Ramen Jiro Kameido-ten (ラーメン二郎亀戸店): The Apprentice Brothers; Kameido, Tokyo

One of the things that got me absolutely hooked on Ramen Jiro (apart from the obvious ramen) is how interesting the stories are of the different shops and shop master. Maybe I’m just being a nerd about it, but I love hearing stories of where each master trained, who they collaborate with, and how they got in to Jiro in the first place. Kameido is one shop that is rich in history and a master who has a personality just as eclectic as his ramen. If you don’t believe me, just have a follow on his Instagram. He is constantly posting his fishing exploits as well as his love for anime goods and is an all around interesting guy. Anyways, with the Kameido master, he actually got his start in Jiro with his brother who is the master of the Shonan Fujisawa location. While they’re not the first or only family with multiple Jiro masters (the Omiya location was actually operated by the current master’s older brother and the Hachioji Yaenkaido 2 is run by the son of the now closed Shin Koganei Jiro), they are definitely the only ones still operating their respective shops. What’s even more interesting is that the brothers collaborate with the Yokohama Kannai master as well which explain why they all have kimchi on all of their menus.

Speaking of menus, above is the ticket machine at this Kameido location. Starting at the top is the regular ramen with 2 slices of pork chashu on the left and 5 slices of the right. Second row is the Oomori, or large ramen with options for 2 and 5 slices of pork chashu. Third row is the option for soup-less, akin to a maze soba, on the left and kimchi on the right. Fourth row is a raw egg on the left and an option to make it a tsukemen on the right. The fifth and final row is for a specialty topping, 100 yen on the left and 50 yen on the right. Be sure to check either the Instagram or his twitter on information regarding these specialty toppings as he announces them there. So currently Kameido Jiro is undertaking a sort of ticket system where they hand you a ticket to come back at the next available opening time. I came about 30 minutes before open and was told to come back in an hour so plan accordingly with that information. If you agree to come back at the designated time, they’ll have you buy your tickets at the machine and they’ll have your order ready for you when you arrive.

As for me, I ended up grabbing regular ramen with 2 slices of pork chashu (despite the photo showing 3, I guess the master was feeling generous this day) as well as their popular kimchi topping. When I arrived, they were just preparing the noodles for my order so while they do try and keep the wait short, the ramen comes out fresh and pipping hot each time. If you’ve never been before, at every Ramen Jiro franchise location you are offered free toppings for your bowl. Wait for the chef to cook up your ramen and once he’s finished he’ll ask you “Ninnikuwa?”, which is the signal for which toppings you want and how much of it. Yasai (vegetables consisting of blanched cabbage and bean sprouts), Ninniku (pressed garlic), Abura (pork fat), and Karame (seasoning sauce) are all free of charge. If you say each topping, you will get an average amount of those toppings. If you want a little extra of a certain topping, you can say “Mashi” after which ever topping you want more of. “Mashi-Mashi” will be even more of said topping. So for instance, if you wanted no garlic, extra vegetables, and normal pork fat and seasoning sauce, you would say “Yasai mashi, abura, karame”. If you want extra of all the toppings you can say “Zen-Mashi”, or everything extra. As for me, I ordered my usual of Ninniku, Abura Mashi which is extra garlic and pork back fat. I will sometimes get vegetables as well, but since I ordered the Kimchi, I decided against.

Honestly nothing but praise for the ramen here and Kameido Jiro is probably up there in my top 5-7 Jiro locations. Of course, as is with any restaurant review, I am quite biased because this sort of low emulsification, transparent soup is my favorite when it comes to Jiro, but I think it stacks up well with the other low emulsion Jiros as well. A lot of ramen novices might see soup like this and be a bit taken back since the majority of the west serve a more viscous, creamy soup as their main seller, but don’t let this (lack of) viscosity fool you. These low emulsification soups still pack in a lot of gorgeous pork stock flavor, but without the stench you sometimes get with a creamy, more emulsified stock. It keeps a relatively clean profile and while some love the funk of heavily steeped pork bones, I quite like this lighter style as it allow for a bit more creativity in the tare since it is more adaptable to flavor changes. I thought it did go a bit intense on the umami enhancers which gave it a rather salty initial kick, but it was balanced a bit with a slightly sweeter karame (Jiro tare) for a well rounded soup by the time it all mixed together.

As for the noodles, Jiro typically comes in a straight, thick, flat strand or a curly, jagged, reversed cut style. I myself enjoy the straight, flat type as they are easier to slurp and I find it just a bit more satisfying than the inconsistent reverse cuts. Made in house, I thought the noodles were spot on during this visit and really paired with the soup nicely. Topping the bowls was my free vegetables, garlic, pork back fat, rolled pork belly chashu, and kimchi. So the rolled pork belly is a staple of this Kameido location as well as the Yokohama Kannai and his brother’s Shonan Fujisawa branches. They must have a competition of sorts to see who serve the best rolled belly chashu because they seem to be upping their game every time I visit. Pairing this fatty, melt in your mouth chashu is Kameido’s signature kimchi which cuts through the fat with its acidity beautifully. One of the best topping pairings in any Jiro in my opinion.

While it is definitely a trip coming to Kameido Jiro from central Tokyo, for any true Jirorian and Jiro fanatics, I think this is a must hit shop. It definitely targets a specific type of Jiro lover with its clean, low emulsion soup and flat noodles, but if you love this style, this will definitely crack your top shop list. Be sure to check twitter if you do come to see their line situation for the day (if they don’t have a lot of customers like on rainy days, he’ll announce that you can come straight in) so it could save you a future wait.