2026/05/20 19:40 I suddenly had an irresistible craving for tsukemen, so I got off at Shimura-sanchome Station. I headed west from the ticket gates (right after exiting) and walked １ minute to 豚丸. I'd just visited あいおい next door the other day, so this time I went to 豚丸. A banner near the entrance saying “free large portions of tsukemen” was fluttering in the wind. I bought 濃厚つけ麺 (1,000円) from the ticket machine immediately to the left after entering. There are only ９ counter seats. I sat in an empty seat and put my ticket on the counter, and the owner said, “Up to a large portion is free,” so I reflexively replied, “Large, please,” lol. Then he asked whether I wanted “cold” or “hot noodles.” I said “hot noodles” and waited. Of the ４ customers already there, ３ were having ramen. Rice is free (self-service), so even a regular portion of ramen would fill you up. After about ３ minutes, the bowl arrived. It was topped with ３ pieces of menma, １ fairly large slice of chashu, １ sheet of nori, and half a soft-boiled egg (a seasoned egg?). First, a bite. The soup is very rich (really thick). The smell and taste of tonkotsu almost made me choke on the first bite, but from the second bite I could taste seafood flavors (dried sardines?). It's a somewhat distinctive flavor. Delicious, but it has a particular character. I ran out of soup partway through, but they added more free when I asked. Finally, I asked for broth to dilute the soup and finished. I headed home with a full stomach.

+3

☆豚丸☆ This place is right in front of Shimura-sanchome Station. I used to live around here, and this was my nearest station, so it's nostalgic. That was almost 40 years ago, but the atmosphere of the town has hardly changed. Apparently, this place was revamped from a Jiro-style restaurant. It now advertises “Iekei,” but it's an original style. I ordered ramen for 900円 + extra nori for 100円. I asked for firm noodles. The kitchen was hard to see from where I sat, but when I looked from the side on my way out, I could see a large stockpot and a medium one. However, whether the soup had been prepared beforehand or not, they were pouring soup heated in a yukihira saucepan. There were lots of 菅野製麺 noodle boxes stacked in the kitchen. I could see that they weren't empty boxes but contained noodles, but do they keep well? The noodles are boiled in individual tebo baskets. The bowl arrived in no time, about 3 minutes. The soup is balanced. There's an appropriate amount of chicken oil. But it doesn't assert itself much. The thin soup has a light tonkotsu character. It leaves some lingering flavor but feels light in the mouth. Of course, there are no animal odors or off-flavors at all, but I noticed a very slight graininess. It does seem lacking in depth, though. It's not creamy, but there's a strong sweetness in the aftertaste. Perhaps sweetness from the soy sauce? The soy sauce flavor is a little strong. So it tastes sweet and salty. There isn't much soup, but it was piping hot, perhaps because it had been heated in a saucepan. The 菅野 noodles are almost straight, with a nearly square cross-section. They look slightly thin. The hydration is a little high. Ordered firm, they were just the right firmness, but despite being supple, they had a sticky texture when chewed. These noodles might be better cooked normally… They're pleasant to slurp, but didn't feel very Iekei-like. The chashu is pork shoulder, with average size and thickness. It's fall-apart tender. The seasoning was restrained. There's an appropriate amount of spinach. It has a lovely color. The stems had a nice texture, and at first I thought it was komatsuna, but I suppose it was spinach after all. It retained a green, vegetal aroma and tasted like itself. With the extra portion, there were 8 sheets of nori. The extra portion is 5 sheets for 100円. Now that nori prices have soared and price increases keep coming, this feels like the lowest price around. It's dark green-black and average in size. It holds up well when dipped in the soup. It was thicker than expected in my mouth. It takes time to break down. The flavor was fairly good. The green onion garnish was an appropriate amount of round slices added beforehand. It doesn't particularly stand out. Yes. A clean-tasting, light Iekei. A flavor with broad appeal. The rather strong sweetness bothered me a little… But as a bowl of tonkotsu shoyu ramen, I think it's well balanced. There were also more relatively older customers than younger ones, so perhaps that explains it. Thank you for the meal. 【Nori rating=3.6】※I revised the value-for-money component due to soaring nori prices. ・Value for money＝4.0 @20 ・Size＝3.5 ・Thickness＝4.0 ・Durability＝3.5 ・Flavor＝3.0

+3

An Iekei ramen shop a 1-minute walk from Shimura-sanchome Station. Apparently, it used to be a Jiro-style ramen shop. “Iekei” is written in large letters out front, so there's no mistaking it. I bought 豚骨全部のせ for 1000円 from the ticket machine. Apparently, rice is free, but I don't eat it, so I felt like I was missing out a little. The ramen arrived shortly afterward. Hmm, ordinary. The soup, noodles, and chashu were all neither good nor bad. Personally, I like clear, distinct flavors, but this tasted a little vague. Was Iekei like this? There was a “濃厚” series on the tsukemen menu, so maybe I should have tried that.

Apparently, it used to be “Jiro-style,” but became “Iekei” at the beginning of the year. People have long talked about the high ingredient costs of Jiro-style ramen, but I think Iekei with free rice refills quietly runs up costs too. A little after 1 on a weekday, there were only about 10 seats at an L-shaped counter. It wasn't busy, so I sat without waiting. I considered the small size with half the noodles, but first I ordered the standard tonkotsu ramen. While waiting, I went to get rice. Huh? All the bowls were soup bowls? They didn't seem like rice bowls, but I planned to add soup and make it like rice porridge anyway, so fine. The bowl arrived shortly after I sat back down; the wait wasn't long. Today I ordered firm noodles and extra fat. When I sipped the soup, it had a strong, delicious tonkotsu flavor. The noodles were quite firm too. But somehow they were short. About half the length of normal ramen noodles? They might not splash soup, but they're too short for a satisfying slurp and disappear into your mouth immediately. Then, when I pulled noodles up from the bottom, the flavor was really strong. Watching the kitchen, they added the seasoning sauce, poured in the soup, added the noodles (without stirring), and put on the toppings. Maybe that's why. Adding the soup to the rice, it was properly rich and fatty and went very well with the rice. The saltiness of the pickles worked well too. My first Iekei in a long time. I'll order miso next time.

+3

I really hate the difficult ordering process and distinctive intimidating atmosphere of Jiro-style ramen, so I hardly ever go, but I visited after hearing that the staff here were kind. The interior was spacious too, so I could order feeling relaxed😊 However, whether my pronunciation was unclear or because the staff member was foreign, my order didn't get across properly, and mashi-mashi became mashi. Since it had been a long time since I'd had Jiro-style ramen, I chose 豚ラーメン with 5 slices of pork and ended up with extra vegetables and garlic, mashi. The dense, chewy noodles and tender chashu reminded me that I do like the flavor itself after all. I recommend it to people who, like me, find the Jiro rules intimidating. With 拉麺アイオイ, standing soba shop 文珠, and 石かわ right next door, I won't be coming all that frequently, but I'll return.

+2