I've read and heard about this joint Ajisen Ramen in the city. Supposedly it's a part of a chain of noodle house. I've read kinda mixed reviews; ones saying it's pretty good while others saying that it's crap. Before making any judgment, I decided to give a go at the place.
When I got there, the place was pretty full; not quite packed out yet, but enough so that only a few more groups can be crammed in after me. I was seated on a single-person sized table. I went for an Aso Kazan Ramen (Mt. Aso Volcano Ramen) and a serving of gyoza.
The gyoza came out first. This one was better than I expected. Certainly tasted better than the one I had at Tanpopo in Auckland.
Gyoza
Then the Aso Kazan Ramen came out. This one was, I must say, pretty spicy. I can take fair amount of chili, but this one was up there. The paste on top of the pork was spicy bean paste.
Aso Kazan Ramen
By half way through the bowl, I was sweating like a piggy. It was so spicy; but not to the extent that I could not handle. The soup is tonkotsu based, and I like that too. But... I guess this comes down to personal preference, but the noodle was of the straight kind, rather than a curly/wavy type (chijire-men in Japanese). I like those more than the straight ones. The straight ones felt a bit like... Italian pasta. Anyway. Everything considered, I might come back here once in a while, but I'll have to choose what I eat here as it came close to 20 bucks just for a serving of dumplings and a bowl of noodle...
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