In every city I travel to, the first foodie spots I directly aim for are city’s marketplaces and street food restaurants. I believe these secret gastronomy centers are the strongest signifiers of the local culinary culture.
After observing the colorful ambiance of the marketplace, I make my way toward street food eateries to taste what I have observed, which eventually makes up most of my beloved memories from a trip.
In Tokyo, “Kagari Ramen” is on the top of my list of restaurants to visit with menus that champion ramen.
Ramen basically consists of noodles and a soup base, and for this reason, it can be categorized as a sort of stew. Whereas it goes by different names and comes in different formulae across the Far Eastern countries, “kansui” remains as the key ingredient used in the recipe of noodle. As a sort of alkaline solution, kansui is essentially what gives noodle its yellowish color and elasticity.
Kagari Ramen was opened in 2013 in Giza and shortly after gained popularity it still has today. As it can host up to 8 people only, dozens of people line up before its door and wait for their ramen in excitement. While people are still waiting for their turn, a waiter walks along the line to note down orders in advance.
Waiter taking orders
Tori-Paitan Soba
Kagari offers two types of ramen. One of them is “niboshi-shoyu soba,” which is of a darker color and made with dried sardines and fish stock with a soy sauce base; and the other one is “tori-paipan soba,” which is enriched with chicken stock and comes in a lighter color as shown in the picture.
What crowns your ramen is completely up to your taste and creativity. I went with fatty and juicy chicken slices in addition to seasonal vegetables, Kyoto bamboo and chives.
The last touch on your ramen is “ajitama,” an organic egg that is first left to rest in soy sauce to get its creamy color and then cooked until its yolk attains its creamy texture -or apricot-like texture as the Turks call it. So far, I had the most delicious eggs at Japanese restaurants. Most restaurants add some local sweet wine “mirin” to soy sauce before the marinating process mentioned above.
Ramen is a traditional food eaten with a combo of ceramic spoon and a chopstick. If you like it, you can join in the crowd and give your ramen its due drinking the soup base directly from the bowl like a Japanese would do.
One bowl of ramen costs only 8-10 dollars, which makes it even more enjoyable. With a cozy and small ambiance, Kagari Ramen is one of the best foodie stops in Giza that you should note down in your bucket list.
Bon appétit and enjoy the taste of life…
4 Chome-1-2 Ginza, Chūō, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan
+81 3-3561-0717
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Aslen “Kore barbeküsü” olarak bilinen, Kore Savaşı’nın ardından Japonya’ya gelip burayla özdeşleşen “yakiniku” tekniğinde, et ve sebzeler, masalara monte edilen tandır benzeri gazlı ızgaralarda pişiriliyor.
Nihonbashi semtinde, iş hanı misali sade bir bina içerisinde bulunan, yerini bilmediğiniz takdirde Google’a fazla güvenemeyeceğiniz Shima Steak, yalnızca 4-5 masasıyla adeta özel bir kulübü andırıyor.