A note on the words: ao-togarashi ramen is ramen spiced with finely chopped green chilies, giving the rich pork-and-soy tonkotsu-shoyu broth a sharp kick. Chashu refers to braised, tender slices of pork belly, menma are seasoned fermented bamboo shoots, and negi is chopped Japanese scallion.
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Samen on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. This is a ramen shop in Akasaka right next to the sauna, Sauna Tiger. I feel like it was called “Sa-meshi” — sa for sauna, meshi for a meal — until a little while ago, but it seems to have turned into the ramen shop “Samen”! Does Samen mean sauna noodles, I wonder, ha. I seem to recall it was also a bit of a talking point as a ramen the sauna itself had started and was taking seriously. This time I happened to walk past the place around lunchtime, so I decided to drop in. It was around 11:30, but there was only one party inside. Nice and quiet, which is great!
Ramen — 990 yen
Ao-togarashi ramen — 1,190 yen
Chashu-men — 1,490 yen
Ao-togarashi chashu-men — 1,690 yen
Fried rice — 690 yen
Mini chashu rice bowl — 390 yen
Gyoza — 350 yen
Hmm, ramen is 990 yen, and they have ao-togarashi ramen too…
I was getting into the mood for something spicy, so I chose the ao-togarashi ramen. I have been cutting back on my food portions lately, so I asked for a smaller portion of noodles, ha.
Well then, a short wait.
There seemed to be a limited-time “white” ramen as well, and just as I was wondering if that might have been better, a new customer came in and asked, “If it is my first time here, is regular ramen better than the white one?” The shop recommended the regular ramen over the white one, which made me feel better about not having ordered it either. To the person who asked that: thank you, ha!
Now, the ramen arrives.
The toppings are negi, a slice of chashu, menma, and chopped green chili. You can tell just by looking at it that the soup is thick. Taking a sip of the soup, it is intensely rich! Or rather, on the salty side too! The base is tonkotsu-shoyu. I imagine it is made quite strong assuming people eat it after the sauna. The soup is delicious. The green chili gives it a sharp kick, but it is not overwhelmingly hot.
The noodles are thin, straight noodles.
They are thin and cling well to the soup, which makes them delicious. The soup is on the salty side, so taking about half the usual portion of noodles may have hit just the right balance. Even with half the noodles, it filled me up reasonably well.
Even while thinking it is salty, it is the kind of soup you cannot help sipping, ha. It was delicious.
The ramen itself was very delicious. That said, looking at the balance of toppings and everything, 1,190 yen does feel a little pricey. Then again, prices across the board have been going up these days, so I feel it is not an issue unique to this place. Still, that strong, salty, addictive soup must be irresistible after a sauna or workout! I would recommend giving it a try once!
Samen (Ramen / Akasaka-mitsuke Station, Akasaka Station, Tameike-sanno Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.2
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
