- All right, check it out guys,
it's Trevor James hanging out with Cody
from Ramen Guide Japan.
You guys can check out his website in the description below.
Today we are deep in the backstreets of Tokyo, Japan,
and Cody is bringing us for a full on Ramen tour.
- [Cody] Yep, we've got four iconic Tokyo Ramen bowls
coming up, and I hope you enjoy all four of them.
(upbeat music)
- Let's check it out.
This is it, Tokyo,
the Ramen headquarters of the world.
And today, we're hanging out with Cody
from Ramen Guide Japan.
A true Ramen expert
who leads amazing Ramen tours throughout Tokyo.
And today, he's bringing us for four iconic
Ramen bowls in Tokyo while helping me
work on my slurp technique.
So make sure to watch all the way until the end
so you don't miss some of the top Ramen in all of Japan.
And this is such a cool area,
Cody is bringing us deep into the back alleys.
We got four bowls and this is the first one
right up here, right?
- Yep, and luckily there's only a few people in line.
So let's get behind it.
- There's a bit of a line outside as you can see.
We're probably gonna have to wait 30 minutes or so
and this is gonna be the first dipping noodles right?
- [Cody] Yes, and now,
we're gonna go order that tsukemen now.
- Awesome, so what have we got here Cody?
- All right, so we have all the tsukemen options
and then these are the different topping levels.
- Oh.
- So then what we wanna do
is we wanna get the tetsu tsukemen levels.
- [Trevor] Okay get the biggest, baddest most meanest one.
- [Cody] Yep.
- [Trevor] Putting the cash in.
Awesome.
- [Trevor] We're gonna choose that,
- [Cody] Yep.
- [Trevor] two of those.
(speaks foreign language)
Oh, wow.
Oh man, look at this.
Look at all those noodles.
So those are the tsukemen noodles right?
- [Cody] Yep, so they're boiled once
and then they're shocked in ice water.
And then they're put in the bowls
so that it stops the cooking process.
- [Trevor] Wow, what do we got here?
- [Cody] So this is him just warming up the soup.
So, shio gravy which is a salt based animal stock,
is that what it is?
- [Cody] So here he combines a mix of both chicken
and dry Niboshi sardines for his soup stock.
- [Trevor] Oh, what are these?
- [Cody] I think those are the menma bamboo shoots.
- And this just looks amazing watching this.
So we've got that chicken and sardine stock right?
- [Cody] Yep, so you gonna have some dried sardines
which is called Niboshi in Japanese.
And he'll take the broth out of that and the chicken
and he'll combine it for his soup.
- [Trevor] Oh and he's putting those soft boiled eggs on.
(foreign language)
- oh wow, this just looks amazing.
- So we came on a special day,
we got their salt based tsukemen today.
In the bowl with the noodles we're going to have
is wheat noodles and on top of the wheat noodles we'll have
some rehydrated seaweed, we'll have the pork char siu,
we have the soft-boiled egg and a bit of freshly cracked
sesame seeds, so after we have just the noodles,
we're going to want to dip some of the noodles into the
tsukemen broth.
- [Trevor] Tsukemen broth, which is that.
- [Cody] Tsukemen broth is a condensed ramen broth
- [Trevor] Oh with the wontons in there.
- [Cody] Yep.
- [Trevor] So can you teach me how to slurp?
- [Cody] Sure.
You're just going to have a bite of the noodles,
- Okay, take a bite?
- Yeah, I would just take a strand.
- [Trevor] Yeah its like an odi, very earthyness
with the sesame on there, awesome.
And we got the char siu, we got the egg, and then
we just dip it into this tsukemen broth.
(slurping)
- [Trevor] Oh, nice slurp!
So you just do a big slurp, that's the technique.
And I got the char siu in that tsukemen broth.
Lets try it out!
(slurping)
- [Trevor] Oh yeah, wow that is so creamy .
- [Cody] Yeah.
- That oti noodle, with a bit of a chewy
with the char siu, with the rich, creamy stock.
(slurping)
- And here's Cody the slurp master
look at this, you take those kimen.
- [Cody] I'm just going to dip it right into that
tsukumen broth
(slurping)
- [Trevor] Oh man, that's amazing!
- [Cody] All right so the lemon has acidic, what the acidity
is going to do is, its going to help
break down the fat.
- [Trevor] Man, that is delicious,
just drop your noodles in, mix them in,
its kimen, dipping ramen in Japan.
(slurping)
lets go for the hashtag #Doubleslurp
- All right.
(slurping)
- This stock right here is what it's all about.
Ting's about to take her first bite.
How's that Ting?
(slurping)
nice!
This is your favorite tsukumen place in Tokyo.
- This is by far, hands down, the best tsukumen
restaurant in Tokyo.
(foreign language)
- Thank you,
oh man.
- [Cody] All right, so what did you think?
- That was awesome, now we got three more bowls
- Yep, next up, we're going for a bowl of
no soup ramen.
- Awesome, with foie gras right?
- Yeah, with foie gras.
So next up we're going to a no soup ramen
and this place is special because they use
foie gras as one of the toppings.
- Wow, goose liver.
