Tokyo Style Noodle Hotate Biyori (Tokyo Style Noodle ほたて日和) has quickly become Tokyo's hottest ramen shop. Their claim to fame is incredibly tasty scallop ramen.
Tokyo Style Noodle Hotate Biyori - Accolades
Every year, Tabelog (Japan's Yelp) puts out a list of Tokyo's Top 100 ramen shops. Biyori came out of nowhere in 2023, joining the list soon after opening.
In short, they've taken the Tokyo ramen world by storm. This has been done in a relatively short period of time too.
Before you Visit Biyori
Biyori requires that you visit in-person to make a same-day reservation. On weekdays, they start taking lunch reservations from 10 am. For dinner, it's from 4 pm. On weekends and holidays, it's all from 10 am.
Due to their popularity, there's likely to be quite a few people ahead of you if you don't go early enough. In other words, you might not even secure a lunch spot if you roll up at 10:30 am on a weekday. There may be people already waiting in line well before 9 am.
Start with the Scallop Carpaccio
All in all, it's quite the commitment to eat here. So what's all the fuss about? Let's just say that Biyori deliciously ticks all the boxes.
Biyori's speciality is a tsukemen (dipping ramen) centered on scallops. Choose either shoyu (soy sauce) or shio (salt) as a base. Pictured is the shoyu with all toppings (top row, second from the left on the ticket machine).
Noodles and Soup Fit for a King
It's all like a full-course meal. There's a process to eating it too. You're meant to start with the scallop carpaccio, which is out of this world flavorful.
You're next meant to have a bit of the noodles by themselves. These noodles are sitting in kombu sui (kelp water). They use high-grade kelp from Kagome and Raus and a little bit of sardines to make it.
Due to its sliminess, kombu sui isn't for everyone. But it actually has a gentle flavor. Think of it as a soft seabed for the noodles.
These noodles are exclusively made from Hokkaido wheat flour and they're put together by famous noodle company Mikawaya Seimen. There are several condiments to enjoy with them too - salt with bonito, wasabi, dill and truffle oil.
Now it's time to dip those noodles into the soup. The soup is mackerel, whole baby scallops from Hokkaido, sardines, scallop extract, scallop oil, and chickens from Shingen. The chickens bestow a subtle meatiness to the soup.
But there's no doubt that the scallops steal the show. The scallop and overall seafood flavors are subtle but omnipresent at the same time. Furthermore, the shoyu base really allows these flavors to shine. I'm sure it's exactly the same for the shio base.
Toppings
If you order the "special", which includes all toppings, you're treated to chicken and pork chashu slices. There's an egg, Japanese spinach, bamboo shoots, and a beautiful, broiled scallop as the cherry on top.
There are extra toppings in the soup itself - dumplings and scallops! It's like discovering treasure at the bottom of the sea.
To come to the point, Tokyo Style Noodle Hotate Biyori is worth the commitment if you have the time to spare! This is certainly true if you like scallops too.