APPLE – SPOTIFY – STITCHER
Brian MacDuckston is the mastermind behind Ramen Adventures, a blog about hunting down the best bowls of ramen in Japan. He is the author of Ramen at Home, a cookbook dedicated to helping anyone with the basics of cooking ramen and learning the art behind every bowl. Through his eating escapades, Brian grew Ramen Adventures along all platforms even hosting his own live Twitch show where you can experience Japan’s exquisite bowls through Brian himself.
We begin the interview with Brian’s first experiences in Japan and how he started Ramen Adventures. He moved to Japan for a job teaching children conversational English. A little over a year later, Brian eats his first bowl of ramen and immediately fell in love with the unique flavors. He started chronicling his experiences online and giving reviews so readers could focus on the best ramen in the area.
In recent years, Brian’s focus leans towards helping ramen chefs open pop-up shops in other countries. With excellent results, Brian accompanied pop-ups in Washington D.C. and Copenhagen where Japanese ramen chefs showcased their skills and helping spread the love of ramen around the world.
Ramen For Beginners
For first-time foodists traveling to Japan, Brian recommends staying in Tokyo. With a wealth of variety of low to high-end food, very few cities compare to Tokyo in overall food quality.
Ramen, in its most simplistic form, is a bowl of noodle soup. What makes ramen so special is the unique craftsmanship of each bowl and the dedication to perfecting every aspect of the dish.
More often than not, the soup and noodles are both made in-house at the ramen shop. Soup is boiled for six or seven hours for a light soup and up to two days for a heavy creamy soup.
Every bowl of ramen is about the balance between the noodles, soup, seasoning, aroma oils, and toppings. The goal of every bowl of ramen is to produce umami, the mysterious fifth flavor that few know how to describe. Umami is savoriness that gives body and oomph to every bite.
Although the stigma of MSG rages on in the western world, in Japan, MSG is part of the ramen process and more often than not, you will find a little MSG in your ramen. It acts as a flavor enhancer, much like salt, and every ramen chef treats it like a seasoning, only using a small amount to elevate the dish.
The noodles in ramen are often Chinese-style, alkaline noodles. They are made from wheat flour and have a great chewy texture. Although they hold up to hot broth, ramen noodles only last about eight minutes before soaking up too much broth and rendering themselves to mush in the bowl.
Ramen is serious business in Japan, so every patron at the ramen shop slurps down their noodles quickly to ensure every bite of noodles is perfect. In fact, taking too long to eat is considered rude. Since ramen is so affordable in Japan, every bowl produces only a small amount of profit. The only way a ramen shop makes money is by serving as many guests as possible. So slurp your noodles and move on to the next delicious spot.
Brian’s Ramen Recommendations in Tokyo
Kikanbo – Spicy Miso Ramen
1 Chome-13-14 Higashiikebukuro, Toshima City, Tokyo 170-0013, Japan
Click here for Brian’s review on Ramen Adventures.
Fūunji – Tsukemen Ramen: noodles that are separate from the broth, dipped then slurped
Japan, 〒151-0053 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Yoyogi, 2 Chome−14−3 北斗第一ビル１F
Click here for Brian’s review on Ramen Adventures.
Motenashi Kuroki – Special Shio Ramen: light broth but full of flavor
Japan, 〒101-0024 Tokyo, Chiyoda City, Kanda Izumicho, 2−15 四連ビル3号館 １
Click here for Brian’s review on Ramen Adventures.
The Rise of B-Kyu Gourmet
With the high-end eating everywhere in Japan, few travelers realize the awesomeness of casual dining establishments in Tokyo. A-Level gourmet restaurants are high-end and showcase extensive tasting menus, notable A-5 Kobe beef and exquisite sushi omakase.
B-Kyu gourmet (B-Level) restaurants are the casual dining establishments cooking up awesome pizza, burgers, takoyaki, and other Japanese favorites.
Brian recommends trying Monjayaki, a delicious mixture of fillings mixed in a wet batter then poured on a griddle located at the center of the table. Everyone digs in at their own pace eating the sloppy deliciousness while sipping on a beer. B-Kyu social dining at its finest.
Yokocho is an alley filled with delicious street food and bars with many hiding in plain sight throughout Tokyo. You can grab food from any place and bring it back to your table, making it the perfect spot for sampling many B-Kyu gourmet foods.
Kakigori is one of Brian’s current obsessions. Finely shaved ice covered with a delicious seasonal fruit topping creating a cloud-like texture packed with fruity goodness.
Brian’s B-Kyu Gourmet Recommendations inTokyo
Ebisu Yokocho – Food alley filled with amazing delicious treats
1 Chome-7-4 Ebisu, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0013, Japan
Minatoya – One of Brian’s favorite places for the Japanese shaved ice Kakigori
Japan, 〒151-0073 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Sasazuka, 2 Chome−41−20 岡田ビル
Savoy – Eat the awesome Neapolitan margarita pizza
3 Chome-10-1 Motoazabu, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0046, Japan
Pizza Studio Tamaki – Pizzas made with a variety of high-quality Japanese ingredients
1 Chome-24-6 Higashiazabu, Minato City, Tokyo 106-0044, Japan
Miyazaki Shouten – Delicious yakitori skewers with a great vibe
Japan, 〒151-0066 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Nishihara, 2 Chome−28−4 宮嶋ビル
Tsukishima Monja Street– This street in Tokyo has plenty of Monjayaki shops, so pick one out and give it a try
1 Chome-と３丁目 Tsukishima, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0052, Japan
Also Mentioned in the Podcast
Brian’s trip to the obscure Nabeyaki Ramen from Susaki.
Click here for a video he made about it!
Brian’s Tokyo Boating Meet Up.
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Chris Kretzer has traveled the world visiting over 35 countries and eating his way through every city. With his wife Tiarra, they explore different food cultures and create food guides, podcasts, and travel articles helping everyone experience the world through food.