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2010-03-22

Muan/Kagurazaka
無庵/神楽坂

  

Serviceable if uninspired tsukemen just off of Waseda Dori, almost literally right around the corner from Exit 1 of Tozai-sen Kagurazaka Station. Barely a 30 on Supleks. Good fatty moist chashu however, put in a slightly sweet shoyu-chicken broth mixture. Large portions extra. They have several copies of the 2010 Uwasa no Tsukemen magazine, which you can browse through for free while waiting, thus possibly paying for your meal. Noodles match the broth perfectly but are otherwise unspectacular.

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Tenkuchi/Nishi Koujiya
天空記/西糀谷

   

Worth the trip - phenomenal. The place does not exactly have a lot of atmosphere inside, the floor and the walls look like they haven't been cleaned in a couple years, but the shisen-kurogoma-dandan-men (四川黒胡麻坦々麺) will absolutely knock your socks off. Closed Mondays.

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Yoshu Shonin/Shinbashi
揚州商人/新橋

 

A novel concept at a chain ramen shop that is known for constantly bringing out new products: Yoshu Shonin's Su-Ra-Abura-Men. This take on both suratanmen and abura soba together is creative and tasty - it has a very vinegary and peppery taste, just like the regular suratanmen that Yoshu Shonin is rightly famous for and that several people including this page have reviewed in the past. They actually started selling this last July but I just got around to trying it recently. The regular suratanmen is a good balance of the various flavors (necessary for this type of dish), and the su-ra-abura-men tastes just like the full soup dish only with the broth removed, and therefore a even a bit stronger of a taste. The pork is a bit on the scanty side, but the onions and menmas are there in full force. However the more novel (and in my mind most important) addition is that you can now choose whether you want the regular straight thin noodles (like the suratanmen) or now (as with several other Yoshu Shonin dishes) whether you want the new toshomen (刀削麺, thick hand-cut noodles). The variety of the dishes that Yoshu Shonin has means that you can actually treat a visit here like a trip to a real restaurant, have several dishes to share (I also recommend the black vinegar chahan, 黒酢炒飯) and make a real meal out of it. The Shimbashi branch has a couple of tables, but not all branches do.

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