Tsukemen Tetsu is a ramen shop in Shinatatsu, Shinagawa. My office is nearby, so I’ve had plenty of chances to drop by Shinatatsu, and this place always had the longest line, which kept nagging at me.
The sign
The word “niboshi” on the sign means dried fish. In other words, the broth is made from dried stuff like anchovies and kombu. It’s a bit of a trend these days, and I’ve been really into niboshi ramen lately myself, so I wanted to try it all the more.
Spoon
It comes separately. Usually it’s sitting in the cutlery holder or already in the bowl.
What I ordered was the atsumori tsukemen. Normally ramen noodles get rinsed in cold water after boiling to give them some bounce, but when that step is skipped and the noodles are served warm, it’s called atsumori.
The dipping soup
Setagaya is also a niboshi-style shop, but where theirs is a tough, rugged flavor, this one is soft and feminine. I was surprised that such similar kinds of ramen could be expressed so differently. The slight sweetness wasn’t my thing, but I enjoyed it a lot.
Atsumori noodles
Usually when you order atsumori the noodles are warm, but they don’t come sitting in broth like this, so this place is a bit unusual. Noodles about this thick are just right for tsukemen: they have some chew and go well with the soup. A really moving flavor.
Broth for thinning
Tsukemen dipping soup is so salty that you can’t just drink it like regular ramen soup. So, as a thoughtful touch, they bring broth in a pot like this, which you pour in so you can drink the soup like soba-yu.
Free large-serving coupon
I grabbed one on the way out. Great service here.
I was so impressed by the ramen here that I came back a few days later and ordered their signature dish, the regular tsukemen.
Noodles
Oh yes, rinsing in cold water really brings out the bounce in the noodles. They’re fun to chew. The reason I ordered atsumori the first time is that cold noodles cool down the soup, and dipping into lukewarm soup just doesn’t taste good… the sad dilemma of tsukemen.
But this place, true to being a tsukemen specialist, has a service that solves that dilemma: they drop a piping-hot stone into the cooled soup to bring the temperature back up. That way, no matter how cold the noodles are, you can always dip them in hot soup.
Tsukemen soup and ajitama (seasoned egg)
It was satisfying, but the soup was ever so slightly less tasty than last time. Maybe because it’s a branch…
It was a truly delicious bowl of ramen, the best I’d had in a while. I’d love to go often if I get the chance, but I’m just so busy. I have a bit of time right now, so I’m going around eating ramen like crazy, but who knows what’ll happen later. I don’t think I’ll ever get to eat ramen this many times in a row again, so I’m going to use this chance to try all kinds of ramen. This place was great, but I’ll find even better ones and introduce them too. Stay tuned~