It’s been a couple of months since I last went to a ramen shop. I was in Shibuya today and, although the temperature was a muggy 28C, I decided to find a good place for a hot bowl of noodles. There are so many shops to choose from in Shibuya. I had a couple of gyokai ramen places on my wish list, but both were full and neither had space for a baby car (I was with my wife and daughter). So we ended up at Shinbusakiya, a miso ramen joint in Dogenzaka. We arrived at 12:45pm and the place was nearly empty, but it filled up within about 10 minutes of our arrival.
The shop has a nice atmosphere. The building is old, but it’s been fixed up nicely. It is a chain with eight locations, two of which operate under a different name and specialize in tsukemen.
I ordered aburi miso ramen (broiled miso ramen). They also had spicy and special miso ramen, but since this was my first visit here, I got the most basic option. Toppings included green onions, bean sprouts, minced pork, one slice of chashu, a half teaspoon of grated ginger, and even a few slices of white onion. It also had two thick pieces of delicious menma. There were so many toppings on this ramen.
The soup was very nice. It was a bit oily and very hot. It had a medium thickness with a very smoky flavour and some traces of pepper.
The noodles were typical Sapporo style – thick and wavy. While I do prefer the thin, straight Hakata style noodles, miso ramen just wouldn’t be the same without the thick and wavy variety. Look at how the soup just clings to these noodles. They were very nice.
I just love thick pieces of menma (fermented bamboo shoots).
Miso ramen is the perfect winter food, and I would like to come here again on a chilly day in January. Even though today was a hot day, this ramen really hit the spot.
Score: 8/10
Location: Doganzaka, about a five-minute walk from Shibuya Station (Hachiko Exit).
Seating: First floor – ten counter, four table seats; Second floor – four counter, ten table seats.
Price: ¥820 (Aburi miso ramen)
Ramen Otoko 