so you want to be a ramen champion?
Ever step into a ramen shop, only to notice some banner or advert touting the chef as a “ramen champion?” Ever wonder where they got that title? There are more than a few ramen “championships” held periodically throughout Japan, amid loads of cooking contests in the nation that gave us Ryori no Tetsujin, the Iron Chef competition. Tokyo Terebi’s recent tournament to crown a new Tokyo Ramen Champion fired up at the end of November; set high atop the 49th floor of the Shinjuku Sumitomo building, twelve prominent Tokyo ramen chefs competed in blocks of four over the course of four months for the weighty title, to be decided at the end of March.
The Rameniac was there on opening day, when throngs of ramen enthusiasts lined up to sample new inventions, crafted specifically for the tournament, by the ramen masters behind Nantsutei, Tsukemen TETSU, Kyuushuu Ramen Hinokuni, and uh, Men Elvis, (just go with it for now).
I’ve long been a fan of TETSU‘s hot iron tsukemen, while chef Ichiro Furuya of Nantsutei had recently crossed the Pacific to give us Yanks a taste of his Kumamoto-influenced ramen. The other two shops were new to me, so in an adventurous mood, I opted for a bowl of Elvis’s Sichuan-inspired noodles, along with a stab at Furuya’s new miso and kuromayu black garlic oil creation.
As the line snaked its way to the ordering counter, I ran into Furuya-san himself, who seemed distinctly pleased that I had opted for a bowl of his wares. I was not disappointed with either ramen, though Elvis’ Sichuan peppercorn-laden noodles were so mind-blowingly fiery that I had to simply sit and stare idly at the Tokyo skyline for a few minutes before I could finish the thing. It was an interesting experience, slurping a couple of the world’s most cutting-edge,latest and greatest ramen creations while marinating a panorama that exists strongest in my memory via the night footage from Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation.
As diners exit the venue, they vote for their favorite ramen by dropping their spoon into one of the four marked boxes, each representing one of the pop-up competition shosp. Fortuitously,Nantsutei would win the round at the end of the month and advance to the finals, which have just commenced. If you’re in Tokyo between now and March 31st, you’d do well to stop by for the month-long “final season,” slurp a few bowls, and cast own vote for the next Tokyo Terebi Ramen Champion.
