When it comes to Tori Paitan Ramen (鶏白湯ラーメン), the name Ginza Kagari is the shop that most often comes to mind. Despite being located in a back-alley, this unassuming shop is a Michelin Bib Gourmand winner, and for good reason. Each sip of the soup is rich and creamy, from the long hours that the chicken has been gently boiled down in it, which is gently accented by the fragrance of truffle added atop it. Without a doubt, the refined, deep, and rich tastes of the soup is what won this humble stall a Michelin Bib Gourmand award, and now has multiple branches across Japan.
Ginza Kagari Honten's Unique Points (こだわり, Kodawari)
The dashi (出汁) of Ginza Kagari's broth is made purely from just chicken and water. 100% Japanese domestic whole chicken is used, and boiled down in water over a long period of time. Giving it a rich and smooth finish, while having the rich umami (旨味, Savoriness) from the chicken. This dashi is then mixed with the kaeshi (返し) which is made with mineral-rich natural salt, seafood, konbu (昆布, Kelp), shiitake mushrooms, and more. Resulting in an extremely creamy soup, with a rich yet mellow taste that isn't overbearingly heavy.
The noodles are the jointly developed with a ramen factory, Mikawaya Seimen (三河屋製麺), and use only Japanese-produced flour that result in a chewy noodles that go well with the thick soup broth. The noodles were made so that the taste of the chicken from the broth won't be lost, and so you can taste the wheat as you bite into the noodles.
Ginza Kagari Honten Review and Thoughts
Recommended
These days, Ginza Kagari has expanded into a rather large ramen chain with shops across Tokyo and various cities in Japan. Even their chain shops tend to get long queues during lunch and dinner. If you're just looking to try out the regular Tori Paitan Ramen, then you can check out one of the branches that typically has a shorter queue than the honten (本店, Main Shop).
However, the journey down to the honten is worth it for the truffle version, which is exclusive to the honten. In our opinion, tori paitan ramen can get a bit too rich and heavy at times, which is where vinegar typically helps, but the truffle elevates the dish to a different level. The truffle option is by no means cheap, but it is definitely worth a try at least once, especially if you've come all the way to the honten.
Tori Paitan is one of the less common ramen varieties, but there are few shops that do it as well as Ginza Kagari. For those who like the creaminess and sweetness of tonkotsu ramen (豚骨ラーメン, Tonkotsu Rāmen), there's a pretty good chance that you'll like tori paitan ramen, which has a similar flavour profile.
Is it an amazingly out-of-this-world ramen experience that outperforms its Michellin Bib Gourmand award? No, not really. But it's a pretty damn good bowl of ramen, and if you've never tried tori paitan ramen before, you should definitely give Ginza Kagari a try.
Ginza Kagari Honten's Story
Ginza Kagari was founded by Iwata Makoto (岩田圭介) in 2013 as a simple ramen shop in a back alley focusing on Tori Paitan Ramen. The founder had previously worked in a mizutaki (水炊き) specialty restaurant, and applied his skills into creating ramen.
Ginza Kagari Honten Menu Recommendations
鶏白湯生トリュフsoba
Tori Paitan Soba with Fresh Truffle
¥2,400
鶏白湯soba
Tori Paitan Soba
¥1,300
The classic dish at Ginza Kagari. The recommended way to eat it is by trying it out as-is, then as you make your way through the bowl, you can add in ginger, vinegar, and shichimi (七味) to change up the taste and adjust it to your liking.
Getting to Ginza Kagari Honten
From
銀座駅
Ginza Station
G
09
銀座線
Ginza Line
H
09
日比谷線
Hibiya Line
M
16
丸の内線
Marunouchi Line
Take Exit C3
Walk
3 mins
200m
銀座
Ginza
東京
Tokyo
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