Ramen Nijyubunnoichi (Ramen にじゅうぶんのいち): Elusive Double of Michelin Bib Gourmand and Tabelog Top 100; Higashiogu Sanchome, Tokyo

Believe it or not, I have now been to Nijyubunnoichi (1/20 in Japanese) 3 times in the past 2 years and I’m now finally able to make a review because I was an idiot during my first two visits. My first visit, I was using a DSLR which I promptly corrupted the files on during transfer and the second I was using a cellphone that no longer turns on. Finally, I made my way a third time and made sure to take some quality photos, although admittedly, my ticket machine photo is quite trash… Anyways, Ramen Nijyubunnoichi is a pretty famous ramen shop as it is one of a handful that is both a Tabelog Top 100 as well as a Michelin Bib Gourmand. If your goal is to hit as many of these minted ramen shops as possible, 1/20 is the one to hit. Shop is closed on Mondays and Thursdays so plan accordingly before making a visit. For lunch they are open from 11:30-15:00. Dinner they are only open from 18:30 until they run out of soup and only on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so again, plan accordingly.

So due to the weird angle of the shop entrance, I couldn’t get a great shot of the ticket machine. As you can see, they have a photo of most of the menu, so I’ll just skip the translation for the shop, but just in case, the top row is the Shio, or salt ramen and the second row is Shoyu, or soy sauce ramen. The majority of the buttons with photos missing have an x on them which indicates they didn’t have it on my visit, and honestly I think it’s there just in case so you’re not missing out. As for me, I opted to get the Tokusei Shio which is pictured below. I had the shoyu on my previous visit so I went for the Shio for variety despite not having a good photo of the shoyu anyway. With that said, Shio is their recommended ramen so I definitely recommend grabbing it if its your first time. Some say that this is one of the best Shio in Tokyo and I have to agree.

Soup is quite refined, but has some cloudiness to it from the Shio tare. The broth is made of chicken and kombu (dried kelp) giving the bowl a strong chicken punch as well as an undertone of umami to keep you coming back for more. Aroma oil consists of chiyu chicken oil, but feels like it was emulsified in to the soup rather than it floating on the surface as you might typically expect with this style. Shio tare seasoning is made up of a collection of hand selected salts providing salinity, but also some minerality to the soup to give it a puckering sensation with every spoonful. It might seem quite thin and airy, it was surprisingly impactful and full of flavor, thickening up in both consistency and richness as your worked through the bowl.

Noodles were brought in from Menya Teigaku and is medium thickness with a straight, block cut. I thought it did a fine job of clinging and soaking up soup for a flavorful bite, but it lacked character and additional flavor as is. A bit stronger wheat flour aroma could have given the strands a bit more brightness to the dish in my opinion. A lot of Chuka Soba shops are using this kind of noodles lately and I’m just not the biggest fan because of how boring I find it, but could just be a personal preference. Serving size for the noodles is 150g so it is a bit on the lighter side. I would recommend grabbing the Tokusei with all the toppings like I did or supplement with a rice bowl dish if you come hungry.

For the Tokusei I was treated with two slices of two different cuts of pork chashu, some hosaki menma bamboo shoots (bamboo shoot tips), an ajitama soft boiled egg, sprinkle of green onions, and nori dried seaweed. I really enjoyed the toppings provided by 1/20 and each one paired beautifully with the rest of the bowl. The shoulder and loin cuts of the chashu provided a nice meatiness to pair with the impactful soup. A fattier cut may have been a tad heavy for the soup so I thought these cut were a great choice. Hosaki menma adds an extra texture variety which counters the snappy noodles and the custardy yolk ajitama gives a jam-y vibe. The refreshing crunchiness of the green onions rounded out the bowl nicely and helped keep my taste buds on its toes as it cleansed my palette in between bites.

As far as Shio ramen goes, I have to say 1/20 was one of the better shops, but take it with a grain of “salt” since I don’t eat a lot of this style so I may not be the best evaluator of this specific variety. Definitely recommend if you are in the area and even more so if you want a peek at what type of ramen is tagged by the Michelin Guide as a bib gourmand. Solid bowl for sure, but still not sure what really is the basis for this “prestigious” award. Anyways, if you do end up going, be sure to tag me on instagram and let me know what you thought!