Chuka Soba Katsumoto (中華そば 勝本); First of the Legendary Chef Yasushi Matsumura, Suidobashi, Tokyo
Chuka Soba Katsumoto is the first shop of Chef Yasushi Matsumura who worked previously as a chef for high end restaurants and hotels before trying his hand at ramen. Chef Matsumura has since opened numerous ramen shops, but it wasn’t until the popularity of this shop did he venture out to different styles and locations. I’ve reviewed two of his shops so far in Ginza Hachigo and Kanda Katsumoto if you want to check those out as well. Serving a traditional, old school Chuka Soba with a modern, high end twist, Chuka Soba Katsumoto is definitely a shop to visit for a well rounded ramen tour of Japan. Located near Suidobashi, this shop is perfect for those who want to grab a bowl before catching a Yomiuri Giants baseball game on your visit to Tokyo.
Shop is open Monday-Saturday from 11:00 am to 22:30 pm and is closed on Sundays. Since the shop remains open all day, try planning your visit during off peak hours to avoid waiting in long queues. It usually isn’t too bad, but as it is located in an area heavily populated by offices, the queues during lunch hours are unusually longer than the rest of the day, so you may want to avoid that time frame. Menu is quite simple, but is unfortunately listed only in Japanese so I’ll go ahead and translate it here. On the top left is their main ramen which is a Chuka Soba. Below the Chuka Soba is the additional topping choices which consist of Ajitama soft boiled eg, and the Tokusei Chuka Soba which comes with extra toppings. The yellow/orange buttons is the Noukou Niboshi Soba which is a thicker, more impactful Niboshi ramen. Buttons below it correspond to the Ajitama soft boiled egg and Tokusei version of this particular ramen. On the far right top is the Noukou Niboshi Tsukemen which is served on a limited basis daily. The button below that is for extra noodles. Bottom two rows are the toppings, rice bowls and beer with the black buttons indicating each of the three varieties. First black button is the toppings which are three slices of extra chashu, char grilled chashu, Ajitama soft boiled egg and then on the bottom row starting from the left is dried seaweed, negi, menma bamboo shoots, half a sudachi, and a small serving of free chili powder. On the top right are the rice bowls which are plain rice, chashu over rice, and a Tamago-kake gohan which is raw egg over rice. Bottom right is the small and medium beers which also come with a side of menma bamboo shoots. My order for the day was the Tokusei Chuka Soba.
Pictured is the Tokusei Chuka Soba. As you can see the ramen is topped with four slices of pork chashu, menma bamboo shoots, dried seaweed, Ajitama soft boiled egg, a sprinkle of negi, and a slice of naruto fish cake. Soup is a light, tanrei Niboshi based broth which surprisingly wasn’t that fishy. I was honestly expecting a more pronounced dried fish flavor, but it was rather tame making it pretty appealing to those who might not typically enjoy a dried fish heavy ramen. Shoyu tare is pretty old school with a high salinity and pungent after taste. The bowl itself is an homage to the nostalgic Chuka Soba flavors and is a hit among old time ramen heads. They advertise as a Niboshi ramen shop, but if you’re looking for that heavy hitting, bitter, smack in your face soup, you’re not gonna find it here. Rather, Katsumoto refines it ten folds and gives you a high end iteration of the classic. Didn’t expect less to be honest with Chef Matsumura’s background in fine dining.
Noodles are not my favorite if I’m being completely honest, but this isn’t a knock on the shop itself. Chef Matsumura opted to stay with the classic and used a softer noodle akin to what these old school shops that served this style used to serve. Again, this is just my personal preference as I’m not the biggest fan of these nostalgic, softer noodles so different stroked for different folks. What I did like was the Nori, dried seaweed. A bit of an odd choice here, but these crispy dried seaweed slices was the perfect pairing with the soft noodles. It made me wish I had ordered a side of rice and enjoy it Iekei style as the umami of the soup was uplifted when it was soaked in the Nori. The chashu was phenomenal as well providing the perfect ratio of meat to fat and it held it’s form in the hot, pipping soup. Seasoned with a shoyu marinade, it was a nice balance of sweet and savory. Ajitama soft boiled egg was cooked exactly how I liked with it nice runny center that mellowed the bowl and added some creaminess when split. The Naruto fish cake was a nice touch and homage to the nostalgic old school Chuka soba and I enjoyed this little touch. Not much to complain about here, the shop is a great place to enjoy some a bowl like you would have in the early 90s and 80s. The level of refinement is unparalleled and Chef Matsumura did a fantastic job elevating this classic style.
If you happened to come across my blog looking for a ramen recommendation on your trip to Tokyo, check out my eBook which I list 15 of my favorite shops! All proceeds go towards helping fund my self published ramen coffee table book and would appreciate your support! Link is below, or feel free to browse my store for other great ramen related goods and eBooks!
