You down with GCP?…

Day 667:

I always ride by this shop and say someday I’ll go eat there. I guess today was that day.

Better than homemade katsu curry. Fuel for GCP prep.

The Green Curry Paste took longer than usual to prep today. 7 hours to be exact. But it will be worth it. When it comes to quality, I don’t believe in taking shortcuts.

Taking a break from a long prep day, there was one more noodle from our batch of samples that I needed to try.

Delicious, but still not a replacement for our current hosomen.

But perhaps they would work with the Tom?…

Beastly…

Day 666:

Yet another popular shop from the famed Setagaya, Fukumori (中華そば ふくもり) is about a 15 min bike ride from Bassanova heading south on Kannana. I’m a huge fan of Mr. Ramen, but when he’s not at the helm there’s only been one bowl that I’ve really enjoyed.

The Chuukasoba from Fukumori might be my second fave.

With a deep niboshi taste and thick fulfilling noodles, it’s no wonder this shop is popular.

But there still seems to be something missing. I was hoping for a little more impact. Anyway, I hear their tsukesoba is better here. I’ll have to give it a try next time.

More samples!

I was thinking of thickening our noodles for the green curry tsukesoba so I asked Mikawaya Seimen for some samples.

Mikawaya Seimen’s noodles are the s***!

Now that’s what I’m talking about!

It’s funny though. I’ve eaten at so many shops that use Mikawaya Seimen I could probably point out which ones use these.

They gave us samples to try in our ramen too, but we all agreed the current hosomen taste better.

What happened to the soup?

This is the first time I’ve ever seen them both dry at the same time…

Cheese amigo…

Day 665:

The morning sky was blue, but it wouldn’t last long.

For the darkness was rolling in…

And staining everything in sight.

Man, I love this place.

So Brian found a Mexican Restaurant in Shinjuku.

The tacos were okay.

The mexican pizza was nowhere near Taco Bell quality.

But this cheesy ball was…very cheesy.

Everyone say cheese!

When drinking in Shinjuku, there’s only one place to end the night.

Slurping one of my favorite bowls in the world.

Wakatsuki is number…

That’s right.

Thick…

Day 664:

I forgot to tell you my NEW bike got taken yesterday. Yes taken, not stolen. After the lunch shift, I closed up shop and when I slid open the front door…my bike was gone. I first thought it was stolen…AGAIN. But after calling the bicycle hotline, my bike was at one of the bicycle yards. Apparently you can’t park bikes in front of basa. Yes, I knew this, but this was the first time they actually took one of our bikes (and of course it had to be mine). Normally they come in and ask if the bikes parked outside are ours. Anyway, 3000yen poorer I now have my bike back (!@#$%es!!). Let’s go get some Bushou (武将らーめん)!

“Oh. Wow!” That was exactly my reaction when they put this Tokusei Nokou Miso Ramen in front of me.

Wow!

The soup…thick. The chashu…thick. The noodles…thick. Everything about this bowl was…thick.

For once, I was craving something other than ramen for dinner. But after paying too much for this not-so-very-good hambaagu steak, I regret my decision.

I now know better…

Behind the steam…

Day 663:

I can do this. But is there a point? I think there is, but it will take awhile to materialize. Lunch today was just as busy as it was yesterday. A shout out to heller66 for coming in today. I hope you enjoyed it!

During my break between shifts, I started to feel it. My body was starting to suffer. So I stopped at nearby Kusenbou on my way back to basa.

Karamiso Moyashi Ramen.

I’m not sure why I keep coming back here. After every time I end up cursing the Kumamoto-style noodles. Too hard. Too starchy. But I’ll probably forgive and forget and be back here again someday.

It was a busy night again for Bassanova. Thanks Boom, for still sticking around.

Twelve plus…

Day 662:

Short on staff, but not wanting to waste the weekend lunch hours, I decided to work a double shift today and tomorrow. Normally a task for two people, I took on the lunch shift (four positions) alone. It wasn’t easy, but it was a satisfying challenge.

3 hours, 28 customers. And they said I couldn’t do it alone. Ha!

The night was even busier, but it felt good. Uno-kun’s ramen making was also getting better.

Anyway, it’s still tough working twelve plus hours, but I’ll be ready to do it all over again tomorrow…

Back in the mix…

Day 661:

Before getting my feet wet again, I stopped by Jake-san’s to tell him the news. He was excited to hear it.

Then the thunder began to explode and more than just my feet were getting wet.

But the B is back on my chest…for now.

Now this is a comfortable spot. (Yo DK they still got your chair!)

There’s nothing like slurping a bowl I put together myself.

Someone’s got to clean up this mess…and apparently it’s me.

Shuga’s last day…

Day 660:

I stopped by Ivan Ramen Plus to say hello to Jamie.

And I noticed there was a new Agodashi Ramen (二代目あごだしラーメン).

Now this, I really enjoyed.

Chicken blends well with flying fish.

Go Ivan!

And now…I give you Shuga’s last bowl. Yes, I got to eat the last bowl that Shuga’s hands touched.

Good luck Shuga!! Good luck Kimura-san!! I’m sure our paths will cross again.

I guess it’s time for me to quit baseball and go back to the game I love…

A broken house…

Day 659:

It’s sad to see what’s happening to my favorite ramen shop. But it’s okay. There’s no time to talk, just do. And you can bet I won’t be just watching from afar.

The night was young and Brian was finally back from Gunma. Since his new apartment is only a short bicycle ride from mine, we decided to scour our ramen-related minds for 270yen.

Hiroshi also joined us…

And insisted on cutting the pizza with his teeth.

Nice job! haha jk.

On my way home I needed a filler. Plus I just wanted to get out of the rain.

Iekei is not really something I crave, but Katsuraya (桂家) is worth a late night slurp.

gyeah!

MC Eiht’s in tha mutha….

Sorry, my mind started wandering. Straight Up Menace was playing in the background. What a beautiful egg!

Anyway, it’s time to get this house in order…

Shrimp, tomato, and cheeeeese…

Day 658:

After another workout, I needed to replenish my body with lost nutrients and Taketora (らーめん たけ虎) in Hatagaya was nearby.

I ordered the Zenbunose (everything on it) Ramen. Now that’s how to replenish a body.

It’s a pretty simple shoyu ramen with just a lot going on. About ten slices of chashu, half an egg, and even a chicken leg. And all for less than 800yen! As Hiroshi would say, “Hatagaya is best!!”

I initially planned on staying home tonight, but after browsing the new tsukemen mag and coming across this Shrimp-based Tomato Tsukemen with Mozzarella cheese, my plans changed.

I’ve been to Gonokamiseisakujo before and I liked it so I was looking forward to giving this tsukemen a try.

Here we go…

The noodles were sexy as ever and topped with a dollop of pesto sauce. I was instructed to dip the bread into the soup too for best effect.

So it’s basically Gonokami’s shrimp-based tsukemen with a roasted tomato…

…and some mozzarella cheese. There are some added herbs and spices to make it taste more Italian, but it’s signature shrimp flavor holds it all together.

Not bad at all.

I was in the mood for Italian…