- Yeah.
- Oh man.
- Excited?
- This is going to be good!
- All right, lets get on that train!
- Lets check it out!
(beeping)
Excited for the next bowl Ting?
- Yeah.
- [Trevor] This is amazing, ramen all day.
And I am just excited to try foie gras ramen
jumping on the subway right now, Tokyo.
( train)
Oh man, this is going to be good.
- So, right now we're coming up to the famous
mazesoba, which is a no soup ramen.
- Wow.
- And their specialty here is they have some
foie gras as topping.
- Goose liver on the ramen.
- Yeah
- [Trevor] Konichiwa, (foreign language)
so what should we order here?
- [Cody] All right, so we want the foie gras no soup
so we're going to get the (foreign language) version.
(machine noise)
- We got our tickets, and we're going to have
that foie gras.
(coins dropping)
(foreign language)
- [Trevor] Wow, so we just ordered the two foie gras ramen
and we're watching as they're making it.
Oh!
That's the foie gras?
Oh and what are we placing down there,
is that the duck breast?
- [Cody] It looks like the duck thighs,
he's searing it up a little bit .
- [Trevor] Sear it, oh man!
So it's pretty much duck oil ramen with foie gras
- [Cody] Yeah.
- [Trevor] Oh and here come the ramen
(foreign language)
right in that steaming cauldron and
you can see he's just pouring that duck oil
into the pan and that's goin gin the bottom of the bowl
and we're going to and we're going to put the noodles
on top right?
- [Cody] Exactly.
- [Trevor] A little light stock and then,
there's the ramen
(upbeat music)
right in the bowl
a little bit of green onions, seared duck thighs,
duck breast, soft boiled egg, foie gras, duck oil.
(foreign language)
- [Cody] So we've got the duck breast and the thighs,
and of course the main attraction, the foie gras,
you have a little of citrus zest and the regular
ramen toppings , the soft boiled eggs,
the dried seaweed, green onions and a little bit of
minced onions.
So, the trick here, is to mix all the sauce that's at
the bottom of the bowl together.
- Okay.
- Make sure that every strand of noodle is coated.
- [Trevor] Oh wow, so we want to get all that duck oil
in and infuse around all of the duck breast and thigh
and foie gras, right?
- [Cody] Exactly.
- Lets do it!
(slurping)
That foie gras is pure butter and
all over these noodles here, is that duck oil
wow that is amazing!
(slurping)
Oh, it's totally like a ducked out ramen.
You think duck, duck essence times a hundred.
Add in the goose liver that's pure buttery, silky,
melts in your mouth.
(slurping)
oh man, and you can really see the oil bursting out
of that duck breast.
Okay so I'm going to try and get my slurp as pro as yours,
what's the secret?
- It's really just about trying to get as much air
into your mouth as possible.
- I think I was taking too big of slurp,
you got to do a medium sized strand, not super wide, right?
- Exactly.
- [Trevor] So it can keep flowing in .
Lets try it out.
(slurping)
and we just ordered another bowl, and I think for the
joy of it, for the heaviness, I'm going to go ahead
and eat the whole foie gras
(foreign language)
- Luxury.
- Luxury!
Oh!
(foreign language)
bye, bye thank you.
Oh man, high five.
That was unreal.
- All right, two bowls down.
- Wow and look at the tower, beautiful!
We are full on ramen and going for more.
Man this is so cool, we are in Shinjuku now.
- Yeah.
- This is the famous location with so much action
in Tokyo.
- Oh yeah, this is like, really the heart and soul of Tokyo
if you actually go to Tokyo station,
there's really not much to check out but
Shinjuku's station is just bustling with business men,
government buildings, all the bars, restaurants and
all the ramen you could think of.
- This is sweet!
This is it guys, Cody is bringing us for classic
Shoyu chicken ramen.
- Yep, this is probably one of the purest forms of the
Tokyo Shoyu chicken ramen that you get.
- Oh.
- [Cody] So we want to get the
(foreign language) shoyu ramen
here we go
- Konichiwa,
so these are our bowls all ready, we just stepped in
and they're already at work.
- [Cody] Yep, she's pouring in the Shoyu (foreign language)
- We got shoyu and chicken broth
- [Cody] Yeah.
- Oh wow, here's the noodles
wow!
and then we're adding on that char siu.
- [Cody] There's the menma bamboo shoots
right there.
- [Trevor] Oh awesome!
These guys are quick.
(foreign language)
oh wow look at this!
So this is the chicken Shoyu ramen .
- [Cody] Exactly, and this is a (foreign language) version
so your going to get extra slice of each of the
char siu and then that extra strand of the
menma bamboo shoots.
- [Trevor] Wow, and I just love how these guys
are totally killing and working away at the ramen bar.
- Oh yeah.
- Classic ramen bar.
- [Cody] So he poured in a Shoyu seasoning
as well as chicken oil and then pour the
chicken broth on top.
- Wow, lets try it out.
(slurping)
(background music)
Oh man, and now we can go right in for the noodle,
they're steaming, and that chicken and Shoyu is
incredibly aromatic.
