Nan Chuu - Ramen night!

Well, Nan Chuu Izakaya officially opened with ramen on the menu!  The glorious thing about this visit is that it was 11pm and there was still ramen available!  I know, I know, ramen is probably the last thing you want this late at night, unless you absolutely don't care about your cholesterol level, but it's not like I'm eating here every night.  The izakaya was still pretty busy at this time of day, but we didn't have any trouble getting a seat.  We were greeted with friendly smiles and nods, and I peaked into the kitchen to see Minoru-san working.  Thougjh he was busier than hell, he still managed give me a nod and say hello. 

Our intention was to get ramen, and that was our mission.  But as soon as we sat down, we saw the menu and thought it would be nice to sample some of the izakaya menu items.....but no, we stuck to our plan and ordered ramen.  We'll save the other stuff for another visit.

Though I really, really liked the Shio Tonkotsu Ramen, my eyes sparkled when I saw miso ramen on the menu.  Oh God, how long has it been since I had really good miso ramen????  It had been too long and I couldn't resist.  Like a fat kid in a candy story (or in this case, a fat guy in a ramen shop), I greedily ordered it, and to really seal the deal, I got it with butter corn.  The chashu was cut as if Minoru-san could read my mind, and he knew exactly how I liked my chashu - fatty.  It's gotta be at least 50/50 for it to taste good.  You want lean and healthy?  Stay home.  The noodles were cooked to perfection, and I don't think I will ever find a better bowl of ramen outside of Japan.  The broth was so thick, you could walk across it, and you could tell that the chef (Minoru-san) had slaved over it for a long time to get the recipe just perfect.  It was nice and salty, not lean at all, full of flavour - an explosion of concentrated flavours.  This is why they serve ice cold water at ramen shops - to refresh, to cleanse the palette so that you can enjoy anew.  Some of you may not share my flavour and passion for ramen.  You people are heathens. 

When it comes to ramen, I'm like heroine-junkie and Minoru-san is my dealer.  Crom laughs at your four winds, and any other ramen shop in town.