Soba House Konjiki Hototogisu ((SOBA HOUSE 金色不如帰)) is the latest Michelin ramen shop on the block! Their ramen is divine.
The Michelin Guide had featured them for 3 years. But in 2019, it officially became the third Tokyo ramen shop to be awarded an official Michelin star. It’s well-deserved.
How to Order
First of all, go on a weekday if you can. Furthermore, if you arrive at 11:00 am (before doors open at 11:30 am), there’s a chance you’ll be first in line. It definitely helps to know what to order beforehand.
Feel free to use the below guide for their ticket machine. Ramen choices are in between Columns A-E / Rows 1-3. Note: prices have gone up by ¥50 since photo below was taken.
Shio = Salt Seasoning / Shoyu = Soy Sauce Seasoning / Tsukemen = Dipping Noodles / Kakuni Pork = Braised Pork / Ume Plum = (Ume just means plum – this one is the Nanko variety)
Shio or Shoyu?
The shio (salt) ramen is most popular at Soba House Konjiki Hototogisu. It’s light and lively and made up of Mongolian rock salt and Okinawan sea salt.
The shoyu (soy sauce) ramen carries a bolder flavor. But both are amazing, thanks to this ramen shop’s defining broth (drum roll)…
Clams, Truffles & Mushrooms
In the shio, the soup is mainly hamaguri clams and sea bream. The shoyu broth includes more chicken and pork bones. Regardless of which one you choose, flavors of land and sea will harmoniously collide.
Shio Ramen: ¥950
However, the masterstroke may be the fragrant, tiny pools of black truffle oil, French porcini mushroom oil, and Inca berry jam. They delicately hover at the top of the broth. With each slurp they make their way into the broth, adding a fresh and incredible depth of flavor.
The Noodles, Toppings
The noodles are straight, medium thick and absorb the broth well. They’re made from multiple types of wheat flour, including from Hokkaido. The toppings are equally amazing – a great cut of soft pork shoulder, along with green and white negi (spring onions), and menma (bamboo shoots).
If you want extra toppings, people like to pair the shio with ume plum and the shoyu with roasted sea weed.
Visit Soba House Konjiki Hototogisu as soon as you can! It’s only going to get more and more crowded from now.
Video Guide on all three Michelin Star Ramen shops (including Soba House):