A newcomer to the ramen competition in Kanda
Kanda has become a competition zone for ramen, and although ‘Kikanbou’ is an ever popular restaurant amongst foreign visitors,
the new ramen shop ‘Shio Shouga Ramen Mannish’ is bound to become a new favorite.
As it has been open since March 2016, it probably cannot be called a newcomer for much longer…
But the ramen is delicious!
Many popular ramen dishes are rich in their ingredients,
but this one is much simpler and has a refreshing taste due to the ginger.
It is so delicious that anyone who eats it will want to order another!
Difficult to access
To access the shop, go through the West exit of JR Kanda station (Yamanote line, Sobu line)
And walk along the West exit shopping street for about 3 minutes until the point where the street is cut off by a large road.
Use the pedestrian crossing and there will be a building with its shutters closed on your left.
The shop is just a little further from there on the left hand side.
You should be able to find the poster with the store manager’s face turned into a piece of ginger.
So far it is difficult enough to access, but the shop is actually down in the first floor of the basement.
Although climbing down the narrow stairs seems scary, please be brave as delicious ramen awaits you!
There can be large waiting lines during lunch time, and if this is the case,
please head past the shop entrance and down the stairs towards the second floor of the basement where the end of the line will be.
After entering the shop
As the only flavor is salt and ginger, choose the style of dish you would like and purchase a meal ticket from the vending machine.
For a warm salt and ginger noodle soup (¥750), press the button on the far left of the first row.
The button for salt and ginger noodles accompanied by a separate bowl of hot soup (¥850) is the far left on the second row.
Which one will you choose?
The other buttons are for adding extras, such as boiled egg or char siu chicken (like ham), so you do not have to select any of these.
If you want a large portion, select the option on the right.
※ Please read below and decide what you would like to try
There are only 7 seats available at the counter, so please enter quickly once one becomes available.
Unfortunately, it cannot be guaranteed that groups of friends will be able to sit together.
What is the secret to the flavor of the salt and ginger noodles?
The soup is a chicken broth made by boiling chicken bones, onions and ginger together, characterized by a lighter flavor than that made using pig bones.
This is then mixed with a blend of Japanese and Italian salt to create a salty broth used to make a noodle soup.
The noodles are straight and only slightly longer than normal ones, and about 180g is used which is slightly higher than the average of 150 – 160g.
The noodles are put into a white bowl with a clear soup, a ramen that can only be described as beautiful.
And finally, eat!
The first thing you smell is the spicy scent of ginger rising with the steam, increasing your appetite.
There is no doubt that you will feel happy as the slippery, springy noodles enter your mouth together with the salt and ginger soup.
As you slurp the long noodles, their extra length means that the ginger can be both smelt and tasted making the soup taste better.
So don’t be shy, slurp the noodles and enjoy!
This egg is extra
By the way, the char siu chicken is pieces of chicken meat cooked at a low temperature in chicken soup, giving it an enjoyable moist texture.
On top there are also vegetables with a strong flavor which give a cooling sensation, such as ‘edona’, a type of leaf mustard, and radish sprouts.
Although it is light, this ramen is full of flavor so please try it and enjoy.
Tsukemen has even more noodles
For tsukemen, boiled noodles are cooled down in water and served separately alongside a hot soup.
Because of this, the texture of the noodles becomes more slippery than those in ramen.
Apart from that, the soup and noodles used are the same.
As for me, I would recommend the "salt ginger ramen" (¥750) for first time visitors.
Eat it just once and you will be longing to eat it again for days afterwards.
JAPAN Travel Concierge
Qlip 
