くのっちょ
In October 2022, when it comes to ramen, the three basic flavors are soy sauce, salt, and miso, but there are also variations like chicken soy sauce and salt tonkotsu, which may fall into slightly different categories based on taste. Recently, spicy miso, which combines miso with chili peppers, has become popular, but in the Tokachi region, curry ramen has also become established as the fourth flavor, with some shops outside Tokachi offering it as well. Among these, there is a unique ramen called "miso curry ramen," which combines miso and curry, and it can be quite rare to find a shop that serves it. For example, the famous curry ramen shop "Aji no Ōkoku Sōhonten" does not offer it, but other branches like "Nisui" and "Chishin" do. I had tried it at "Nisui" before, so this time I decided to try it at "Chishin." The exterior of the shop was under renovation when I visited, with scaffolding set up, but the interior seemed untouched. I purchased a ticket for the miso curry ramen from the ticket machine, priced at 980 yen, which seemed a bit high. The seating was not just face-to-face counter seats with partitions, but also seats on the sides, which might make neighboring seats feel crowded when full. It was a self-service system for water, and the staff only served the food, but the service was not particularly good as you had to clear the table yourself after finishing the meal. Now, onto the "miso curry ramen," which was excellent. I didn't feel it was outstanding when I had it at Nisui before, but the fusion of miso and curry in this version was unparalleled compared to what I've had before. Honestly, miso curry ramen often feels like miso ramen with added curry powder, which is also very delicious. However, what about the miso curry ramen here? The mildness of the miso soup and the spiciness of the curry flavor blend perfectly, enhancing each other. The chashu and bean sprouts were also good, but if I had to nitpick, I would say that the seaweed didn't quite fit – it definitely should have been nori instead! It's a bit of a downside that the shop is located on the outskirts of the western part of Tomakomai and quite far from my home, but it has become one of the ramen dishes I want to try again.