There's always a line at Afuri. Our general rule of thumb is that if the queue only goes as far as the door — about 10 people ahead of us — then we wait. But if it extends out onto the street, then we come back later or eat elsewhere.
But we'd spotted the sign for the new autumn special — so we decided to wait anyway.
Aki no kuri-tantanmen — autumn chestnut spicy noodles.
One reason we like Afuri so much is the look, the style, the ambiance. The staff wear black tees and caps, and look like they're enjoying their job, despite the incessant flow of punters filling the seats along the narrow counter.
The kitchen is clad in white tiles and shiny stainless steel. The walls are scuffed white concrete, plain and unadorned. And overhead a widescreen monitor flickers silently, playing loops of music videos or anime movies. Post-industrial ramen was how I described it in my first Japan Times mention...
Plus the noodles are excellent. One of the features is that they grill the sliced chashu pork over charcoal before it's placed on top of the ramen, to give it an extra level of flavor.
Of course it also adds to the waiting time, so we usually order a beer or two. The house brew is draft Kohaku-no-toki, a premium amber lager from Asahi, with a lot more flavour and character than the bog-standard SuperDry.
It usually takes 5 minutes or so until the noodles arrive. They are certainly worth the extra wait. And it's always good to watch the kitchen crew in action...
This was the kuri-tantanmen. The spicy ground pork was mixed with bits of chopped chestnut; and alongside the half-hard boiled egg there was half a chestnut as a garnish.
The noodles were great, and so was the soup, even though not as spicy as I'd hoped. However, the chestnuts were sweet and straight out of the can, which I found detracted from the overall balance.
Verdict: good but not as great as anticipated.
However, we also ordered a bowl of the standard yuzu ramen, and that was the same as it ever was — great.
The noodles are garnished with the powdered peel, and the heady aroma of fragrant citrus wafts up with the steam from the broth.
[NB in the background, the conical cover over the pan in which the charcoal is brought up to glowing heat]
You'll find Afuri outside the back entrance of Ebisu Yokocho.
Here's a map link...
