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The Steemy Ramen Review is Back!

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Yesterday my family and I stopped at the local Kinshai-tei Ramen shop here in Niigata City to see what the score was on this Kyūshū-style chain with the cool black and yellow dragon logo.

My son had commented that we could go anywhere so long as it wasn’t jigoku (Japanese for “hell”) ramen. Yes, there is actually a ramen shop in Niigata called “Hell Ramen.” He said it sounded “too spicy.”

Let’s Go!

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Once inside, we discovered that Kinshai-tei—as do many informal restaurants in Japan—works on a vending machine ticket system.

That is to say, you go in, select what you want on the machine and insert your money, and tickets for your order pop out. Once seated, you’ll give these tickets to the server who will verify your order, and then bring out the food. I love this system. It’s convenient, low pressure, and you don’t have to pay when you’re done. Just wipe off your ramen-greasy face, pat your belly, give a hearty gochisousamadeshita! and get out the door! Perfect.

I opted for the chāshū (roasted pork fillet) ramen and also a small karāge-don (fried chicken rice bowl). My son and wife opted to split a bowl of the same chāshū-men, and my wife also ordered a mapo tofu rice bowl.

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The feast begins.

The Food.

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CHĀSHŪ-MEN
(By the way, men just means "noodles." In other words: "chāshū ramen.")

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KARĀGE-DON
(Karāge is a deep-fried food. In this case, chicken. DON implies a dish served in a bowl on top of rice.)

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MAPO-TOFU
(In Japanese this dish is called mābōdōfu.)

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THE RAMEN REVIEW.

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While all the dishes were good, this is, after all, a ramen blog, so let's get to the matter at hand.

Kinshai-tei's ramen was a hit with me. I prefer thinner noodles, bold, robustly-flavored soup/broth, and portions that a normal human can finish in one sitting without getting what we call here in Japan, "ramen belly" (I don't like feeling like I am going to explode after eating a meal). I left feeling satisfied, and not like a balloon full of noodles.

The pork fillets, or chāshū, were a bit tougher and more chewy than the fare found at most ramen shops here, and I am not sure if this was intentional or not, but it was actually a welcome change for me. The chāshū was flavorful and substantial.

The noodles were the thin variety (as mentioned in previous posts many ramen shops offer either hoso-men or futo-men) which I like, and as I mentioned, the portion size was reasonable.

The broth was deeply flavorful and packed with a deep and robust dashi punch, set off by the fresh-sliced welsh onions and green scallions sprinkled on top. The menma, or fermented bamboo shoots, soaked up the broth nicely and set off the rest of the bowl of soup.

One thing I could have done with having, however, was a boiled egg, but this can be ordered separately at Kinshai-tei, and put in the soup later. Also, one final, interesting thing to note regarding toppings, is that fresh cloves of garlic are placed in small bowls at each table with a small metal grater placed on top of the bowl, so that the customers here grind and grate their own garlic (about as fresh as it gets). Unfortunately, I had plans after lunch which involved socializing, so I forewent the desire to ingest the wonderful pungent stuff.

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FINAL RATING:

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Atmosphere: 6/10

Good atmosphere but the sappy, radio-slow pop killed part of it for me.

Broth "Dankness"/Flavor: 8/10

YES. Dashi city.

Noodles: 8/10

Thin and firm. Poifect.

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Fresh Garlic Bonus: .2

Fresh Onion Bonus: .2

Ticket System Bonus: .1

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FINAL SCORE: 7.5/10 Ramens!

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(Thanks for stopping by! If you missed the last installment of the Steemy Ramen Review, "Echigohizoumen-Mujinzou," you can find it HERE!)

~KafkA

!

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Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as DTube and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)