Kururi Ramen, look for the line

Hi everyone,

So, I went to school in LA and spent pretty much all four years looking for Chinese restaurants.  Let me explain:

See, LA's Chinatown is famous, a ton of really well-known restaurants.  But the people that work at those restaurants don't eat at them, nor even live in Chinatown.  To find them, head ten to twenty minutes East on the 10 until you get to the San Gabriel Valley:  San Gabriel, Monterey Park, Arcadia, and a few more towns.  One of the largest concentrations of Chinese immigrants in North America, which means some of the best Chinese restaurants you can find

However, this has its drawbacks.  What is a young man to do lost amidst entire towns where Chinese lettering is more common than English, when each block contains a strip mall with two levels of restaurants?  Well research helped, I do love me the interwebs.  But when that failed, I came up with a few rules and guidelines

Chief among these guidelines was this near-ironclad rule:  When you see two restaurants in the same strip mall that have very similar menus but one is empty and the other has a line out the door . . . welp, that's worth checking out

Long line?  Check.  And this wasn't even during peak lunch hours

Another good rule?  All other things being equal, places with huge signs and banners and pictures of food are nice, but it's the ones that are confident enough to do without that are often the best

Little promotion?  Double check.  This place literally doesn't even display its name

Another good rule?  Places that can stay in business with only a small dining room, often worth checking out

Small size?  Triple check.  There are only seven seats in the restaurant

Oh, and did I mention that they specialize in my favorite kind of ramen:  Miso ramen (from up in Northern Japan), which is really hard to find here in Tokyo

Anyways, I generally try to avoid actually waiting in those aforementioned long lines, and try to come back during less peak hours.  Sadly, that doesn't really work with Kururi, because it always has a line.  I went at 3pm, and they still had a line

Two people were not visible in this shot, but I was the eighth person in line.  Meaning that if the entire restaurant emptied, I still wouldn't have gotten a seat

So, the verdict?  Now, you know I wouldn't say this lightly, so mark my words on this:  There is a very good chance that this is the best miso ramen in Tokyo.  Better than Ichigen, better than Hanada, better than Keisuke.  I stand by that.  Thick and rich, and when you add a giant clump of spicy miso (for only 50 yen, so really why wouldn't you) it's roughly the same texture as a nice porridge.  The flavor is full, the noodles are thick and chewy, and the pork is of course meaty and delicious.  A+, would wait in line for an hour again

With all the toppings, literally only 1000 yen.  Absolutely worth the wait

This is why we have rules, people

Noah out