So we've got everything required here we've got noodles we've got broth I will show you what you need to be ok Here we go this slurp off [Slurping Sound] Mmm... Tokyo Japan a stunning stimulating and seductive city modern maybe even Futuristic packed with people yet eerily quiet Each block of the city is stacked with Restaurants and winding alleyways ready to be explored and with plenty of food to choose from I plan on trying it all In this series, we're going down every dark alley each fish market and hole-in-the-wall Izakaya to bring you the most unique food experiences Tokyo has to offer and today's mission is ramen literally every year 17 million foreign visitors Come to Japan to try ramen noodles...fact Yes, if this is your idea of ramen Allow me to change your worldview completely as long as you keep the ramen definition. You've got some really funky combinations of ramen Here in Tokyo, the world of ramen has expanded past a quick lunchtime treats to an edible art form I love the absolute attention to detail until it's done perfectly. I'm talking soup less ramen. I gotta say this is probably my top three ramens ever in ramen with super thick broth Almost like a puree that does not remind me of ramen at all and even a black run black as night Darker than my heart. This is a lunch of my dream So put on your pants with the elastic waistband because today we're eating big in Tokyo, Japan Today I'm with a ramen expert Frank. How are you doing, man? Good good. Thank you so much You know, I am a food expert but right here on the screen It says you guys put it on the screen ramen expert he won't do it Okay, there it is born and raised in Japan This guy does not mess around when it comes to these precious noodles. How many shops have you tried in Tokyo? [Frank] I would say in Tokyo over 500 but they're like three to four thousand shops in Tokyo So I've got my work cut out. Ramen something that's pretty feeling already. Like you have a bowl and you're like, I'm good So when you do a tour how many places do you go? You can't have six mini bowls. Well today? Yes, we're now doing mini bowls! Today, we're gonna eat four huge bowls of ramen. I'm gonna feel terrible by the end of this I mean, it's a lot of carbs! [Frank] our souls will feel great though. Ramen looks simple enough blanched wheat noodles broth in a variety of topping possibilities But really great ramen makes an art out of combining these three. [ Frank ] People are trying all kinds of new things There's a lot of experimentation It's like a squidding, pesto, bacon and cheese in the ramen and it actually matches a very well with the broth that they're using I'm pumped! Yes after [Inaudible] Our first noodley destination right here that's the name This is precisely what makes Tokyo so special small hole in the wall joints that spend years Crafting the perfect bowl of yum just for a select few But only if you can figure out how to order it Here they have a vending machine for ramen, but there's no ramen inside this vending machine [Frank] Unfortunately not Look, it looks like they have eight options. Yeah, but they're going for a more classic ramen That's why it's also called Chiu Kosova which is the ramen used to be called before the other dish that they have is the skin where the noodles are separate from the Broth why I thought that was illegal. I didn't think you could do that now, it's legal I think we should both go dry. When eating ramen. I want the noodle to be as firm as possible al dente chewy Whatever you want to call it and this stunning creation locally called skimmin delivers just that and so much more Noodles in One Bowl rich niboshi broth with a complex smoky fish aroma in the other when I get normal ramen There's not this much noodle action on the side here a ton of pork, eggs. Everything is in here Yes, so we're literally just gonna be taking the noodles and you're dipping them into that broth all demonstrated. Okay [Frank] Slurping sound [Slurping Sound] Yeah, sorry. I was watching you the whole time. You're a good slurp for it [Slurping Sound] [Slurping Sound] The flavors it is rich and then a little bit of that smoky fish flavor So not only is it the broth stunning but these noodles are so kind of al dente I gotta say this is probably my top 3 ramens ever I'm gonna try to out slurp you it without dieing we're gonna have a slip off right now over it Let's do I'm gonna go further [Slurping Sound] Very well done! Let's see it homey what you got? Yo, they call them Hoover for a reason that's are too much on that last one So what do you look for in a good ramen? What makes a good ramen it starts with a broth? I write that addictive soup that you have and just like makes you want to go back to the ramen shop the noodles should be firm and Toppings should be good So everything has to come together harmoniously those three things meant this was an amazing start dry. Ramen noodles here in Tokyo We're just getting started. Let's keep going We have come to our second