Good, heavens, this is my first-ever post in Gotanda. I believe this was the second or third time I’ve ever been here, and the first one or two were during weekend daylight hours for a funeral. I feel like it required two trips but it’s been many years and things are hazy.
It’s hazy in this dirty under-track location too. Which is why it’s totally cool and respectable to find a modern, delicious ramen shop doing its thing.
I say ‘find’ like I just stumbled across it instead of seeing on ramendb that it was one of the only 90+-rated placeswithin a good walk of my temporary office in Meguro. I also say ‘find’ like it’s not one of the 40 variously-branded outposts of the Tetsu empire (although only the second under this banner/in this style, and the first is up near the original Tetsu, in Uguisudani). Back when I was but a mere child in ramen, I remember when Tetsu was one shop in Sendagi that I didn’t bother to visit because the lines were famous. Now with 40 outlets there’s no waiting. Or not much. I was second in line to get in after I bought my ticket at 1:15. But I was the last person that had to wait.
This isn’t like the original Tetsu tsukemen, and I had a seat right in front of the reason why. The broth here is based on ‘niboshi’, or ‘boiled dried’. Can you see what they are?
Ya, they’re fish, Elmer. Little baby fish desperately sticking their heads up above the cap of froth and scum at the top of this continuously, furiously boiling pot.
One of the guys came over to turn the pot while I was there, and it was totally cool to see him reach all the way to the bottom with a huge strainer and pull up all the bones and seaweed and lord knows what else that contributes to the
SEVERE AWESOMENESS OF THIS BOWL
It’s the tokusei, the $10 special. Have I used this line in the last week? “When I see what I get for $10 in Tokyo vs. the $11 sandwiches I get in Chicago, I want to cry and smother myself with a pillow in my sleep.”
But seriously, I think I could put together a perfect bowl from the ramens I’ve eat in the last week. In here, the soup was incredible (if you like that smoky, fishy, pork-bony niboshi thing, and everyone should).
See the weird shapes on the left? Shrimp wontons. Very delicious.
The noodles were a little meh. Not enough flavor to compete with the soup. Or the soup brooks no competition.
The chashu was, to my palate and jaw, pretty lame. It was thick-cut, tough, and heavily rimmed with fat. No matter how much I try, I’m just not a fan of heavy rimming.
The egg was served whole, which makes it hard to cut, especially when the yolk isn’t gelled. It splooged a little when I finally broke it apart. But who’s complaining? It was a good egg.
Here’s the deal: you want the ramen or maybe tsukemen. You want an egg. You want wontons. You don’t need the pork. I didn’t even drink all the soup.
I LEFT A SPOONFUL BECAUSE I AM SO DECOROUS
03-3491-2005