[Diary] Going out for ramen
I had a board game meetup with a friend and a senior from my student days, which we've decided (or rather, it seems like we've decided) to hold once a year while grabbing ramen.
It was fun, so I'm writing it down as a diary entry.
Lunch session part one
Oni Monogatari
Chicken and Water (Soy Sauce) Special, Extra Noodle Serving (Oyster)
The ramen itself was incredibly delicious.
You can tell from the photo, that thick layer.
The mellow oil spreading in my mouth.
The aroma of the chicken.
The clean soy sauce.
I spent a while just drinking the soup at the start.
The noodles were also very satisfying and had a good bite.
The special chashu pork comes with a variety of condiments.
It's exquisite if you put a little wasabi or plum on the chashu and dip it into the ramen soup before eating.
The extra noodles were a different type, feeling a bit like pasta.
This can be eaten on its own, but it's even better if you take a little bit of the ramen soup into your mouth with it.
It was a highly satisfying restaurant that lived up to its reputation.
Afternoon session part two
The White Castle
A game about sending samurai, gardeners, and retainers to the castle to gain status
The dice are unique; you roll them at the start of the round, and for that round, each player chooses from those fixed results to perform actions
It has a moderate amount of luck on the board while remaining highly strategic
There are only three rounds, which feels quite short, but there is plenty to do, so the volume of a single game is sufficient
Depending on the board state, it was funny when pearls came out of the well, or the board became filled with samurai; I played two games, but I feel like there is still so much left to do
The flavor text in the rulebook is also quite elaborate, making it one of the games I want to play again
CRYPTID
A logic game of board deduction
The rules are simple, making it a very accessible game
I don't seem to be very good at it; I think I need to find the standard strategies for piece placement quickly
SPOTS
A dice game
You roll dice and assign the results to dog cards.
If you can't place a certain number of dice, you bust and lose all your dice.
It's not just that, though; the cards on the board restrict your actions, dictate how many dice you can roll, force you to take actions to avoid busting, or conversely, make it impossible to avoid a bust.
Watching people fall into ruin because of dice is the most fun part.
The introduction is light, so I thought it was a perfect game to play while having a drink.
I really want to recommend it to others.
Evening session
Ao
Ramen, large serving, green onions
A place I used to go to sometimes when I was a student.
It's miso ramen.
Even though it's miso ramen, you barely feel the spiciness of the miso, and instead, you can enjoy the sweet aroma.
The flavor itself is definitely rich, not thin at all.
I don't usually like miso ramen, but this place is an exception.
I feel like the noodles were a bit soft today, but it might just be my imagination.
Afterword
It was a fun day.
I had so much fun that I'm posting this at this hour.
Good morning.
That's all for this article.
See you in tomorrow's article.
I'm waiting for your feedback, questions, opinions, impressions, or requests for hand record reviews on Marshmallow, comments, Twitter, or Mastodon.