location what's going on here this is called ramen Nagi Bhutto and Bhutto literally means pork came So as it expect this is a porky porky broth. You'll notice just about every ramen joint uses these vending machines It's quick easy and after the meal instead of flagging down staff You can just split you may not always be able to read what you're ordering but just aim for the most expensive one usually on the top row and usually costing around 1,000 yen about $10 while you're at it. You can even buy a drink this whiskey Yeah, can you get whiskey through the vending machine even a child could do this and get what? Yes They have whiskey soda right here is a highball at 11:42 a.m. I'm gonna get away. Yes. Yes. Yes So what should we actually get? They've got a red black and green one red is a little bit spicier The black one has squid ink and the green one has basil cheese and also bacon bits. So very interesting Fusion work. I want to try squid ink for sure. What do you want to get? I'll get red. All right, great I Thought my ramen ordering work was done But no you can even customize the strength of flavor richness of oil guys want me to do extra heavy, right? Is it gonna ruin it? Is it like putting a stick of butter in there? Garlic type of pork vegetables are no vegetables spice level and the firmness of the noodle. I want to try an extra firm noodles I love just a hard kind of chewy noodle. This is a pork lovers wet dream in order to get this creamy looking broth The pork bone has been boiled on high heat for a few days Allowing the marrow to seep out the bones break down to an almost milky state giving the broth a cloudy Quality like a dream we've got broth. We've got firm blanched noodles Now the black ramen toppings include minced pork squid ink yogurt and garlic chips Franks red Ramen is topped with minced pork spicy miso and a little yakiniku sauce Here we have the squid ink Raman black as night darker than my heart and then of course a sign of whiskey highball here Day drinking I know in a lot of countries I go to their first process is just mix it all up Is it the same thing here? I think it depends on the person But what I like to do is kind of dig past that layer of top Oh, yeah, so you're getting into the milky creamy broth as well. So you're kind of paddling back Then you take it up and then have the broth Is that a good one? Yeah, but take a look at this The ink is just kind of on top underneath we reveal that milky creamy bone broth. It's very bony. We're try it out. Oh My lips are oily man, but delicious smoky wonderful savory pork flavor you want to mix it up. Yeah. Sure So I like to mix a little bit, you know Maybe with this guy at the top all get that there and then pull up, you know We got some pork. We got some noodles put it all together BAM! [Slurping Sound] Wow! I cannot believe how creamy it is. The noodles are still nice and firm to be honest I don't think the squid ink is a tremendous amount of flavor, but it does look really interesting once right on my soup I mean, I don't mind let's share dude. Well pork lo spice Cheers All the chili oil on there it's a life changing like the hairs in the back of my neck was like, whoa We're officially eating what is going on a world of difference between this place in the last place already? It's so fun that they have these different kind of flavors. You can choose from the black the red the cream [Host] [Dropping chopsticks on floor] Stunning stunning. This is like my 10th pair of chopsticks down Bryan Reynolds, that's what you look like. You're like the Deadpool of noodles, really? What is going on behind us here here? They're using Chinese food and putting it together with ramen noodles This place is known as the Tokyo laboratory here a pack of ramen scientists toil endlessly over the perfect bowl So there's a hot and sour there's also a Mapo tofu, which is spicy tofu. So two very amazing dishes. All right, let's go Let's do it! You've never seen ramen like this the broth couldn't be any thicker at some point You just have to call it ramen sauce This santorum albumin sauce is made from fermented broad beans and chili paste with fermented black beans It's meant to be spicy and almost sticky and in a bit of minced pork and finally tofu Some Ottoman sauce is made with black pepper red chilies and a bit of vinegary Sourness topped with wood ear mushrooms bamboo shoots and tofu, Frank also special requested a load of coriander. I Haven't seen this in any restaurant I've ever been to Rainer spoon for eating. That's really cool All right. These are different strategy for how to eat this. Just dig in You know, it's a very dramatic pull up with the noodles. You've got noodle terminology you be calling it a little of it How do I do a successful pull up on these noodles here with this you have to dig pretty deep? so you're like literally reaching in yeah, and you mean metaphorically get you metaphorically and literally I think I need a single kehm on this one. Just me