Tonkotsu Gyokai Ramen Kozo Mata Omaeka / 豚骨魚介ラーメン小僧またおまえか。- Osaka

Tonkotsu Gyokai Ramen Kozo Mata Omaeka (豚骨魚介ラーメン小僧またおまえか。) is a tonkotsu niboshi ramen specialty shop in Japan‘s longest shopping street called Tenjinbashisuji. This shopping street has an abundance of shops, cafes and restaurants, which include a number of ramen shops. Out of those, Kozo Mata Omaeka is probably the most recommended ramen shop.

This ramen shop offers a variety of tonkotsu-gyokai broth based ramen, ranging from light versions, all the way to super thick versions, which are so thick and cream that you can stick a spoon in the middle and it does not fall over.

Tonkotsu-gyokai means that the broth consists of pork bone elements and seafood elements, which are mainly dried fish like sardines and bonito. If you are a fan of tonkotsu-gyokai ramen, you will find something here.

Another highlight is the thick and curly noodles which came with the ultra rich and thick bowl of ramen I went for. They perfectly match the heaviness of the soup. To customize your bowl, this ramen shop has a variety of things on the counter, including niboshi-tenkasu, niboshi-vinegar and dried seafood powder.

You can make your bowl as intense as you like with those additions and it helps keeping things fresh and interesting throughout your meal.

In regards to ramen in Osaka, I am not sure I would put Kozo Mata Omaeka in my top 10 I had in Osaka so far, but it is definitely a good bowl if you are looking for that particular style of ramen in Osaka. In general, niboshi heavy ramen does not seem to be very easily available in Osaka, so it is good to have this option in a central location with a good quality and lots of variety.