Though pretty much everything I’ve been eating in Budapest has been great, Mangalica Mennyország was a bit of a mixed bag.
Though I’d heard good things about Nawras Seafood Restaurant, I was a bit wary of the place when I first walked in and sat at my table. It felt like it was trying a bit too hard to be fancy. I was afraid it might be style over substance.
Here’s one of the nice things about almost everyone being able to speak English in Malaysia: I walked into Goh Signature Centre completely at random (it looked busy, which was good enough for me). I had no idea what to order, but I was able to ask the woman in the restaurant what their specialty is.
I’ll admit that the two bowls of tonkotsu ramen I’ve had so far in Fukuoka threw me for a loop. I love that style of ramen… or do I? The two bowls I sampled in Fukuoka (the birthplace of tonkotsu ramen) were one-note porky in a way I found vaguely unsatisfying.
Though Hakata Ikkousha is a chain (and apparently they’ve just opened a location in Toronto), they serve some seriously acclaimed ramen — it’s frequently called one of the best bowls in Fukuoka.
I should have known that the airport ramen wouldn’t be very good. I mean, it’s airport ramen. Any rational person would tell you that it’s not going to be very good.
After my sub-par experience at Aji No Karyu, I knew I couldn’t leave it at that. I had to eat at least one more bowl of ramen in Sapporo so that me and the city could part on good terms.
Aji No Karyu is mostly notable for being the ramen joint that Anthony Bourdain went to during the Hokkaido episode of No Reservations. That’s certainly the reason I wanted to try it.
Soup curry is one of those local dishes that you pretty much have to try; it’s a Hokkaido specialty that features a spice-packed, long-simmered soup crammed with veggies and meat, and served with rice on the side.
Well, regardless of whatever else I do/see in Sapporo, I’m already incredibly glad that I came here if only for the ramen at Amewa Yasashiku.