Special ramen｜Yokohama ie-kei ramen Nidaime Budoka

A visit to “Yokohama ie-kei ramen Nidaime Budoka”, a famous “Ie-kei ramen” restaurant located on the south side of Nakano Station in Tokyo.
“Ie-kei ramen” is a dish with a strong flavor, and once you experience it, you will want to eat it regularly. It is well known that there are many “Ie-kei ramen” fans among ramen lovers.

The “Nidaime Budouka” that I visited this time is a very memorable ramen with a strong and robust flavor that is typical of “Ie-kei” ramen.
It is a popular restaurant, so when we entered the restaurant, it was full and there were several people waiting. I bought a ticket inside and waited for about 10 minutes.

Since I had not been to “Nidaime Budoka” for a while, I ordered “Tokusei ramen” (Special ramen) and rice. Since I went at night, I had to pay 50 yen for the rice, but I could have another serving. During weekday lunch hours, rice is free.

When ordering, you can choose the thickness of the flavor, the hardness of the noodles, and the amount of fat, so I chose “thick, hard, and normal” and verbally ordered it from the staff.

After ordering, sit down at the counter and wait for a while. The rice is served before the ramen, so you can have the rice and free cucumber pickles on the counter first. When I come to Iekei ramen, I like the time I spend waiting for my ramen while eating this combination of rice and pickles.

Then the ramen is served. The ramen noodles are filled to overflowing with green onions, which contrast with the color of the soup, and the toppings of char siu pork, seaweed, spinach, and noodles are very appetizing.

The soup is served first. It is still thick. No, this thickness is delicious.
It is the kind of soup that makes you think, “This is what I came here to eat”.

After dodging the green onions and spinach with chopsticks, you move on to the noodles, which have a chewy texture. It is the best ramen time when you bring the noodles, which are entwined with the thick flavor of the soup and the green onions and spinach, to your mouth.

After enjoying the soup and noodles all the way through, you can finish your own style of bowl by adding some char siu pork, spinach, and a small portion of the soup to your bowl of rice. Eating my own bowl of ramen with my bowl of rice is my way of enjoying Iekei Ramen. It may not be the best way to enjoy it, since the soup is poured over rice… But it is the basic way to enjoy Ie-kei ramen.

When the noodles are about halfway through, a generous amount of garlic is added to change the flavor.
The flavor of ramen is “strong” to begin with, but the addition of garlic adds impact to the strong flavor and changes it. The soup after the garlic is added may not be to everyone’s liking, but this change in taste is the reason why there are so many “Ie-kei Ramen” fans.

The “special ramen” had a rich flavor and was finished in one go.
We enjoyed it very much. Thank you very much.