- 2017.01.26
- KUS
You should try it at least once! 5 Delicious Ramen Shops in Tokyo (Shio Ramen Edition)
Salt is one of the fundamental condiments in cooking. In ramen as well, shio (salt) soups are just as popular as soy sauce and miso ramen. There are many shio ramen restaurants in Tokyo that have gathered plenty of fans. Here are 5 shio ramen restaurants in Tokyo that you should consider visiting.
1. Mendokoro Honda Higashijujo Main Branch
This popular restaurant always has a line of customers waiting outside. The ramen comes in three flavors: shio, soy sauce, and rich tonkotsu (pork bone) seafood. There are 4 different shio ramen dishes, and the basic one is the Temomi Chuka Soba (Hand-Kneaded Chinese Noodles) for 770 JPY (incl. tax). However, the recommendation is the Tokusei Temomi Chuka Soba (Special Hand-Kneaded Chinese Noodles) for 970 JPY (incl. tax) that comes with a seasoned egg and two types of char siu pork. Also, you can pick between thick, hand-kneaded noodles or thin straight ones. The restaurant's recommendation is thick noodles for soy sauce ramen and thin noodles for shio ramen. Please combine them how you like.
1. Mendokoro Honda Higashijujo Main Branch
1-22-6 Higashijujo, Kita-ku, Tokyo
2. Motenashi Kuroki
This is a famous restaurant for shio ramen. They call ramen "soba" at this restaurant. The broth is made with high-quality ingredients, and the salt-based sauce they add to the broth is made of a blend of 6 different types of salt from both within and outside Japan. The regular Shio Soba (1,000 JPY (incl. tax)) is delicious, but the Tokusei Shio Soba (Special Shio Soba) for 1,250 JPY (incl. tax) comes with a flavored egg, char siu, and wontons is also recommended. Every Friday it turns into Murasaki Kuroki, a duck soba soy sauce specialty restaurant, so please be aware.
3. Konjiki Hototogisu
This restaurant was included in Michelin's Tokyo 2016 Bib Gourmand Guide. Their soup stands out because they use hamaguri clams as a base for its flavor. This broth is added to a meat-based soup and also broth taken from dried seafood to create a rich, complex flavor that you can enjoy. The salt used in the Shio Soba (850 JPY (incl. tax)) is a blend of Mongolian rock salt and Okinawan sea salt. It's then topped with Italian white truffle oil, homemade porcini mushroom sauce, and fresh herbs for a gorgeous bowl of ramen.
*Photo is for illustration purposes

4. Ramen Yamaguchi Ratsushiki
This is the second shop of Ramen Yamaguchi, a restaurant that's been listed in both the 2015 and 2016 versions of Michelin's Tokyo Bib Gourmand guide. One of their most popular dishes is the Shio Ramen (780 JPY (incl. tax)), which is made with a broth that uses an entire chicken, various types of seafood, and oysters. Then they add Okinawan seaweed salt and Mongolian rock salt. The secret flavor is fish sauce made from Seki aji, a luxury type of horse mackerel caught in the Bungo Strait. Enjoy the refreshing flavor!
*Photo is for illustration purposes

5. Ramen Gantetsu
This popular restaurant was opened in Tokyo by an owner that studied in Osaka. Their famous shio ramen is the Shibi Shio (920 JPY (incl. tax)). "Shibi" is how they say tuna in the Kansai area. The soup is made from chicken, tuna flakes, and kombu kelp seaweed, so it's light and has a refined flavor. It's famous for the toppings, since along with pork char siu there is also tuna tataki! The tataki is cooked rare, so eat it before the heat of the soup makes it hard!
Shio ramen has a clear, simple broth. But when you take a sip, the flavors are refreshing yet rich and surprisingly complex. There are many flavors melted in the shio-flavored soup, so please drink it to the last drop.
*Please note that the information in this article is from the time of writing or publication and may differ from the latest information.
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