NERIMA: Ramen Dai! The first bowl of ramen for 2021... invited out by a Ramen Connoisseur friend. Hit and Miss. (Sony RX100, iPhone 7)

Nobody is going out anymore to izakaya`s due to coronavirus and the recent Emergency Declaration for the Tokyo region that restricts drinks after 7pm... so after a full meal and drinks at home I got invite out to Ramen!.... NOOOO!!!

If I`m gonna do it then its going to be the smallest ramen called Sho-Ramen 620 yen!  It is a struggle for me to finish the regular sized 720 yen... just tooooo much ramen noodles.

Pass your ramen chip to the chef and when your bowl is ready he will call on you to customize your toppings.  Volume of boiled veggies, chopped garlic, shoga (red pickled ginger), pork fat and if you want to add more flavoring to the soup. 

Now this is the difference between the smallest and largest portion of veggies... There is no way I can consume that amount of bean sprouts.   My custom order was least amount of veggies, fatty pork lard and garlic. 

Friend ordered everything except the lard. 

Soup wasn`t as thick and flavorful as Ramen Jiro but a decent shoyu flavor. 

The charsiu pork is super melty tender but just one small slice. 

My favorite... thick chewy noodles.

Scored my friends pork... nice. 

Overall if you love Jiro-kei (style) ramen then Ramen Dai is a good alternative for you.  Friend mentioned this days ramen wasn`t as good as usual so its a hit and miss.  The counter stools were separated quite a bit due to coronavirus social distancing measures. 

My previous Ramen Dai Adventures: https://tokyobelly.blogspot.com/search?q=ramen+dai

Restaurant: Ramen Dai Nerima Branch

Tabelog Foodie: https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1321/A132102/13091900/

Address J: 東京都練馬区豊玉北5-32-9 フォレストヒラキ

Address E: Tokyo, Nerima-ku, Toyotamakita 5-32-9

MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/9J2jmnCdzsjqGq2p9

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NERIMA: Ramen Dai... A refined Jiro'esque with a hint of Mexico!

After another long night I was on a hunt for some great ramen in Nerima... 

You'll have to pay for most of the toppings... all color coated chips.

Top left as usual!  But the light blue is Shio-Ramen and red is Spicy Ramen... they also have Tsukemen.

If you want smaller portion of noodles or fat then pick up one of these labels.

When a spot opens up just place the chip on the counter.

All counter seating and this night was packed before, during and after my meal... mind you its was near 1am. Also a nice mix of women that you will rarely see at Ramen Jiro.

Just before you ramen arrives the Chef will look at you... Free toppings!  Veggies (little bit, regular, a bit more, more and "Mashi" (Huge portion like a giant mountain!), Garlic, Shoga (that red stuff that usually comes with Curry), Abura (fat) and thick soup. 

I went for the little bit of veggies, garlic and abura (fat that just looked too beautiful and tasty!).  Oh, the ramen chef looked at me and assumed I didn't speak any Japanese so he was showing me the toppings to see what I'd like... staff here was super polite.

My Video!

The noodles are solid!  Super chunky and a bit on the al'dente side.  

Now this ramen was excellent.  The flavor was very similar to Ramen Jiro but more refined.  

This is really all you need to accompany a massive ramen... just one slice of tender pork.

And thus the Mexico... Habanero spice (the tiny bottle)!  It gave the ramen a very nice kick half way thru my meal.  Oveall I'm absolutely sure I'll go out of my way to close out the evening with Ramen Dai again... It was a pleasant environment and for 650yen a veeeery good deal!

Shop: Ramen Dai Nerima Branch

Foodie Website: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1321/A132102/13091900/

Address J: 東京都練馬区豊玉北5-32-9 フォレストヒラキ　１F

Address E:  Tokyo, Nerima-ku, Toyotama-Kita, 5-32-9

MAP:

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SHINBASHI - SHIODOME: Ramen Dai... massively chunky ramen noodles!!

And there it is Tonkotsu ramen... I've never had noodles this chunky before.  This has to be the most filling ramen ever... not a place you would want to take a girl, just too heavy. Click HERE for more pics of the ramen.

The extra fresh garlic topping I ordered was sooooo fresh that hours after I ate this I continued to taste garlic in my mouth.  Now I love garlic but this was soooo overwhelming... was craving a toothbrush.

FREE Toppings!  Extra veggies, super fresh garlic, more miso flavor and more fatty oil.

4 degree's of veggie toppings.  I ordered the "Oome" (One above the regular) and it seemed like alot.

One of the guest on this TV program said she loved to eat "Moyashi" (bean sprouts) and the studio was within 15 steps of what they called Japan's #1 Moyashi establishment.  So off they went... Video just so you know how massive the extra large free beansprout upgrades can be... 650yen.

All Counter Seating

Location is behind NTV at Shiodome on the tiny side streets.  Don't think I'll be back because this will kill any kind of balanced diet you are on and it took a few washes to get out the fatty oil (pork based that I like) that jumps onto your shirt while slurpin up the ramen.  BUT definitely worth a try and ranked a very respectable 3.48 of my Japans foodie website. 

Shop: Ramen Dai

Location: Shimbashi Station (JR) or Shiodome Station (Oedo Line).

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13121246/

Address J: 東京都港区東新橋1-2-11

Address E: Tokyo, Minato-ku, Higashi Shimbashi 1-2-11
MAP:

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foodie, japan, ramen dai, shinbashi, shiodome, tokyo, tonkotsu, つけ麺, らーめん大, ラーメン, 新橋, 汐留店, Japanese, Tokyo, shimbashi, tsukemen,

NERIMA: Ramen Dai Revisited for Spicy Ramen... ouch... insanely HOT!!!

Its just too easy to hit up Ramen Dai's らーめん大 insanely affordable 650yen ramen for the volume.

My first time ever to push the RED button.

Free toppings veggies (I ordered the lowest level "sukuname"), garlic, shouga, fatty abura and heavier soup "koime".

 

Free habanero powder

There it is... 700yen! (Its plus 50yen for the spicy topping).

Free garlic topping... the meat is always tender.

It just hurt to even eat only the futomen noodles... the red spice was soooo insanely hot.  I always finish all my noodles but I couldn't do it.  If you want to take on the challenge its only 700yen.

The chef at work March 2016.

Shop: Ramen Dai Nerima Branch らーめん大 練馬店

Foodie Website: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1321/A132102/13091900/

Address J: 東京都練馬区豊玉北5-32-9 フォレストヒラキ

Address E:  Tokyo, Nerima-ku, Toyotama Kita 5-32-9
MAP:

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