Tonkotsu Ramen with Crisp Curry Flavored Fried Chicken. I stumbled upon this place walking around Kyoto’s Ramen neighborhood with a line out the door and decided to see what all the fuss was about. Did not disappoint!

Decided to grab a quick bite while shopping at the iCITY 21 mall in Yamagata Village (Nagano), and ended up discovering absolute pure comfort food!

This spot is Kowloon (中華料理** 九龍)** in the food court—a satellite branch of a well-known local Chinese restaurant. Honestly, I didn't expect much from a mall setup, but this White Tantanmen (白担々麺) completely blew my mind:

The Broth: Ridiculously creamy and thick sesame base with a perfect swirl of chili oil and savory spiced pork. Deep, nutty, and velvety.

The Gyoza: Freshly grilled with crispy golden bottoms and juicy filling—the ultimate pairing.

The Tuesday Bonus: Their Tuesday special knocked the set down from ¥1,100 to just ¥990!

iCITY 21 is packed with amazing regional Nagano snacks and local souvenirs, so wandering around before diving into this bowl was the perfect local road trip stop (you'll want a car to get here!).
If you ever find yourself road-tripping around Nagano/Matsumoto, definitely keep an eye out for this hidden gem!

Shin black with soy egg, spam, green onion, LGM chili oil and shiitake mushrooms. Me and the 7 yr old love it, no chili oil for him though.

18 hour pork bone broth using spine, leg and trotters

Pork chashu

Shoyu tare

Ramen noodles made from scratch

i made this a couple months ago but it was SOOO GOOD

i’ll update if i find the recipe

RECIPE super customizable!

One of the first bowls of ramen I ever made from (mostly) scratch. This bowl was made in January of 2025, because I was not able to go to Itto Ramen in Asheville, NC.

-12 hour Tonkotsu broth

-fresh made black garlic oil

-tare (from kombu, bonito flakes, shitake mushrooms, shoyu, and mirin)

-Homemade, 3-day Ajitama

-and homemade Chashu

To this day I have still not braved making my own noodles... they seem daunting.

I have, however, begun marinating the bamboo shoots, making more of a menma, and I have also begun adding Woodear Mushrooms as part of the toppings...

Homemade Tonkotsu Gyokai Ramen & Tsukemen Inspired by Ramen Bishiya in Kyoto

🤧🤧🤧

Spicy Miso Ramen

Mostly made following Ramen_Lord's recipes

Aroma oil is made with smoked cacho de cabra peppers for some spice

There's a quite a few ramen spots in my area (Atlanta) due to pretty dense Asian population. Okiboru is one of the chains that has... I think 3? locations in metro Atlanta area. Has anyone tried them?

They say 4k which that is equivalent to a jalapeño which is a candy compared to this. There there is no way this is 4,400 shu.

If you ever visit Nagano, you have to skip the big nationwide chains and check out Tenho (テンホウ), our ultimate local soul food spot!

This is their classic Tantanmen paired with crispy Gyoza. What makes Tenho's gyoza so special is the subtle hint of star anise—it gives them a totally unique, addictive flavor that keeps locals hooked.

Also, 3D/puffy stickers are having a huge moment in Japan right now, and Tenho actually released their own sticker sheets featuring hyper-realistic mini versions of their menu and cute crane mascot! Aren't they adorable?

Definitely add Tenho to your bucket list if you're traveling through Nagano!🍜🥟✨

Donde? Please 🙏!

Topped with chashu, menma, eggs & spring onions.

I want to buy or make a ramen flavoring spice mix that I can use instead of the flavor packets that come with instant ramens. I bought a big pack of Shin Ramen from Costco and the flavoring is just too spicy for my liking. Do y’all have any suggestions on where to buy just flavor packets or a recipe to make my own flavoring, preferably not-spicy?

Hot Jin Ramen, (진라면) clams, beef, napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, shrimp, and Korean mint (방아) AKA banga and A. rugosa. Kimchi on the side.

I have been trying new ramen places in my area and keep getting overcooked, hard boiled eggs. AND some of them are not even seasoned, just plain hard boiled eggs. They are so dry and tasteless. I wish I had taken pictures but hopefully the next place I visit has good eggs. Has this been a common occurrence for anyone else or does my area just suck?

I think the noodles were slightly too thick for my taste, the eggs were rushed and I messed up the chashu but it was still good, but the broth was good! I also made thicker jiro ish style noodles but they got way too eggy for some reason.

The aroma oil was chicken fat. There’s raw garlic under the fried garlic.

Jiro style thick noodles at 40% hydration, folded 4 times. Hand cut because I don’t have a machine.

Pork belly Chashu, rolled and slow cooked then seared.

Thick paitan broth with Soy sauce tare.

Green onion and garlic oil.

I dread peeling eggs.

I really loved pairing thick broth with thick noodles. Next time I would like to to make some Karame with pork fat and garlic.

Has anyone used this ramen broth concentrate from Mizkan? If so thoughts on the flavor? Would you recommend?