Ramen for Life!

This is about one of my passions – food. More specifically, ramen. The best ramen I had, unsurprisingly, was in Japan. But I am always open to trying different places since I love soup in general, but ramen does have a special place in my heart or I should say, stomach. Here are a few places I would recommend in Japan:

By far my favorite type of ramen is Lemon Ramen. Unfortunately, I have yet to come across Lemon Ramen in the United States. I tried looking up recipes to make it at home, but have been unsuccessful with that too because I mostly see a creamy version and this was not creamy at all. If you know of a place that has it in the U.S. please let me know because I will travel and fly just to try it! I found a hole in the wall, called Aloha Sunset that made it perfectly lemony in Japan:
I don’t know the name of this next place since it is in Japanese, but I loved their version of Lemon Ramen. らぁ麺レモン＆フロマージュ GINZA Spicy Lemon Ramen with an egg is even better than the regular lemon ramen I had at Aloha Sunset.
Rokurinsha Ramen is a dipping noodle style of ramen in Tokyo train station that I would recommend if you want to try a different type of ramen.
Ichiran Ueno is my go to spot for ramen and I always make a point to come here when in Tokyo.

Since I can’t go to Tokyo regularly (I would go there once a year if I could!) I am trying to compile a list of where to get good ramen in the United States. Granted none of them are as good as what I’ve eaten in Japan, but there are a couple that come close. Here is what I have so far:

Houston, TX:

Samurai Noodle – Houston Spicy Suehiro Tonkatsu Ramen’s broth had a hint of vinegar, which I’ve never seen in any ramen shop’s menu before. I loved it!
Tamashi Ramen Robata for seafood style ramen which was different and delicious.

Las Vegas, NV:

Ramen Sora This is my third favorite ramen in the U.S. Sometimes the broth is inconsistently too salty, but I love the texture of the noodles, pork and egg.

New York City (Manhattan), NY:

Ichiran NY is the closest I can get to Tokyo and my #1 spot in the U.S., but they do not do the same egg because they cannot get the special egg here as they use in Japan.
There is an Ichiran location in Brooklyn too.

Portland, OR:

Marukin Ramen (126 Southwest 2nd Avenue, Portland, OR) This is the next best ramen I’ve had in the US compared to Ichiran. Pictured below is Tonkotsu shoyu and tonkotsu red.