Upon recommendation from a trusted source, I ventured today after an hour of exploration around the town to Stamina Ramen Gamushu. Arriving at 5:35, I made it just in time before a queue started to form so I was very lucky.
The ramen depicted above was definitely shoyu based; it was surprisingly light but full of complexity. One note that ended up making a lasting impression was the liver. While liver is part of this establishment's cocktail of stamina enhancing ingredients, it imparted a subtle note and it's mineral taste accented the shoyu veggie broth quite nicely. The bits of liver in the soup were not grainy at all. In fact, it had a bit of a bite and was quite delightful to my surprise. The typical mineral flavor profile was dulled quite a bit so it might provide a nice introduction for those apprehensive of liver.
While the noodles and veggies were fine, the distinguishing factor of this ramen was the thick ankake sauce on top coating the toppings (pumpkin, carrots, cabbage, garlic chives, and liver). There's just a touch of heat from the chili paste/spices that helped cut the heaviness a bit; but, more importantly, an overwhelming wave of umami caught me completely off guard several bites in. If I were to guess, they must've used a concentrated version of the broth plus a bit of shoyu to flavor the ankake (I can't explain this level of umami-ness pairing so well with the broth otherwise). At a certain point, I would be excited to eat the cabbage, pumpkins, and carrots just so I could taste this the ankake.
Overall, I think this is a 9/10. The stamina ramen was very easy to eat but still full of flavor and left with enough stamina to walk my way back to campus. The gyoza isn't worth writing home about. I'm excited to return to try the hiyashi style.
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