digging deep. Here we go Oh look how deep it is! And then bringing it up! There we go, nice nice, it's hard to get out the broth is almost like fighting against you to pull it back. Yeah, right It's trying to stay inside. Oh, that is gorgeous [Frank] Nicely done! Look at that. Yeah, you ready to do it Mmm always that firm. Hearty noodles still has a nice chew to it. Very like tomatoey acidic sauce It doesn't feel like a classic ramen at all. You tell me about yours. What's going well? This one is a hot and sour soup The noodles are a little bit thinner and what I like to do Is that a lot of coriander on top of that? I love my coriander? I'm gonna use my strainer spoon scoop out to some of the tofu. There we go How's it silky disintegrates with your tongue man? You cannot go wrong with some of that tofu. Make sure those Szechuan chilies They warm you up. It feels so good. I love that Location for you do the rest. I'm so full right now. So the next place is called Menya Fujishiro They're known for a creamy chicken ramen very delicious and we're going at the right time It's a tiny little spot as you can see it's rumoured that the chef here Originally came from a fine-dining background and they specialize in thick and creamy chicken ramen this style of ramen in Japan Is known as pi time. Well guys, it's gonna look like the picture Let's go This ramen is all about the creamy thick Chickeny broth with the kind of savory wholesome flavor that feels like mom wrapping a warm blanket around you after an afternoon of snowman-building It's good It's a very premium grade of chicken and the chickens in particular comes from the mountains of Tolstoi Prefecture top it with sliced ciaossu chicken egg green onion fish cake and seaweed topping How many bowls of ramen have you made in your life? いち にち Ichi ni chi Once ago She's got a hundred and seventy six thousand ramen bowl that she's probably prepared but out of the hundred seventy-six Thousand bowls of ramen you've made is this one like the most special? What's you know, she said of course it is. Let's eat What I notice is they have this kind of nori here do you wrap up anything in particular with this I personally like to wrap up a little bit of the noodles in the nori Basically this way you can get a little bit of Sea weed the noodles at the same time Okay, so we have a little noodle in there. Yeah a little bit of nori. It is steaming piping hot still you ready? Let's do it [Slurping Sound] Mmm-hmm super delicious off the bat no chicken flavor at all. It's very oceanic in nature by the broccoli itself That chicken will come out more. There we go It is like chicken noodle soup, but like a little fishy now at the beginning of the day. We had a slurp off Ah, yeah, how do you feel about how that went? Yo, they call them Hoover for a reason? I took too much noodles in my bite there. Well, it sounds to me like you want to rematch. That's what you're saying I want to remember [Loud Slurping Sound] Mm... Mmmm Haha What you got here we go [Continous Slurping sound] That was pretty good it was clean you got him all in it was like seven stars in a row. I think you want them Most places have the egg already cut for you in this place. They just put a whole egg in there You know, they want you to have the cut on video grater be a dramatic get that egg born. Here we go I'm just gonna squeeze it until it reveals this kind of soft and half soft boiled yolk Oh yeah [Frank] There we go Yeah, that is a nice big sticky yolk and then Velvety creaming yolk as you saw today We ate so many different kinds like it is pretty hard to go wrong with this dish for me I was always intimidated by a kind of vending machine ramen. I didn't get it. Everything's written in the local language But after today look for the most expensive thing should be around 1000 yen Put your money in get your ticket hand it over and then wait to see what shows up Frank my man. Thank you so much for today. This was amazing I learned so much about ramen and I have so much ramen Literally inside of me right now and guys you could have so much ramen inside of you, too You can do your own ramen tour here in Tokyo with this guy The tour is put on through Tokyo by food Tokyo by food has over 75 food experiences in Tokyo next year even more cities and even better than that for each person who makes a reservation for a tour They are feeding ten people in Cambodia It's a win-win situation also for you guys if you are interested in going to Vietnam anytime soon I highly recommend a company called one trip one trip is the highest rated tour company in Vietnam doing tours from north to south in all major cities including Hanoi new Chiang Danang high M and Saigon, you can experience food tours adventure tours and more to learn more about one trip Check out the links in the description down below. I will see you next time a piece. I nailed it All right. Let's get some more noodles. I'm just kidding. I want to dive stop No, I'm done I can have a bowl Instead -
