Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta

Continuing my latest Tokyo trip, my friend kicked me out of his place early on a Monday morning as he went to work. Normally I'd be annoyed, but this was a perfect opportunity for me to visit recently Michelin starred Tsuta. Before they got their star, they used to just have long lines. Now, though, you need to visit extra early in the morning to pick up a ticket.

東京の旅を引き続き、月曜日の朝に友達の家から追い出されました。普通は面倒臭いと思っちゃいますけど、今回ミシェリン星を最近もらった蔦に行く機会になりました。昔に並ぶだけで十分でしたけど、星をもらってから整理券制になりました。

I got my ticket, allowing me to come back five hours later. When I did, I still waited on line for almost an hour. Once a minute, some poor tourists would come by hoping to hop online, only to be rebuffed and told they were many hours too late. Finally I was let in, and ordered the yakibuta egg shoyu soba.

整理券をもらって、５時間後また来ないとだめなことになりました。戻った時に、整理券を持っていたのに一時間ぐらい待たされました。１分おきにかわいそうな観光客が来て、整理券を持っていなかったので断れました。ようやく入れて、焼豚味玉醤油そばを頼みました。

The Bowl
I can understand why this is the first shop to earn a Michelin star. The delicate soup is made from a mix of different kinds of shoyu, producing a light if woody, smooth flavor, with a finish that tasted a bit like truffle oil. The noodles were medium thin and tan, full with a grain taste. The yakibuta were slices of red pork that were full and juicy; an extremely well done version of the Chinese-style barbecue pork you find in some bowls of chuka soba. The other toppings didn't shine as much as the soup and noodles, which meant they were just very good. The egg was creamy and flavorful and the menma were thick and fibrous. A high class, high quality bowl of ramen like this is more than deserving of a Michelin star.

この店は初めてミチェリン星をもらってびっくりしません。まろやかなスープはいろいろな醤油で作られたらしいです。あっさり系で、スムーズなちょびっとトリュフ油みたいな味がしました。麺は中太くてつぶつぶとした麦感もしました。焼豚は中華料理などよく見る豚なんですけど、普通のやつよりすごくジューシーでした。他のトッピングも美味しかったです。味玉はクリーミーですぐとろけました。こんな質がよくて高級なラーメンはミシェリン星を受けるべきです。

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

また行きたいです。

Should You Go?
Yes.

行くべきです。

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Japanese Soba Noodles 蔦

Tori no Ana

Chicken hole! That's what Tori no Ana means. Why? Because the broth is all chicken of course. This pairs with my previous shop as a rare no-pork ramen combo.

Tori no Ana was another classic Tokyo favorite of mine, and finally I was able to revisit it to review it for my loving readers. A bizarrely snowy day in Tokyo left my brother and I with no choice but to stop and get some good ol' fashioned chicken soup. There were two bowls, a white mild bowl, and a red spicy bowl. I got the spicy one.

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鶏の穴
Tōkyō-to, Toshima-ku, Higashiikebukuro, １丁目３９−２０

The Bowl
Mmm, thick chicken soup, with a healthy dose of spice. Straight, fat, yellow noodles to go with it. And no chicken ramen is complete without with some pieces of chicken-chashu and ground chicken. If I didn't know any better I would have said you can't make ramen without pork taste so good.

Would I Go Again?
Yes.

Should You Go?
Yes.

Mutekiya

Another day in Tokyo means another day of continuing to try places I loved when I lived there.  Next up is Mutekiya.  Back about two and a half years ago when I first arrived in Tokyo, I didn't know that much about ramen, and I had not eaten at that many shops.  I did a little bit of research, and one of the first "good" shops I went to was Mutekiya.  It was a huge step above the random places I had been to, and it instantly became my favorite.  Even after trying a number of other good shops, there has always been a special place in my heart for my gateway to ramen, Mutekiya.  Now how would it hold up for my first visit in almost two years?

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麺創房 無敵家
1-17-1 Minamiikebukuro

The Bowl
One of the more vivid memories I had of Mutekiya was the absurdly fatty broth.  And in this way, my memory did not disappoint.  It was a rich, tonkotsu with little globules of fat floating to the top.  The noodles were straight and thick, but a little too firm as they came apart without even needing to bite.  The chashu was very thick, but a bit too tender as it fell apart in the soup when I tried to grab it with chopsticks.  Overall the bowl was solid but not amazing; I understand why I liked it so much when I first had it, but since then I've had many better bowls.

Would I Go Again?
I always have a special place in my heart for Mutekiya.

Should You Go?
The line is long and there are better bowls in Ikebukuro, so you don't need to.