(Another update: ramen may — in fact, generally does — contain more than just dashi. Unless you don’t care what’s in your broth, you’ll want to read this post.)
A couple of nights ago, my boyfriend ate dinner at the ramen-ya across the street from our apartment and reported back that the curry ramen he ordered could easily be made vegetarian. The meat was the last thing added, he said, and it was just a few pieces set on top rather than being mixed in. The broth almost certainly had dashi in it, but I’ve decided that’s a compromise I both can and rather need to make. So tonight, having eaten an early and light dinner around 6:30 and finding ourselves hungry again around 11:00, we went back there together.
We sat around the counter that wraps around the kitchen area, and the cook looked happy that Mitch had come back (and brought another customer, no less). The server gestured to the menu, which was posted on the wall, and after a quick scan didn’t show any more promising options than the curry, I asked if I could have it without the meat.* The cook whipped up our orders as we watched. First the curry base was thrown into the bowl, then the noodles fresh out of the giant cast iron pot, then the broth, and finally the steaming vegetables. It was an interesting little dance to watch, actually, because the guy had obviously done this so many times that he could put a dish together with his eyes closed. Getting the food for both of us ready took a total of maybe two minutes.
It was a pretty big bowl of food (and only ¥600), though since it was designed to have meat in it, none of the ingredients were all that substantial: bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, cabbage, onions, seaweed, and a few carrot shavings. It was pretty good though, and the sheer quantity meant that it still pretty much filled me up. I’m not sure if the way they did the dish here, with the meat thrown on top, is standard — but if it is, that opens up a whole type of restaurant where I can actually eat. While I was eating I also noticed that they had vegetable ramen on the menu, though I have no idea if that’s just vegetables or if there’s meat or fish in it too.
Either way … a much more successful outing than last night, when we did find a Japanese restaurant where I could eat, but it ended up being rather expensive and very light fare. Cheap + filling = happy people! The ramen-ya, 鶴の恩がえしTsuru no On-gaeshi), is a red-and-yellow-fronted place across from the New Central Hotel in Kanda-Tachō (not to be confused with the nearby Central and Grand Central Hotels), next to the post office and just a few doors away from Sunkus. You can see a view of that part of the street here.
(UPDATE: We went back and I checked out the vegetable ramen. I asked if it had meat and the waitress said “Just a little,” but once again I asked for the dish without and it wasn’t a problem. It was kind of bland — if we go back I’ll order the curry again — but not bad, and even though it was a plain broth, I couldn’t really taste the dashi.)
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* I keep meaning to look into how to say “without” or “hold the such-and-such,” but since I wasn’t sure, I said “Niku ga taberarenai kara, niku o irenaide-moraemasen ka?” (basically “I can’t eat meat, so could you please not put the meat in?”). I’m not sure how correct that was language-wise, but the server understood just fine and didn’t even seem all that taken aback to be placing a hold-the-meat order. Success!
