One single seat at the bar, waiting for the soup. There are flames everywhere, a large pan with just a little water is used to make gyoza. Some of the best in town. Whatever the definition of "town" is.
I have yet to discover what the various liquids in these old kikoman sauce bottles might be. I use pepper on my ramen. I keep certain things in the liquid until I am ready to lift the big bowl and to drink the soup.
Sapporo does not accept credit cards. For some odd reason the best places I know do not accept credit cards. Tawaraya in Frankfurt did not accept them, back then. When Suzuki San would make a "SuTaMiNa-Ramen" in a completely different way for me, almost every day for years. I did not understood what he meant by making these strange grunting sounds when serving it to me... or by moving the fist as if he were punching a park meter... He is quite a brilliant chef. It was at Tawaraya where I met "HachiJi Miyu-Pun San" (spelling must be very off here...), the Sushi Master from Mikuni in Frankfurt. (Probably the best place in Frankfurt for sushi.) The entire staff of Mikuni would visit Tawaraya on friday nights to get a good night drink. (Or two, or ten.) The sushi master was barely holding onto his chair when he explained to me how to properly eat sushi with three fingers. If I really wanted to use chopsticks, I should at least turn the sushi pieces into the right position. This would also show how good the chef is.
The fish of his pieces would never separate from the rice. He had been a sushi master for almost 20 years... and that was about ten years ago...
Time to leave the house. Today will be a packed day again. I am looking forward to a real night of sleep.