Living The Ramen Dream® by Keizo Shimamoto
Day 543:
Everything is a blur, but it’s all good…
I still get to eat some bomb ramen everyday. Btw, the shoyu ramen at Nakamuraya comes standard with thin noodles but don’t be afraid to ask for hirauchi if you prefer something slightly thicker.
And DON’T be afraid to order the Tataki-han.
I should probably go to sleep, but I’ve been convinced that I need to go green.
After all, I don’t have much time left with her.
Day 542:
With Golden Week approaching, there’s no time to rest.
Except of course you arrive too early and don’t have a key.
But seriously, if you thought the last two weeks seemed hectic, wait until the next two (so I’ve heard). Without much time to even stop for a slurp, I managed to slip in my mandatory bowl between wrapping chashu and breaking some bones.
Thankfully, Martin brought us some Sento-kun cookies from Nara to munch on.
Woke up at 5a. Caught the train at 5:51. Arrived at work at 6:42. Finished work at 10:30p. Caught the train at 10:33. Got home at 11:30. Drank a beer. Kissed my girl. Goodnight.
Day 541:
If there’s been anything that I missed, I missed spending my days with my girl. And with only a few weeks remaining before she moves to France for a year, today was a day for her. She naturally was in the mood for tsukemen so after a little research I found Isoji (麺恋処 いそじ) only a few stations away.
I’m still quite a ways away from my fifties, but this ramen was a smooth love affair.
The fat noodles were phat and delicious.
And my girl earnestly satisfied her tsukemen craving. But we both agreed that Isoji is a bit like Tsujita without the makeup.
Anyway, it was a beautiful day in Tokyo.
So we decided to take a stroll through Meiji Jungu.
I really love this city.
And I also really love…
…
…
…
…
…
…exploring new paths.
Unagi.
Oooohnagi!
Magokoro…
Day 540:
Finally, a day off and a day to sleep in. But since I’ve gotten used to waking up early, I couldn’t really sleep in. So what did I do? Haritts!
Then I went to go check on my apartment. Yeah, it’s been awhile since I’ve been back there and Eifukucho station has changed a lot.
But not ET! You know I had to enjoy a bowl on my way back.
My apartment was fine but the sakura season is always too short. Someone should do something about that immediately. haha.
As I mentioned, tonight was my day off. My first day off since I started. Time for some meat!
Yakiniku!!
Then it was back to basa to hang out with the old crew.
It was good to see things back to normal.
As well as taste things back to normal.
Sweetness…
Day 539:
The last day of an awesome week. Thanks to everyone who came out to try our ramen. We had a blast serving everyone.
And a blast trying all the different foods.
Gyubara-men!
I wasn’t about to leave without eating another Gyubara-han. I’m addicted.
Group picture! Thanks go out to the entire Sogo staff for helping us serve so many bowls. お疲れ様でした！
Day 8: Event over! Time to get krunk!
Day 538:
After yesterday’s onslaught, today was looking like it’d be a breeze. We got these fruit cups from a friend of Chef yesterday and forgot all about them. So we ate them for breakfast.
And had ramen for dessert.
Then the shop that had brought us the shave ice brought us some taiyaki.
They didn’t last very long. I liked the Sakura one the best.
Pasta time!
Fried chicken and croquettes.
From Torinaka.
おつかれ。
Thank you Maruyama-san (middle)! He was in charge of the Sogo staff that was helping us and he really lightened up the event.
Time for dinner.
Day 7: 600 bowls served.
Day 537:
With Masuda-san tending to his soccer commitments, Suenaga-san filled in and she didn’t miss a beat. Today was by far our busiest day. The pace was crazy, but at the same time a lot of fun.
You might think this job is repetitive, but there’s definitely many factors involved that require strategic timing and balanced teamwork. We killed it today. The three of us just rocked it.
Time for some Gyubara-han. I could eat this everyday.
I also tried adding some of the chili sauce to our shio ramen.
Holy spice balls! This is a collabo worth sharing.
Day 6: 954 bowls served.
Day 536:
The weekend rush had come. And although we were expecting more, the three of us barely had a chance to rest.
And everyone kept bringing us sweets.
Puff puff give…
This was definitely the highlight of the day. After slaving in a hot kitchen shave ice just hits the spot.
This muffin was so fluffy it felt like I was eating air.
On my way home I met up with my girl in Omotesando.
Where I had my first real meal of the day at 10pm. Tom Yum Ramen from Tinun.
And then my second. Lamb chops from Omotesando station. Probably the best lamb chops you can find in an underground subway station.
Day 5: 820 bowls served.
Day 535:
Walking the hallways by yourself in the morning can be pretty creepy. I’m glad I didn’t have to walk down this one.
The ramen was tasting superb today too.
And I was still in love with the menchi. This one had cheese.
And this one had a tomato. Tomato is apparently the most popular, but I’d rather stick with the plain.
天空おとし！
Not bad, eh?
But here’s how it’s really done.
Steamy…
Another awesome day. Thanks to everyone who helped out!
Time to eat!
牛バラ飯 from 愛群。More on this later.
Can’t get sick of this.
Day 4: 750 bowls served.
Day 534:
Another day, more good food.
But first, our morning taste test. Perfect!
I think I found a new love.
These menchi katsu are the bomb.
Cheesecake!
As I walked by Turandot during my break, I was lured in to try their premium ramen. And what do you know, they gave me a free Tantanmen to go along with it. Sweet! Or should I say Hot!
Yum.
When I got home, dinner was waiting. She makes a good beef stew.
So I decided to give her some treats.
Day 3: 700 bowls served.
Go Ramen!® 