{"id":12036,"date":"2010-12-25T22:59:05","date_gmt":"2010-12-25T14:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/?p=12036"},"modified":"2011-01-05T11:44:16","modified_gmt":"2011-01-05T03:44:16","slug":"day-4-kyoto-takaraya-ramen-pontocho-%e5%ae%9d%e5%b1%8b%e3%83%a9%e3%83%bc%e3%83%a1%e3%83%b3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/2010\/12\/25\/day-4-kyoto-takaraya-ramen-pontocho-%e5%ae%9d%e5%b1%8b%e3%83%a9%e3%83%bc%e3%83%a1%e3%83%b3\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 4: Kyoto \u2013 Takaraya Ramen Pontocho (\u5b9d\u5c4b\u30e9\u30fc\u30e1\u30f3)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>So if it is made in Japan, it must be good no?<\/p>\n<p>Even in Japan, you can get crappy food.<\/p>\n<p>I had a below average vending machine coffee and ramen in ajinomoto-saturated soup. In hope to taste good ramen while in Japan, I searched for recommendations on the Internet again. I came across a rating of 10\/10 for Sumashi ramen by Takaraya restaurant located somewhere near the intersection between the Sanjo street and Kamo river. I was glad that Yang readily agreed to search the restaurant out as it was a bit out of the way on our itinerary and he is not much of a foodie.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12038\" title=\"blog-2010-japan-DSC_3734-kyoto-gion\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3734-kyoto-gion.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3734-kyoto-gion.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3734-kyoto-gion-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">We were the first in the queue at opening hours, 5:00 PM sharp!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We were the first to arrive at the restaurant and waited for it to open at 5:00 PM. Soon a queue formed behind us. :) We were warmly welcomed into the little restaurant and seated with a special blanket-like napkin for 2 persons. The restaurant had plenty of little stickers stuck to its pillars. If I remember correctly, these stickers are signs of approval and compliments from their patrons. Some of them from maikos even. Pity we didn&#8217;t have our own customised stickers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12039\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12039\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12039\" title=\"blog-2010-japan-DSC_3738-kyoto-gion\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3738-kyoto-gion.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3738-kyoto-gion.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3738-kyoto-gion-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12039\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patron-approved stickers! These are better endorsements than the countless but also practically unreliable foodie endorsements in Singapore hawker centers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12040\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12040\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12040\" title=\"blog-2010-japan-DSC_3741-kyoto-gion\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3741-kyoto-gion.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3741-kyoto-gion.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3741-kyoto-gion-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12040\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">So many items to try and no stomach space for them all! Where&#39;s Matt when we need him?! :)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We ordered 2 bowls of Sumashi ramen and waited a while to be served. Apparently, it required a slightly longer time for preparation. The first thing we always do with ramen is to take a sip of the broth. It is the essence of any ramen. This ramen didn&#8217;t blow me away at the first impression. It has a subtle taste for broth unlike the many ramen I had tried. However, the more I ate of the garnishes, the more stimulated the palate got. Indeed, like those reviews for this Sumashi ramen, the deep-fried burdock root strips, bacon pieces and mozzarella cheese added sophistication to the texture and flavor of the ramen. Yang drank up most of the broth!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_12041\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12041\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12041\" title=\"blog-2010-japan-DSC_3744-kyoto-gion\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3744-kyoto-gion.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3744-kyoto-gion.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3744-kyoto-gion-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12041\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sumashi Ramen @ 850\u5186!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12042\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12042\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12042\" title=\"blog-2010-japan-DSC_3749-kyoto-gion\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3749-kyoto-gion.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3749-kyoto-gion.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/blog-2010-japan-DSC_3749-kyoto-gion-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12042\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This gets my approval.:)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I feel unqualified to rate this innovative ramen. It is very unique for certain. The chef succeeded in harmonising his choice of unusual ingredients.\u00a0 I enjoyed it too especially the deep-fried burdock root strips. However, it would have been perfect for me if there was a little less salt in it (not that it was salty). There I&#8217;ve said it. :)<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/star10.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/star10.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/star10.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/star10.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/star10.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So if it is made in Japan, it must be good no? Even in Japan, you can get crappy food. I had a below average vending machine coffee and ramen in ajinomoto-saturated soup. In hope to taste good ramen while<\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-read-more\"><a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/2010\/12\/25\/day-4-kyoto-takaraya-ramen-pontocho-%e5%ae%9d%e5%b1%8b%e3%83%a9%e3%83%bc%e3%83%a1%e3%83%b3\/\">Read More<span class=\"cleanwp-sr-only\">  Day 4: Kyoto \u2013 Takaraya Ramen Pontocho (\u5b9d\u5c4b\u30e9\u30fc\u30e1\u30f3)<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,17],"tags":[463,481],"class_list":["post-12036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dining","category-traveling","tag-japan-2010","tag-kyoto","wpcat-9-id","wpcat-17-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12036\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}