five-minute walk from Shinjuku Station our well-traveled restaurant reporter Mr. Sato decided to check it out.
▼ Ramen Deniro
It was a lot snazzier-looking than other ramen restaurants – perhaps playing on the Hollywood image of its name – but it’s operated in the same style in which food order tickets are bought from a machine outside prior to entering. This place had already been open for about a week but was still getting a huge number of customers so Mr. Sato had to wait in line for about 10 minutes after buying his tickets.
Ramen Deniro is known for its tantanmen style ramen so our reporter ordered a bowl of Pa-koh D Tantanmen for 1,380 yen (US$9.55) along with a bowl of Lard Rice for 780 yen ($5.40) and a Nama Pudding Ice Cream for dessert that cost 380 yen ($2.63). When he got to his seat he was served a glass of aojiru, much to his surprise.
Aojiru is a kale-based vegetable drink that is famous both for its health benefits and less-than-stellar taste – which you probably already imagined after reading “kale-based vegetable drink.” However, Mr. Sato was told that it makes for an excellent palate cleanser and that drinking it after eating his meal feels very refreshing.
Next came the Lard Rice, which as its name suggests, is rice mixed with seasoned lard for a richer taste. Ramen Deniro took it to another level and also loaded it with so many toppings that the bowl seemed to be overflowing.
Then his Pa-koh D Tantanmen arrived and looked even wilder.
The “Pa-koh” refers to “pork ribs” which this tantanmen is generously topped with, along with big twigs of fried noodles that sprung out from the bowl like an enchanted forest.
Our reporter wasn’t quite sure how to tackle this thing, but he decided to sample the broth first. It’s possible to choose the level of spiciness and Mr. Sato settled on “slightly spicy” which still had a distinct burn but wasn’t overwhelming. It balanced well with the sesame paste and should be alright for those who normally can’t handle spicy food.
The noodles were fairly thick and tender. They were also slightly spiral-shaped, allowin…
