Ramen noodles have been my go-to source of comfort especially this year through the many weather events we had to endure. The kaiju ramen at Ajisen Ramen is my favourite. It's a spicy tonkotsu ramen with spicy chicken karaage, chashu and tamago. Now because this dish is on the menu on an international ramen chain, my impression was that it was something available at any of the 750 outlets around the world. Imagine my disappointment when I travelled overseas recently, went hunting for kaiju ramen and couldn't find it at Ajisen stores in Asia. Only found out from a recent article in the New Zealand Herald that kaiju ramen is unique to Auckland, and was created as a special item just for Aucklanders. It's special for me, special for Auckland and definitely deserves to be on the Iconic Auckland Eats list. Always the first thing I go for when I return from overseas trips (weirdly it's a taste of home for me) and when needing comfort. Kaiju means giant monster in Japanese, and my giant vote goes to kaiju ramen!