For the ultimate Japanese food experience, sushi or ramen are certainly the top picks. And while sushi covers all the flavors of the ocean and even some less traditional meaty options, ramen remains a steady choice between four main soup stocks: miso, soy sauce, pork and salt.
Of course, more individualistic and unnatural ramen shops exist around Japan, but never before had we heard of a ramen restaurant specializing in sea urchin ramen.
Until now.
Japan and especially Tokyo is a mecca for foodies. But wandering the streets looking for a good place to eat will quickly overwhelm you. Located in the heart of Shibuya, we can thank our good friends at Another Tokyo, for finding this needle in a haystack. The ramen shop is called Tairyo Makoto (大漁まこと), which means “Big Catch Makoto”. Sounds like a place that has a lot of seafood!
The menu won’t let you down, as you don’t often see ramen featuring clam, lobster and crab, so perhaps we are witnessing the birth of a new fishy fad. Even their new ramen, with such simple ingredients as sanma (mackerel pike) and matsutake mushrooms, looks incredibly tempting, but today it’s about the urchin, so bring on the orange stuff!
▼Maybe next time mackerel and mushroom!!
This particular style of ramen is called tsukemen, where the broth and noodles come separately. The diner will dip the noodles into the broth and then slurp them up, sounds included. You can see that the broth really holds onto the color of sea urchin as the restaurant doesn’t try to hide their special ingredient at all.
If you are a fan of those spiky devils in the ocean, then you won’t be able to resist this rare and rich dish. The broth smells pleasantly of sea urchin and it’s nice and thick so it really coats the noodles well to deliver a sensational taste to your palate.
If you can’t wait to get your taste buds on this unique ramen, make your way down to Shibuya, but be wary, the restaurant only has counter space and even at lunch, it was jam packed with seafood ramen lovers.
Tairyo Makoto (大漁まこと):
Access: 3 minute walk from JR Shibuya Station
Address: Tokyo, Shibuya, Dogenzaka 11-2
Phone: 03-6416-9690
Hours: 11:30 – 15:00, 17:00 – 23:00
Holidays: Sundays and national holidays
Price: Sea Urchin Tsukemen 1,050 yen (US $9.71)
Source & Images: Another Tokyo