Japan Fes. Ramen Contest 2019

2 years after we braved the Japan Fes. Ramen Contest, we are back! Today we did not try all of the ramen (which I will get to) but we still had a great time slurping it up! Please see our ranking of best to worst below!

This year we only made it to Day 2 in our neighborhood in Astoria, Queens NY. All of the same vendors were there from Day 1 except for 1 shop from Japan. So Ryan and I went to the gym and then immediately ate back all of the calories we lost at the gym…naturally.

BEST RAMEN OF THE DAY: Bone Marrow Wagyu Brisket Ramen from Shinka Ramen in New York, NY.

Ryan and I were both in agreement that this was the best ramen of the day, but we aren’t sure that we could eat a whole bowl of this delectable ramen in one sitting. The broth was incredibly rich and tasted like you were drinking a steak. It was easily the beefiest broth we have ever had. The wagyu was super tender and was a very generous portion. The addition of the bone marrow was very delicious but made it extra rich. I had never had something so elegant in a bowl of ramen before so it was a first, but it was really good and I would recommend trying it. We did feel that the noodles were over cooked and a little too thin but it was easily the best one we had today!

2ND BEST RAMEN OF THE DAY: Gold Soy Sauce Ramen with Spicy oil from Kinguemon in Osaka, Japan.

Doing a very minor google search, we found that the gold soy sauce is based on it’s light amount of soy sauce in the broth and not actual flecks of gold (hey, you never know). The broth has a light but umami flavor, but it definitely didn’t taste like soy sauce so that makes sense. Either way, we approved! The noodles were a perfect wavy texture with the right amount of chewiness. Definitely not overcooked. The pork was very good and had a good meat to fat ratio. To top it all off there was a hint of spicy oil, but not too overpowering. Would definitely hit this place up in Osaka!

3RD BEST RAMEN OF THE DAY: Spicy Cheese Mazeman from Mahoroba in Okinawa, Japan.

Let me preface this to say that this was not ramen. It was essentially spicy mac and cheese with ramen noodles. That being said, it was really tasty and I wish I could have had the stomach to eat more of it. The noodles were great and chewy but the whole bowl was very spicy so it was hard to get through. The ground pork was really good and the cilantro was really clever and a good addition to the flavors. Again though, this was not ramen.

WORST RAMEN OF THE DAY: Sendai Miso Ramen from Quorokushiki in Miyagi, Japan.

This bowl was very disappointing. It was a very tasteless miso in all honesty. Ryan thought that the after taste tasted like Lipton iced tea. I saw what he was saying but I am not sure I would have ever arrived there alone. The pork was thin and fatty. The noodles were overcooked and a little rubbery. Definitely was not worth the line for this bowl. Maybe it was bad luck - we won’t know unless we take a trip to Sendai…or they come back another year.

We did miss a couple of spots so it is hard to say if these were TRULY the best or worst. One of the spots was a Dan Dan ramen (with no broth) but it had peanuts in the ramen, so we couldn’t have it as Ryan is allergic to peanuts. #nopeanutsforever. Two of the places had only seafood or clams in it and we have a bit of an aversion to seafood at a street fair - just wasn’t worth the risk. If we were in the shop, we definitely would have tried these. The last one we didn’t try was a super spicy ramen and our stomach’s wouldn’t be able to handle it. We are old now.

The one thing about the festival that was frustrating was the price. Each cup of ramen was $10, which is a lot considering what you are getting, but ramen is worth it to us.

Either way, we will definitely hit up Shinka ramen in New York in the future!

Good luck to all of the contestants!