１００名店ぶらり訪問⑦ 鶏白湯のまろやかさに海老の風味を感じるスープ : Ramen Asuka

Visited on the night of August 17 (Friday).

Sometimes, I crave a ramen that highlights the flavor of chicken, so I decided to visit the popular spot 'Ramen Asuka.' They serve a limited menu item on Fridays called 'Sweet Shrimp Paitan Ramen,' and you can check how many bowls are left on their official Twitter.

I arrived 10 minutes before opening and found there were already 9 people waiting. Since there are only 11 seats, I was assured a spot on the first round. However, a tweet around 4 PM said, 'Only 9 bowls of Sweet Shrimp left,' prompting me to count how many people were ahead of me one more time…
The 10th person… my heart started racing.
When the restaurant finally opened, I casually glanced at the orders of those in front of me... and felt relieved when I saw the customer two spots ahead of me press the 'Chicken Ramen' button.

Limited Menu A: I ordered the Sweet Shrimp Paitan Ramen with everything on it.

After a short wait, the beautifully plated Sweet Shrimp Paitan Ramen was served, raising my expectations. Taking my first spoonful of the broth...

It was incredibly delicious! (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

The regular chicken paitan ramen uses a rich broth made from a large quantity of Mie Takumi Akadori and Oku Mikawa chicken carcasses, complemented by a niboshi-based Japanese-style broth. In contrast, the Sweet Shrimp Paitan Ramen is blended with a shrimp broth instead of the Japanese-style broth. This shrimp broth didn't have the unpleasant odor typically associated with shrimp, so maybe they roasted or dried the shrimp before using it for the broth. The rich, deep collagen flavor from the chicken, combined with the roasting aroma and the pure shrimp flavor, created a harmonious balance with the shrimp-flavored oil floating on the surface... it was a perfect bisque-like finish. The medium-thick noodles had a slightly soft, slippery texture that paired well with the rich soup; this slipperiness was just right.
The menma (bamboo shoots) were thoroughly infused with flavor, and the low-temperature cooked pork and chicken chashu were carefully placed on the rim of the bowl to avoid becoming tough from the residual heat, resulting in a texture akin to high-quality roast ham—moist and elastic. The flavored egg had its yolk perfectly runny, showcasing careful timing and temperature management for boiling... there are countless details emphasizing the level of craftsmanship in this high-quality ramen.

Looking through past posts on Twitter, there were days with guerilla-style appearances of crab broth ramen and super-rich chicken paitan ramen. This was incredibly delicious, and it definitely left me wanting to come back for more.