Ramen with refinement? These days it's no contradiction in terms. Yes, we all love the classic style of rāmenya, towel-around-the-brow artisan honesty and steaming vats of meaty, fat-flecked broth. But Ginzasa takes a very different direction.
Certainly, when it first opened more than eight years ago, Ginzasa ("Silver Bamboo Grass") flew in the face of prevailing ramen orthodoxy. For a start, it sports chic bistro decor, all black walls with red accents, and has jazz playing on the sound system. Even more unusually, the kitchen is entirely out of sight, with no counter where you can sit and watch your bowl being prepared.
But it's the noodles that really set Ginzasa apart. Or rather, the clear broth they bathe in. It's made from classic dashi ingredients — konbu kelp, katsuobushi (cured skipjack tuna) and niboshi (dried baby sardines) — blended with the standard ramen soup base of chicken and pork bones. The result is full-bodied but delicate, as light as the suimono (clear soups) served in washoku (traditional Japanese) restaurants, yet robust enough to support the noodles.