- Yeah, so if you look closely at the noodles,
you're going to have specs of wheat,
- So we got the noodles, we got the pork char siu
and then here we got that chicken sous vide,
chicken char siu, right?
- [Cody] Its a really popular style of chicken now a days
they sous vide it, they keep the moisture in
and they keep it as tender as possible.
- You guys ready?
(foreign language)
(slurping)
That chicken is extremely tender, unbelievable.
- [Cody] Honestly, this chicken as a char siu topping
is probably the best that you can find in Tokyo.
- Wow, it is just so tender,
with that Shoyu and that chicken oil,
oh man, we're just killing these noodles up here.
(beeping)
(slurping)
- [Cody] So when you crack it, you'll see its very orange,
a deep orange color.
- Oh wow, look at that, its just like molten lava
wow!
Oh yeah.
- You get a little of that sake hint as well right?
- Little bit, so this is one of your go-to ramen joints.
- Yup, when you do one of my ramen tours,
this is one of the shops we will definitely hit up.
- Wow, this is an awesome, awesome joint.
Like you said, the wheat in those noodles,
it gives it a little bit of an extra
earthy odiness and texture and then
this here, that shoyu chicken is pure
nutrition and energy
(beeping)
and liquid gold.
(slurping)
(foreign language)
wow.
(foreign language)
Cody brought us to one of the best bowls we've ever had
the chicken shoyu ramen and I just love seeing
this whole ramen bar in action, its a slurp station here.
(foreign language)
High five buddy!
Ramen all day and next up, we're going for A5 wagyu ramen.
- Exactly.
- Oh!
- The next place is a new wave ramen restaurant
here in Japan, so we'll get to try some of the
more eclectic options here in Japan.
- Cody is bringing us deep into a shopping mall
in Shinjuku for wagyu beef ramen
and this is it here!
- Yeah this is it!
- Wow, wagyu beef ramen.
- [Cody] Today we came here for the A5 wagyu shoyu ramen
- [Trevor] Yeah lets get two of those,
cash in, oh and there it is,
the A5 wagyu ramen, lets go try it out.
(foreign language)
here we go!
So we just sat down at the A5 wagyu bar here,
this is Mensho San Francisco.
- [Cody] Yep, the Mensho group has a location in
San Francisco and what they did was, they brought
the concept that they created in San Francisco and
brought it back here to Tokyo.
- Oh!
(foreign language)
Wow, look at that!
- [Cody] This is it, this is the new wave wagyu,
A5 wagyu ramen.
(foreign language)
- Look at that!
You can literally see the marbling in the wagyu
so what do we got on top here?
- [Cody] Yeah, so we got the grated Japanese citrus,
and what seems to be a little bit of the graded
truffle powder.
- Oh
and you can smell that beef marbling fat,
from the wagyu.
Oh man, and that just looks amazing.
So what do we got here, what's the stock?
- [Cody] All right so we have a combination animal stock
and its a soy sauce based tallow, and you got that
hand massaged noodles and to the side we got the thinly
sliced menma bamboo shoots, we have the nice marbled
A5 wagyu and we have a little bit of that fish power
and a little bit of Japanese citrus,
and yeah that's the boom!
- Man, and look at how fatty that wagyu is,
the fat is literally peeling away there.
Lets just go right in, oh man
and you want to do it quick so it doesn't cook too much ,
right?
- [Cody] Yeah.
(slurping)
that's some good wagyu.
- Oh, wow that is so fatty and melts in your mouth
its like the silkiest beef you can ever image
with that stock, it has a little bit of a fishiness to it.
- [Cody] Yeah, a lot of Japanese ramen come with
a dry Niboshi fish stock, it mixes in with the animal
stock and kind of brings together umami and fattiness
and the oil all together in one soup.
- Wow, that is extremely satisfying, isn't it?
(slurping)
- [Cody] The noodles, you'll see here, are hand massaged
which gives them the wrinkles,
but on top of that you see those specs of wheat and barley
that just mixed right in to those noodles.
- And I really love that stock, its got that slight
fishiness to it and you can really taste that
Japanese citrus, citrusy, silky smooth with fatty
wagyu beef, wow.
And that slight fishiness, that is top notch.
- [Cody] Yeah.
(background music)
(slurping)
that wagyu just melts in your mouth,
you can see, it just glides off the chopsticks
and the fat dissolves into your tongue.
(slurping)
that was an amazing bowl and I got to say overall
apart from the amazing wagyu is that stock,
incredibly delicious.
- [Cody] Yeah its made specifically for this ramen
all the other ones are chicken based,
but because an A5 wagyu, you're going to get some
great beef bone broth, as well as a little bit of chicken
but what you're tasting is that strong umami flavor from
the kombu dashi.
(slurping)
- Wow.
(foreign language)
bye, bye.
You guys can check out Cody's amazing ramen tours
in the description below, thanks a lot buddy.
That was an amazing ramen day.
- Yeah, thanks for coming to my city and good luck
on the rest of your tour.
- Thanks buddy, and you guys can check out
more videos in the description below.
Make sure to subscribe and click that
bell notification button as well.
Thanks guys, awesome day!