Tokyo Ramen Show 2012

On a rainy rainy Tokyo day we went off to try some ramen.

Not just any Ramen, but TOKYO RAMEN SHOW ramen.

Time to start the eating.. err testing…

The ramen are showcased from all over Japan.  Twenty shops tonight.

Big photos and shiny lights help to sell the noodles to the hungry umbrella toting customers.

And giant faces help sometimes too…

But anyway, off to the food.

First up.

This is totari ramen.  From somewhere in Japan.

Quite an interesting taste.  I can’t remember exactly what it is was though, so it wasn’t that good or bad.

This is the fishy ramen that (all) my friend(s) liked.  Me, not so much.

New ramen!  I can’t read the rest…  Sorry.

This was the first of the four that I liked the most.  Rich porky (tonkotsu flavour).

Oink oink.

This one was very interesting.

In other words, it sucked.  It was like watered down tomato soup with instant noodles.

My brother cooks better than this..

Its name is red something.  I would call it red something too, but this blog is not the place to say what I think.

So after the first four bowls, two of my (weaker) friends who had had (some) before made excuses and said that they had to stop.

However, the real men carried on.

Into the pouring rain we strode.

Looking for the Japanese No. 1 Noodle! (Just like it says on the sign).

Queuing along side fellow devoted fans in the rain.

Hokkaido ramen.

If you are diligent reader of my blog (and I know you all are) you may have seen my previous post on Sapporo Ramen.  Here’s the link for those of you that want to see it again.

http://quieteating.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/hokkaido/

Although this isn’t the butter and corn fed wonder, it did bring back good memories.

This a specialty from Osaka.

Creatively named, Osaka Burakku.

Kind of reminds me of the BOSS BLACK coffee cans you can buy everywhere.  Just like the cans which share its name (or the other way round) it had a very smooth taste.

And now for the star of the night.

I’m going to call this the Bamboo ramen.  Cause that’s the only kanji I can read.

The bamboo ramen had a very strong taste and the most instant noodle looking (but thankfully not tasting) noodles of the night.

And to wash it all down, served up on a wet umbrella, is vinegar.

Now, my good friend (who is no longer my good friend) told me that this was oishii oishii (delicious delicious).  I almost choked.  It tastes like rotting apple juice.

Its supposed to be good for you when you eat lots of fatty stuff.  Maybe cause it burns through everything in your stomach.

In any case, I can only hope that I won’t end up like the warning in the Tokyo metro station.

If your friend see you drink that drink, press the red button!

But what ever you do, DON’T TOUCH HIM.

It could be contagious or something.

Instead let the train do the decontamination for you.  (Yes I’ve been watching too much of the Walking Dead).

Oh, and here is the full photo if you are interested.

Until next time.