This Hokkaido ramen joint’s chashu is extremely tasty, so it’s a good thing they give you a ton of it.
In our continuing attempts to catalogue the very best of Japan’s ramen, we’ve sent one of our Hokkaido-based writers on a quest to taste-test a bunch of restaurants specializing in the beloved noodles. Tough job, we know, but after 14 ramen stops, it was time to tackle a restaurant famous for serving huge amounts of chashu.
Aji no Ichiryu in Tomakomai is quite well-known for the massive portions of pork served with their ramen. Without having tried it ourselves, we had to wonder if there is a possibility of “quantity over quality,” and when the bowl landed on our writer’s table, he was gobsmacked by just how big the slices of meat were.
▼ iPhone not included with order
Thankfully, the pork is super tender and incredibly flavorful. There’s a nice balance struck between meat and fat making the chashu extremely tasty.
▼ See how it breaks apart with just our chopsticks.
Each of the four slices of chashu are easily two centimeters (0.8 inches) thick, so, along with the ramen that’s underneath, you definitely won’t go hungry.
In fact, there’s such an abundance of pork that our writer even recommends eating one of the slices with a bowl of rice and a bit of ramen broth poured over it.
If you find yourself in Tomakomai and have a hankering for meat, definitely check out Aji no Ichiryu for a jumbo chashu-men at 1,380 yen (US$13). If you tell them RocketNews24 sent you, they’ll probably smile (but still charge you full price).
Restaurant information
Aji no Ichiryu 味の一龍
Address: Hokkaido, Tomakomai-shi, Shirakabo-machi 3-31-19, Kaido Mansion C 1st Floor
北海道苫小牧市しらかば町3-31-19 開道マンションC 1F
Open 11:00 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Closed around New Year’s and the first, second, and third Monday of every month
Images ©RocketNews24
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