{"id":955,"date":"2020-02-19T13:38:18","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T13:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willchews.com\/?p=955"},"modified":"2020-02-20T11:18:47","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T11:18:47","slug":"ramen044","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/ramen044\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramen No. 44: Sansanto | Tonkotsu-Gyokai Ramen w\/ Santen Sakari Deluxe Plate"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Tokyo’s Kita ward is the best-kept secret among Tokyo’s ramen aficionados.\u00a0 While much of the ramen and tourist foot-traffic flow towards Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, and other tourist hotspots, there’s not much to see in Kita ward: mostly a mix of old\u00a0danchi<\/i> (\u56e3\u5730, public housing apartment blocks) and some shitamchi<\/i> neighborhoods (\u4e0b\u753a, literally “downtown,” but really old-town, Showa-era Tokyo).\u00a0 Yet it is the site of three Tier 1 ramen shops: Honda<\/a>, Chukasoba Ito, and my favorite ramen shop in the world, Sansanto.<\/div>
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According Senga Yusuke’s blog<\/a>, the owner is Goto Takeshi, a former salaryman who left to start his own business.\u00a0 While retired salarymen embarking on second careers as soba noodle shop owners is a well-worn path, Goto instead went to ramen-making school and started Sananto with his wife at least 14 years ago.\u00a0 Located in an almost-hidden alley off the pedestrian bridge from Higashi-Jujo Station, the shop is only open for 2.5 hours a day for five days a week.\u00a0 As Goto makes the broth, chashu, and the noodles himself, he is unable to open much more than that.\u00a0 As one steps through the noren<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>into the shop, one is greeted by his wife’s sing-song voice and a very snug, old-school Japanese restaurant interior.\u00a0 (Aside:\u00a0<\/b>Since my last visit in 2016, I could swear they’ve added an extra seat to the counter; surely it’s not my waistline)<\/div>
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Future Sansanto reviews will address the other bowls, but this one will only discuss Sansanto’s flagship tonkotsu-gyokai<\/a> ramen, which the participants of Ramen DB<\/a> have rated as the fourth-best bowl of that style.\u00a0 The broth is excellent, offering a wonderful three-way balance between pork, chicken, and seafood flavors, the latter of which includes dried mackerel and niboshi, according to Senga-san.\u00a0 Surprisingly for a tonkotu-gyokai, the broth is assari<\/a><\/i>\u00a0rather than kotteri<\/a><\/i> in makeup; obviously a slow-cooked broth, this may be the most light-bodied tonkotsu-gyokai I’ve ever had.\u00a0 The menma is thick-cut and chewy, and the ajitama egg is faultless.\u00a0 So far, so good.<\/div>
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But the true superlatives of this bowl are the chashu and the noodles.\u00a0 The chashu is slow-roasted fatty loin that is served rare, pink, chewy, and full of incredibly deep flavors.\u00a0 It’s easily a top-3 or 5 chashu in my book.\u00a0 The hand-rolled, medium-thick noodles are perhaps an even greater surprise: the noodles contain relatively high water content, which makes them both chewy and “sticky.” Of course the broth negates some of that stickiness, but in return the noodle is able to scoop up the broth and komiabura<\/a> as it starts the irresistible journey down one’s gullet.\u00a0 The overall texture is not unlike mochi, as Senga correctly points out.\u00a0 All I can say is that it’s terrifically easy to eat, one of the few noodles I’ve had that I want more of on its own merits, not simply because I’m hungry or because I have too much broth or chashu left.\u00a0 It’s also worth noting that in recognition of his terrific noodles, Goto-san provides 200g of noodle in a regular order when most shops offer 140-150g, and one can upgrade to 330g of noodles for just 100 yen more.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sansanto | Sakari Santen Plate<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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For those visiting, Sansanto doesn’t do a traditional tokusei<\/a> option on its vending machine: rather, one picks the base bowl and selects add-ons \u00e0 l\u00e0 carte<\/i>.\u00a0 However, once again the chef appears cognizant of the superlative nature of his food and has five<\/i> different add-on options involving different levels of extra chashu slices.\u00a0 Unless one is a vegetarian or overly full, go with the most expensive Santen Sakari<\/i> add-on option, where you get a plate of 6-7 pieces of chashu, extra menma, and an ajitama egg.\u00a0 Bring a friend along and lie to yourself that you’re going to split it; do whatever you have to do to not pass up this terrific (and delicious) deal.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sansanto | Storefront<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Taken on the basis of its food alone, Sansanto would easily be my favorite ramen shop because no other place has its combination of superlative chashu and noodles (along with excellent broth).\u00a0 But this place holds a special place in my heart for other reasons as well: for how hidden and out-of-the way it is; for its chef’s devotion to his craft that he can only open 2.5 hours a day; for its unassuming, old-school interior when every other Japanese ramen shop looks like a caf\u00e9 because it’s trendy and Michelin-friendly; and perhaps most of all, for Goto-okusan’s cheerful, sing-song voice when she welcomes me in, when I get served, and when I place my bowl on the counter when I am done.\u00a0<\/p>

Sansnto is my own personal little corner of Tokyo, safe from the maddening crowd, with the shop’s night-time only hours making it the sole source of light in the still night, a source of refuge one bowl at a time.<\/p>

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Tier 1<\/a><\/b><\/div>
Q Factor: None (arrived at 1745 before 1800 open time; no line on departure)<\/div>
Sense: Loud slurping, neighboring salaryman’s elbow encroaching the border, the wife’s cheerful sing-song voice<\/div>
Price: Tonkotsu Gyokai Ramen (\u00a5700) Santen Sakari Super-Deluxe Platter (\u00a5450)<\/div>
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\u71e6\u71e6\u6597 (Sansanto)<\/div>
\u3012114-0032 \u6771\u4eac\u90fd\u5317\u533a\u4e2d\u5341\u67613-16-15<\/div>
Higcashi-Jujo Station (JR Keihin-Tohoku Line)<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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