Marusen Seimen, as profiled in my recent Japan Times column, is unlike any other ramenya in the city — and there are quite a few reasons why:
a) It specialises in Hakata-style noodles — but instead of serving them in tonkotsu (pork bone) broth, the soup is a thick mizutaki-style chicken broth.
b) Rather than generic broiler chickens, Marusen uses organically raised Daisen jidori* fowl.
c) The chashu served on top is also chicken — though pork chashu is also available (you will be asked which you want).
d) There is a substantial side menu of sophisticated tsumami appetisers, and proper tables along one side where you can have a beer or two before your noodles.
e) The BGM is great — as long as you like hip modern jazz (quite the opposite of the smooth muzak or Norah Jones-esque soft vocal jazz we get at too many restaurants)
f) The main noodle menu has been rendered into perfect English (but not, so far, the menus for the appetisers or the seasonal specials).
g) It's all no-smoking (there's a small bench outside for the smokers).
Here are a few more images:
"…the slurp-and-run crowd veer to the bar stools at the central counter…"
"…Don’t miss the cigar-shaped pan-fried yaki-gyōza pot-stickers…"
"…or the steamed sui-gyōza, both stuffed with minced chicken…"
"…a favorite of mine is the kaoyapin, cold slices of chicken that you wrap up in a soft wheat-flour pancake and daub with rich, dark Peking duck-style sauce…"
"…and I’m always pleased to see vegetable dishes, such as pan-fried aona greens in garlic sauce…"
The pork chashu also makes a good side dish: it's lightly pan-fried and served with bean sprouts and find chopped negi scallions.
As for the noodles, I've already introduced some of the chilled summer specials in previous posts – including the hiyashi-chuka and the bukkake (that was one of the early summer specials).
But the spicy tsukemen – my favourite – is definitely worth reprising:
"…hiyashi goma-tsuke tantanmen. The noodles arrive adorned with plenty of cucumber, scallions, cooked moyashi been sprouts and crispy deep-fried wonton strips. This is served with a garnish of lightly spicy miso on top and a creamy sesame dip on the side. Highly recommended."
But year-round, it is the ramen and its flavourful chicken-based soup that is the main draw at Marusen. There are three different styles to choose from:
i) the Marusen Classic, with rich paitan-style** chicken broth;
ii) Toro-maru Chashu-men (in English this is called Marusen Chasui noodle), which has an even thicker soup and is served only with pork chashu;
iii) Chuka Soba, served with a light, clear chintan** soup.
For brevity's sake, in my JT review I only referred to the Classic style. In fact, the photo at the top of the column was of iii) the Chuka Soba with the clearest, lightest broth.
There's a reason why the Marusen Classic has its name: it's the stand-out ramen on the menu. This one (below) is the Shio/Salt.
The heartiest of the lot – and perfect for winter – is the Fish Classic (called Totomi in Japanese), which has powdered fish added to the thick paitan soup to give it extra heft.
One last addition to that list of what makes Marusen different and a bit special.
h) It even has a (brief) dessert menu: fruit sorbet – recently this has been mango, but in the past there was Okinawan shiikwasa; or annin-dofu, a creamy white tofu-like jelly made with – and tasting of – apricot kernels (think of a marzipan flavoured blancmange), topped with fruit syrup.
Both are excellent and are a great way to round off a meal at Marusen. Besides having a nice light sweetness, they also have a symbolic value. If (like me) you're not a local and have made the effort to get there, it just makes it feel that much more worth the hike from the station.
Marusen Seimen is almost equidistant from Gotanda and Osaki stations. It's just 2 or 3 minutes further to Osaki, but the road is much quieter – and doesn't take you past the edge of Gotanda's sleazy pink-light district. Take your choice.
The English menu is up on the Marusen Seimen website here…
* jidori = a breed of fowl specific to an individual geographical locale; Daisen jidori must (by law) be raised on the slopes of Mt. Daisen in Tottori Prefecture (north of Kyoto)
** There's a good introduction to the essentials of ramen – including the different types of broth – on Daisuke Utagawa's Taste of Travel blog here…
