When people say R&R, it usually refers to rest and relaxation, for me it means a little something different. After a long and sleepless past weekend doing Butta 45’s dates in Erfurt, St. Gallen and Leipzig, arriving back in Köln, catching up on sleep and site updates, I finally had the energy to get out the house and hit the streets for a little digging and to test out the new found phenomenon of ramen spots here in the city. Without a doubt, ramen and records are two of my favorite things and neither disappointed and were well worth the late night venture into the city. First stop after jumping off of the tram was to visit the homie Basti at Kontrapunkt Records to get hipped to a wide variety of everything from rare Turkish delights to German under the radar must haves and everything in between. There’s so much music in this world still being discovered and the best way to come into contact with it is always visiting shops like Kontrapunkt that go the extra mile to service buyers with what they are looking for as well as what they didn’t know existed. Apologies on not showing what I bought, some things are just private (laughs). Big up Basti for another stack of great music!
Word on the street is that for great ramen in Köln that the go to spot is Daikan Izakay Bar. If you know me then you know that I’m particular about my ramen and there’s no substitute for proper ramen. After sitting down and peeping the menu, they have a very thorough listing of everything from sushi and sashimi to ramen and more. For my drink, large Asahi in a cold glass of course and for my dish, I opted for the Shoyu ramen which is a soy sauce based broth with noodles perfectly prepared, chicken, onions and a little greens. Going in without expectation, I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the bowl, experience and friendly staff. Next go around, it’s definitely to try the rolls would looked great.