The Tokyo Ramen Street re-open is a major improvement, and well worth the wait. Before, the options were frankly uninspiring (except Rokurinsha, and that was so inspiring that there are always 30 people in line and it’s impossible for a regular working guy to get in at lunch). Now they’ve got Honda (ramendb’s 2011 #1 so far), Junk Garage (tomorrow…), Ikaruga, and Shichisai. These are all deserving of a visit; Shichisai had a shorter line today.
I admit it, I’m still in a phase where I like the heavier, more impactful ramens (pork + garlic + oomph, Ikaruga or Takatora). That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate simplicity (cf Bigakuya) like the white-walls-light-wood scheme at Shichisai. It makes everyone contemplative.
The way they’ve made some tables inside the counter is interesting too. It’s probably bigger than their original shop.
Hey, can you see what kind of box that is on the shelf?
Lemme compensate for the non-multiplicity of pictures here by including one big one. Others have gone hyperbolically praiseful on the original branch of Shichisai; this was very good for me but not the massive impact one might have hoped for.
In short, it’s a bowl where everything is excellent, and maybe that diminishes the impact. The soup is clearly of the simple type that improves as you drink more, the noodles have a handmade-esque appeal, the pork is soft and tasty, the egg is gelled and delicious. Yeah, what am I talking about? I’d eat this any day.
Any day that ended in a ‘y’, at least.
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