“Jiro style” of Gotanda’s “Ramen Dai”! Have You Seen This Kind of Ramen?!
There is a type of ramen called “Jiro style.” What characterizes “Jiro style” ramen, you ask? …. You’ll have to read on to find out!
This type of ramen originated from a restaurant in Mita, called “Ramen Jiro.” Eventually, other restaurants adapted their unique twist on ramen, and it has come to be called “Jiro style” ramen.
One of the Schools of Jiro Style Ramen, “Horikiri Style”
I’ve come to “Ramen Dai,” a restaurant around 3 minutes on foot from Gotanda Station.
“Ramen Dai” serves ramen derived from the Jiro Horikiri style. Horikiri style is one of the variations of the original Jiro style. Ramen Dai has focused its locations in Tokyo, but it also has locations in areas like Kyoto and Fukuoka.
Ramen Dai’s menu is primarily ramen and tsukemen. In addition to their standard tonkotsu shoyu ramen, they also serve shio ramen and, in the winter, miso ramen.
Just by looking at the menu, it looks like an ordinary ramen shop, but….
This is the free toppings menu. That’s right, what makes this Jiro style ramen is what’s on this free toppings menu!
The available free toppings are vegetables, garlic, backfat, and seasonings, and you can choose between quantities of “normal,” “larger,” “more,” and “even more.”
I ordered “even more” vegetables, “normal” garlic, “larger” backfat, and strongish seasoning.
A giant mountain of vegetables appeared!
And this is what came out!!!
Here’s a shot from another angle! It looks so intense! There’s a giant mountain of vegetables on top of the bowl! You can’t even see the ramen!
If you look closely at the vegetables, you can see the backfat!
The ramen is already rich with lots of backfat in it, and even more melts down into the soup from the vegetables. If you like rich foods, it should be an essential topping!
The noodles and soup
By pulling up from beneath the pile of vegetables, I finally found some noodles!
The noodles were thick square noodles with a slightly stiff texture, but these rustic noodles look like a great match for such a hearty ramen!
The tonkotsu shoyu soup has plenty of backfat floating in it. The seasoning is usually pretty heavy, but the moisture of the vegetables thins out the flavor, so it’s recommended you order heavier seasoning if you are ordering vegetables.
At first you might worry about finishing off this mountain of vegetables, but it works out surprisingly well! The combination of the heavy soup and light vegetables keeps you going back for more, and before you notice they’ll all have disappeared into your stomach!
Jiro Style Isn’t Ramen!
There are a lot of big fans of Jiro style ramen, called “Jirorians.” Some people even claim that, because Jiro style ramen is so unique, “Jiro isn’t ramen, but its own type of food called Jiro.”
How about trying this unique style of ramen for yourself?
Basic information on [Ramen Dai]
Ramen Dai, Gotanda Location
- Address
- Dorumi Gotanda Doumezon 1st Floor, 2-10-8 Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa, Tokyo
- Access
- 3 minutes on foot from Gotanda Station
- Hours
- Weekdays 1:30-15:00, 18:00-24:00 / Saturdays and holidays 11:30-15:00
- Closed
- Sundays
- URL(Japanese)
- http://www.food-ff.com/
Author
Birth place: Saitama prefecture
Sato
I’m a chubby foodie, and I focus my writing on gourmet food and travel.