First day landing in Japan and while waiting for the bus, the first thing I search and look for is dinner. Thinking I might be feeling ramen, I decide to stop by Ramen Samurai (ラーメン侍) in Haneda Airport to try and start off my trip on a good note.
I got the special bowl with the ajitama (味玉), cha-shu, wonton, and this sea moss/seaweed thing in the corner of the bowl. The cha-shu waas good but oh man.... OH MANNNNNN
The broth was unacceptable. As one could guess from the appearnce, it is a basic shoyu broth so the ingredients would be kombu, shoyu, and bonito flakes. From reading the sign, there might also be some anchovies as well as an additional note. However, for the first time, I've had the issue of them putting in too much bonito flakes. It was so aggressive and overpowering, it was the first time I was unable to finish a medium bowl of ramen in Japan.
Moving on to the ajitama, the picture here speaks for itself. Overcooked by at least a minute. Much sadness. Finally, there was some pakimchi (green onion kimchi) which was under fermented so it was basically biting into raw green onions. Had it not been for the overpowering bonito flavor from the broth, the pakimchi would've been too overpowering for the ramen. Happy accident I guess....
I think the worst part about this bowl of ramen is I'd still take this over what one could get in Blacksburg. All the ramen in Tsukuba was significantly better though (or at least no where this offensive). The noodles were acceptable and the rest of the toppings would've made a lot of people happy. Sigh.... 仕方がないね
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