I’ve made up my mind to eat a lunch special every Saturday. The main idea is to visit places that are closed on Sundays or in the evening, or that are famous for their lunch sets. This time I went to Menya Goto in Ikebukuro, famous for opening only at lunchtime.
The owner apparently worked at the famous Taishoken, and the person he respects most is the Taishoken master. So the flavor will be pretty much Taishoken’s, I suppose ^_^ But while Taishoken was closed for a while, this place was called the number one in Ikebukuro, so I decided to give it a go.
Taishoken was only open four hours a day, from 11 to 3, yet it was a famous place where you always had to queue for at least 30 minutes. Since its reopening it doesn’t seem to be quite that popular, though…
The entrance
It’s half underground, so it’s easy to miss.
Basic ramen
The broth is pretty good. But the signature dish here, just like at Taishoken, is tsukemen.
Tsukemen dipping broth
Very similar to Taishoken. It’s a clean chuka soba broth with a touch of heat, so there’s no greasiness in the aftertaste. It may not be a case of the student surpassing the master, but anyone who likes the Taishoken style should be satisfied.
Tsukemen noodles
The decisive difference from Taishoken is the noodles. Taishoken uses chuka soba noodles, while these are a bit thicker. Personally I think Taishoken’s are better, but thick noodles like these are the type younger people prefer. The portion is big and the price is only 650 yen, very cheap. I could see why it’s popular.
Shrimp wontons
The tsukemen got me on a roll so I ordered these, but they were no good. They tasted flat, as if they hadn’t been seasoned at all. They’d probably be fine dunked well into the dipping broth. But of course I only realized that after I’d almost finished the noodles. Sigh.
It was a decent meal, but unless you live nearby it’s not worth going out of your way for. I’d go to the newly reopened Taishoken instead. And even apart from Taishoken, there are endless places to go. Ikebukuro is the ramen battleground, after all. The ramen shop right next door is fairly famous too, but I can’t be bothered, so I don’t know if I’ll go ^_^ The trouble with Ikebukuro is there are just too many places to go.