In Tokyo, near the Yamanote Line at a station called Komagome, resides a small ramen shop called Kabochan Ramen. Named after the owner Kubokawa-san, an experienced and knowledgeable ramen enthusiast, this ramen shop was handed down to him from the original owner who was planning on shutting the restaurant down.

Originally the restaurant served shoyu ramen or salt based ramen. However although Kubokawa-san continued the shoyu ramen tradition of the shop, he also created a delicious and spicy miso style of ramen that went perfectly with a Japanese style shaved ice dessert called Kakigori.

It may be an unexpected combination to find Kakigori, a famous Japanese summer festival ice treat which can be compared to slushies in North America, to be a side dish to ramen. However as Brian from Ramen Adventures found out, the slightly sweet shaved ice dessert is a perfect match for the Indian/Chinese spice infused ramen.

Considered "adult taste" the dessert has a milder taste than typical syrup soaked kakigori at festivals. And despite the odd coupling, the reasoning behind the two makes sense. Typically when eating spicy miso ramen the body heats up and even sweating is common. To cool off, eating a bowl of shaved ice topped with semi-sweet syrup and toppings such as nuts gives a balanced dining experience.

The shop which is small and only holds about 6 people at a time only serves the shaved ice option in the evenings so planning and preparing for this restaurant is advised. Kubokawa-san creates and serves the ramen and kakigori to perfection himself so if you are a ramen enthusiast and want to meet a fellow ramen fan, Kabochan ramen is a definite restaurant to add to your list. Just make sure you get there when the shop opens and leave enough room for the oversized serving of kakigori that follows the filling ramen.