01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
A visit to Nakai-ya calls for arriving with an appetite for rice. A self-serve rice cooker sits in the dining room with unlimited refills, providing a hearty companion to the robust tonkotsu broth. Diners readily indulge in the double-carbohydrate combo, whether wrapping mouthfuls of steamed rice in soup-soaked nori seaweed or treating the noodles themselves as a side dish to accompany the grains.
The standard tonkotsu ramen comes in either soy sauce (shoyu) or salt (shio) bases. When handing over your meal ticket, you can customize noodle firmness, soup richness, and the amount of rendered fat. The firm, chewy thick noodles and rich, velvety broth make for a thoroughly satisfying bowl. Tabletop condiments include grated garlic, tobanjan chili bean paste, ichimi chili pepper, black pepper, and sesame seeds, allowing you to dial in extra heat or savoriness mid-meal. Finishing off the lingering broth by soaking leftover rice in it with a touch of seasoning, much like a casual zosui rice porridge, is another popular move.
Beyond the staples, the menu provides a varied lineup depending on your mood, spanning seafood tsukemen, spicy tonkotsu miso, fiery habanero tonkotsu, and Taiwan ramen. With doors staying open late into the night, it makes a convenient destination around Nakai when craving a filling bowl in the early morning hours.
