Duck Ramen @ Ramen Kamo to Negi, Ueno, Tokyo

 

It has been a while since I have been enthusiastic about writing about ramen. Well, I always have been. But this time, it is even more special. We all are familiar with ramen, the oftentimes porky and chicken-y noodle dish that is one of the cornerstones of Japanese food. But as there are essentially no rules as to what ramen should be, and more like basic guidelines, this is a free-for-all dish where people can experiment and explore amazing new ways of making it. And this time, I found a very special ingredient that is the focus of this post, and that is duck! 

The menu outside the shop. 

Ramen Kamo to Negi is a humble ramen shop located in the alleyways of Ueno. Tucked underneath the railway tracks of the JR Yamanote line and next to one of the busy footpaths of Ameyoko, this establishment has a real grassroots feel to it. The name of the shop literally translates to "duck and onions". I could really get behind an unpretentious name. And I have never had duck ramen. So I thought this would be a good option to try.  The menu is standard as most ramen places, where you start with a base bowl and you choose your toppings. I opted for their base bowl this time which stood for 820 yen.If you are unsure what to get, always keep an eye out on the top left of the ticket machine if they have one. It is usually the house specialty. Otherwise, always stick to the base bowl. I did that as the top left has oyakodon rice with it. Seeing that I am having lunch at 3pm, I would rather have it light as dinner would be soon enough. 

Happiness in a bowl!

Once inside, you are also given the option to customise your bowl with a choice of onion toppings. I picked the "fresh onions" and "grilled onions", being curious about what they are. And soon enough my curiosity was rewarded with a very eccentric bowl. The choice of having such topping options is a little bizarre, but it made for a tasty outcome. 

They look like gems in that clear soup. So tasty!

The fresh onions were actually raw red onions that are chopped, while the grilled onions are the ones you find on a yakitori skewer sandwich between chicken pieces. Those two elements gave off an interesting edge to an already beautiful bowl. The chopped raw onions gave it a tartness like how you get raw onions in a burger. The taste was sharp but it was able to cut out the grease of the broth that came in. The broth that came in this bowl was really strong and was very flavourful. It did taste a bit like a beef consomme, but much milder. Duck is some sort of red meat after all. I gravely enjoyed it. 

Totally incredible. 

In the stead of standard charshu, came some grilled pieces of duck breast. They were thoroughly enjoyable. The texture had a steak-like quality and a smoky hint was present after each chew. It was incredible. Pardon me as I may have to use a truck full of superlatives here. But it cannot be helped, it was that good. 

Noodles so legit, you can still see the wheat granules. 

The noodles were also pretty good. It had an al-dente texture with some nutty aftertones. With a soup this flavourful, the noodles really need to match it well.  Despite the soup being so strong, you can still taste the noodles, which is some top-grade stuff. It was a match made in blissful heaven or fiery hell. Either way, both soup and noodles complement each other.

The best endorsement. 

I arrived in Tokyo on this day relatively late and hadn't had anything to eat since my morning flight. This was somewhat of a good thing as I read online that this establishment can get really crowded during the normal lunch hours. Which I believe to be true, once dunking that spectacular bowl down, that was something I can wait in a line for. The place was already packed when I entered at 3pm. I couldn't imagine how it would be for other hours. 

Such a simple front, but do not let that fool you.
There are tasty noodles to be had. 

Be that as it may, this place definitely deserves your visit. If you love duck or noodles you will be doing yourself a disservice in not visiting here and getting some slurping down. If you fancy a go, then the address is as follows:

6 Chome-4-15 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0005