Menya-Taku,located near Nishi-Nagahori station in Osaka-shiei subway, is one of the most popular ramen shops in the west side of Osaka city. The Owner had worked at Menya-Teru group for a long time, and then he got the skill and became a cief in Menya-Teru Nakatsu brunch(Nakatu-takurou brunch). Maybe Taku is owner's nick name, and Mr.Taku named Menya-Taku as his own shop.
They serves three types of ramen, ordinary style ramen, tsukemen and mazesoba. Mazesoba looks like a ramen without soup, and we can eat as the same as yakisoba. They have mainly two soup stock, made from boilde pork born and dried tuna(Katsuobushi). I'd like to recommend W soup ramen of several ramen. Just bofore they serve this to customer, they combine two soup stocks made from one based pork soup and the other dried tuna, creating good pafume and special tasty.
Menya-Tsumugu,located between Kawachieiwa station(Kintetsu) and Takaida-Chuou station(JR West), is one of the famous ramen shops in the east part of Osaka Pref. It has been featured on several local magazines, and lines of 10 people or more stretching to front way are not uncommon around lunchtime on weekdays.
Tumugu means weave. It's noodles are very unique and made of different wheat, wild flavor and mild flavor. The cut end of noodle looks like stripe.
Menya-Tsumugu serves ramen and tsukemen. When you order the meal, you will be asked if you want your ramen Tansei(light flavor) or Jukusei(heavy flavor). I always eat Jukusei. The soup stock is based on Tonkotsu(grilled and boiled pork born) and Gyokai(skipjack tuna etc.), and is creamy and so tasty.
If you have 60 minutes enough to stay there, you should try to visit to Menya-Tsumugu for the memorial.
Takashi,located near Osakajoukitazume station in JR West Tozai line, serves the unique ramens called Wakayama-kei(style). The soup stock of Wakayama-kei ramen includes two characters these are tonkotsu(grilled and boiled pork
bone) and shoyu(soy source). We can selecte Tanrei-type(light), Motoaji-type(middle) and Jukusei-type(heavy). I like a Jukusei of three types. Noodles is as thin and hard as Hakata men of Kyusyu ramen. The noodle is quite good and I'd like to recommemd the shop due to it's convenience to the sightseening Osaka-jo.
Located between Umeda and Nakatsu stations in Hankyu Line, Yashichi is ranked as No.1 in Ramen Data Base in Osaka Pref. supported by Supleks Corp. Yashichi serves up some of the best New Wave Ramen of Chicken based
style(Toripaitan). Their soup stock is made of holl chiken selected as high ranked, and special salts and herbs inported from France or the another european countries. The soup charactor is heavy, mild and cleamy. If you have one hour to visit ramen shop, you cannot get their ramen ,I think. Many ramen lovers are usually wating in front of the entrance by a line, maybe it takes about 90 munites to get Yashichi ramen.
Located on Kitashirakawa-dori in north east of Kyoto city, Tenka Ippin is one of the most popular ramen chains in Japan. Souhonten means the head model shop. There are so many branches spreaded all across the country serving up the heavy chicken flavored ramens from Kyoto. The soup stock is delicious and unique taste that the most ramen lovers have never been experienced prior. If you have only time to visit a ramen shop in Kyoto, I'll recommend to go to one of Tenka Ippin group. They have two style blend, one is Kotteri(heavy) and the other is Assari(light).I like better Kotteri. Tenka Ippin recently gained publicity in United States, as it opend a branch in Hawaii.
