東京ラーメンストリート店 俺式純: Tokyo Ramen Street's Oreshiki Jun

The Tokyo Ramen Street is a go-to destination for any Ramen Lover visiting Tokyo for the first time. It's especially handy for those here on a time crunch, as the street - a row of shops inside Tokyo Station's massive underground shopping mall - packs 8 different shops representing styles from all over Japan. Ramen alleys, streets, and festivals are usually tourist traps, with mediocre shops paying premium rent to attract busy/clueless out-of-towners, but what makes the Tokyo Street unique is the uniform excellence of all the shops. The reputation of Tokyo's Street means that you can't make a bad choice, but also be prepared to wait in longer-than-usual lines.

The Ramen Street expanded its line up about three years ago, though it's recently changed up nearly half of its shops. Gone are Mutsumiya, Keisuke, and Junk Garage; in their place are newcomers Oreshiki Jun, Kizo, and Tonari (run by the same group as Rokurinsha, the most popular shop on the Street). We thought it might be a good idea to check out these new kids on the ramen block, and see how they stack up next to Shichisai and Honda, our favorites.

First up is Oreshiki Jun, a Hakata tonkotsu bowl run created by the Setagaya group (which also has a second shop on the street, the light and refreshing Hirugao). 

You can count on sleek and comfortable interiors with the Setagaya guys. Similar to tonkotsu chain shops like Ippudo or Ichiran, this one is also porky funk fragrance free.

The standard bowl looked a little plain, so I went with the DELUXE bowl, topped with half-boiled egg, extra chashu, and a dollop of mentaiko fermented pollock roe, a specialty of Kyushu.

Tonkotsu ramen DX (1000yen)

The noodles, like all honest Hakata-style tonkotsu shops, can be customized. I suggest going with barikata, "noodles as hard as needles" (if you've forgotten how to order Hakata tonkotsu noodles, see our handy ordering guide).

Considering ore-shiki means "my style" in Japanese, I was expecting some extra personal touches to this bowl, but the usual staples of sesame seeds and pickled ginger or greens came as the standard toppings. There is, however, an excellent spicy miso paste which should be added copiously to give the bowl a unique kick.

Final verdict: this is a damn smooth bowl of tonkotsu, good soup, good chashu, good noodles. It would put the 500 yen bowls at Hakata Furyu to shame, or at least induce some nervous averted glances in a crowded dance hall. 

But it should be damn smooth. I paid 1000 yen for this bowl. That is borderline criminal for a bowl of tonkotsu, especially with no kaedama extra helping of noodles. The DX bowl should feel gluttonous, but it doesn't come close to something like, say, Kyushu Jangara's "everything in the shop" bowl. Now THAT is an oily Akihabara heart attack.

Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku Marunouchi 1-9-1 Tokyo Ramen Street

Closest stn: Tokyo

Open from 1030am-11pm

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