I stopped into a ramen shop for a late lunch in a neighborhood I used to live in. It had been a while since I last came through the area, but the place was still there and looked much the same as I remembered.
By the time I walked in, the lunch rush had already passed. The shop was quiet. No customers at the counter. Just the sound of dishes from the kitchen and the faint hiss of a gas burner.
Instead of paying attention to the ramen, I found myself watching the preparation of a small side dish: a ¥350 ($2.20) rice bowl topped with char-siu pork. These days it is surprisingly hard to get much for ¥350 anywhere.
The chef laid thick slices of pork over the rice, scattered wide-cut green onions on top, and ground black pepper over the bowl. Then, just before serving it, she took a handheld gas burner and torched the pork for a few seconds.
The smell filled the entire counter. Sweet soy sauce, fat caramelizing under direct flame, and the sharp edge of black pepper.
I also ordered Ginga Kogen Beer. That was ¥750.
It struck me sitting there: the beer cost more than twice the rice bowl.
¥750 for the craft beer on tap.
¥350 for the dish someone sliced, seasoned, and finished with a flame right in front of me.
The ramen itself was around ¥900, but that’s not really the point. Anyone can look up the ramen because it’s what gets photographed, reviewed, and mapped online.
The side menu is where the interesting things hide.
