晩内食堂と梅屋の喜多方ラーメン狂気

Kitakata is the dream city of every ramen lover out there. It is the city with the highest amount of ramen shops per capita in Japan and probably anywhere in the world. For my trip to Kitakata, I picked the incredibly famous ramen shop Bannai Shokudo (坂内食堂 喜多方本店) and the favorite ramen shop of many locals called Umeya (うめ八) as my main targets.

Kitakata ramen allegedly started at the legendary ramen shop Genraiken. The fundamental elements are a clear tonkotsu pork broth and the flat hand massaged noodles, which make a Kitakata bowl of ramen immediately recognizable. Another signature part are the square pieces of pork belly chashu, although not every store is going for that exact style.

Bannai Shokudo offers mainly Kitakata style shio ramen with the famous wavy noodles and square chashu. The rustic interior and the quick no frills service add the the experience of getting a bowl that stood the test of time and hasn’t changed one bit for many years. Bannai Shokudo draws crowds from all over Japan and is a must visit for everyone coming to Kitakata for ramen. Expect wait times in the 1-2 hour range if you want to cross off Bannai Shokudo on your ramen to-do list. But you will forget about all that waiting as soon as the soup hits your lips for the first time. It’s hard to describe, but from the first slurp you know that you’re going to finish this bowl and probably want to ask for seconds. Bannai Shokudo has by now even spread beyond Kitakata, with “Kitakata Ramen Bannai” branded shops now open all over Japan. I’ve tried their ramen and they’re good too, but difficult to compare to the awesome bowl you get at the OG ramen shop in Kitakata.

For the second shop, we asked locals for their favorite and heard the name Umeya several times. Umeya isn’t as well known as some other shops and therefore has a smaller wait, which is probably why the locals prefer it over the extreme wait times at the famous ramen shops. It’s still up there in terms of quality of their ramen bowls though. At Umeya you get the choice between shio and shoyu ramen, both of course with the classic clear Kitakata style tonkotsu and wavy hand massaged noodles. The chashu isn’t square like at Bannai, but it’s taste wise on another level.

Find Bannai Shokudo (坂内食堂 喜多方本店) on Google Maps:
► https://goo.gl/maps/2AaGTJZrYH3Paszj7

Find Umeya (うめ八) on Google Maps:
► https://goo.gl/maps/nyuoVbSw5a1EJTCu6

#ramen #kitakata #japan

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