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Enjoy the world's third best ramen in Waseda! "Zweiter Läden"

[Interview, text and photography]
Waseda Weekly Reporter (SJC Student Staff)
Shino Watanabe 3rd year student, School of Education

Zweiter Läden is located about a 10-minute walk from the west gate Waseda Campus along Waseda Street towards Takadanobaba. This ramen shop won third place in the world at the New York JAPAN FES, the world's largest Japanese food event, held in New York, USA. The owner, Yokoyama wanted more people to know about Yokoyama's proud taste, so Yokoyama opened the second store of Yokoyama's flagship store, KÜCHE, in Osaka in April 2023.

Left: The exterior of the store. The store name "Zweiter Läden" means second store in German.
Right: The restaurant has seven counter seats and a chic atmosphere with subdued lighting.

The first dish I tried was the most popular, "RAMEN KURO." The moment I put it in my mouth, an indescribable flavor like nothing I've ever tasted before spread throughout my mouth. The soup is based on seafood and pork bones, with added burnt garlic soy sauce and fermented cheese, and is whipped with a hand mixer to give it a smooth texture. In addition, the minced meat in the rich soup is mixed with the medium-thick curly noodles.

Owner Yokoyama whipping the soup in a blender

The pork slices are slowly cooked at a low temperature, keeping the temperature at 65 to 70 degrees so as not to destroy the protein in the meat, resulting in a flavor-packed, meltingly tender dish. Topped with chili oil, spring onions, radish sprouts, and spinach, the rich soup is refreshing and delicious. But when asked "What did it taste like specifically?" I can't quite put it into words. This flavor is the "mysterious" ramen that only the owner, Yokoyama, can make.

The most popular item is "RAMEN KURO" at 1,000 yen

Yokoyama honed skills as a chef in hotels and Italian restaurants, before training under Yokoyama’s father, who runs a salt ramen shop in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, in Osaka. In fact, the popular menu item "RAMEN KURO" was originally a tsukemen, and was named "Tsuke KURO" because the soup was black at first. After 10 years of trial and error, the soup underwent a revolution about five years ago. Having worked at an Italian restaurant, Yokoyama was knowledgeable about cheese, and when Yokoyama added fermented cheese to the soup, Yokoyama was shocked by how delicious it was, and arrived at the ramen he has today. To deal with temperature changes, Yokoyama even changes the way the cheese is fermented between summer and winter. By adding fermented cheese to burnt garlic soy sauce ,Yokoyama creates a "mysterious" flavor.

By the way, due to the difference in water between Osaka and Tokyo, the taste of the tsukemen soup has changed, so they are currently researching how to make the original taste available in Tokyo. Therefore, "Tsukekuro" is not on the menu at "Zweiter Läden", but if you tell them you want to eat "Tsukekuro", they will make it for you!

"Curry RAMEN" 1,200 yen

Next I had "Curry RAMEN." Although it looks completely different, it is actually "RAMEN KURO" with curry powder added, giving it a slightly different flavor. On top of the soup is tomato sauce, cream cheese mixed with white wine, melt-in-your-mouth roast pork, green onions and plenty of sprouts. The richness of the soup matches well with the spicy curry, making it hard to stop drinking the soup. If you show your student ID and add the rice you get for free to the remaining soup, you can enjoy it like curry rice. The minced meat in the soup goes perfectly with the rice!

Left: Show your student ID and get a free bowl of rice or extra large noodles!
Right: Plates displayed in the store. The great value ladies' set (1,000 yen) includes "RAMEN KURO half" and risotto to add to the leftover soup.

The owner of the shop says that the aim of the "mysterious" ramen is to spark conversations like "What did it taste like?" and "I don't know what it tasted like, but it was delicious!" and to attract new customers. The owner's friendly personality is also one of the charms of this shop. After reading this article, why not try the ramen at "Zweiter Läden" and enjoy the unknown taste?

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【Store information】Zweiter Läden
【Address】 K2 building 1F, 3-15-5 Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
【TEL】03-6457-6035
【Business hours】
Mon・Fri・Sat・Sun 11:00-15:00, 18:00-23:00 (last order 22:30) Wed. and Thu. 11:00-15:00, 18:00-22:00 (last order 21:30) Izakaya (Japanese-style pub) at night, but ramen noodles are also available.
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【Closed】Tuesdays
【Instagram】@zweiter_laden
【X】@Zweiter_Laden

*All prices in the article include tax.