Apr '21, special ramen, 1050

【A tsukemen shop at Kokubunji Station North Exit】 I was near Kokubunji Station on an errand, and it was right around lunchtime, so while I was thinking of grabbing lunch somewhere, this shop happened to catch my eye. When it comes to tsukemen around Kokubunji, Men Shokudo Kuniwo is the famous one, but my wife said she wanted mazesoba, so this time we tried this shop. Right when you enter, there's a ticket machine on the right. I went standard with the "Yaki Ago Tsukemen," but got a large portion of noodles (300g), so it came to ¥1,100 total. My wife, as planned, got the "Taiwan Mazesoba Shoyu" (¥980). The shop stretches long and narrow toward the back, with a counter on the left and table seats at the back right. We sat at the counter, poured our own water, and waited a bit. Behind the counter, the cook was cooking while instructing a staff member who seemed to have only recently started working here. Before long, first the mazesoba, then the tsukemen arrived at the counter. Since I'd ordered a large portion of noodles, the tsukemen looked fairly hefty. I dipped them in the broth right away, and the medium-thick noodles had just the right firmness and were quite tasty. The dipping broth had no odd quirks either, and I drank it all to the end. I don't eat tsukemen that often, so I can't make a clear comparison, but for me, I'd say it's a passing grade. (20260506)

+3

I'm a tsukemen fanatic. First visit. It was around 20:30, and there were 2 customers ahead of me. Ordered the non-ago-dashi tsukemen, large size. The noodles were firm, with the chewiness I like. The soup was tasty too. My impression was that it was slightly lacking in punch. I enjoyed changing up the flavor with black shichimi, garlic, and so on. The chashu was tender, and the other one also went well with the soup. Finished with soup-wari. I asked for it on the thinner side, but maybe it was a bit too thin. It'd be nice if I could adjust it myself, but here you ask the staff. Even so, it was plenty delicious. My standards are high so it's 4 stars, but I was very satisfied. I'll come again.

2025.10 First visit, in the evening. ※Long post A casual, light-colored wooden counter is kind of rare, I think. It was a small shop with a counter and tables for 8. Before going in, I wanted to check the menu on the official page, but the site isn't set up that way, so I thought long and hard before entering. Ordering is by ticket machine, so first-timers don't know what's available, and when you think about people lining up behind you, you can't take your time, which is tough. If they just had one paper menu next to the ticket machine, it would be so much easier to think it over. (Every ticket-machine shop is like this, so it's not just this place.) Now, for my order, I chose the simpler tsukemen rather than the grilled ago niboshi type. ◆Rich Seafood Tsukemen (1080 yen) + large portion (100 yen) for 300g This dipping broth is very delicious. The slight sweetness also left a good impression. It's not too thick and gloopy, so it doesn't cling too much to the noodles, which I like. These thick noodles, texture included, are at a level where I'd want to eat them again. The disappointing part was the leftover dipping broth, even with a large portion. It feels wrong to just throw out broth they worked so hard to make. But drinking it as is is too salty and too strong. This time, I thinned it a bit with water. If there were something to dilute it with, I could finish by drinking it all deliciously to the end. Wouldn't it also be an idea to drop a small amount of rice (about 2 pieces' worth at a conveyor-belt sushi place) (for like 50 or 80 yen) into the diluted broth to make it ochazuke-style? It'd raise the spend per customer too—wouldn't that be good? ◆Roast Pork It has a really nice color and is well seasoned, but while it's good at first, as I savored and chewed it, I felt it might be a bit too salty. (This varies with preference and how active you've been that day, so it's just my personal opinion.) It might be just the right seasoning for students who move around during the day, people doing outside rounds, or people who do manual work. I'm a desk worker. The staff in the shop are constantly moving, so maybe a saltier taste feels just right to their palates? Maybe measure it quantitatively with a salinity meter during preparation, or as a trial, make a normal and a lighter version, serve half of each, and test which one suits the customer base better? The perceived saltiness also changes with the temperature of the meat, and well, I've only come once, so I'll set aside whether I'll get this same impression every time. How far to pursue this is up to the shop, so I'll leave the decision to them. ◆Tatsuta-age (3 pieces, 380 yen) The meat is about two sizes bigger than Lawson's Karaage-kun. The meat is very tender and moist inside. The batter is well seasoned too, but here as well, I felt the flavor might be a little too strong. ◆Summary I wrote a lot, but it's definitely a delicious tsukemen shop. This time, it's just that the saltiness of the side items bothered me too much. If I get the chance, again.

+3

I had the grilled ago niboshi ramen (with seasoned egg topping) and a half rice. The ramen had a good niboshi dashi and was delicious, but it was a shame the soup was a bit lukewarm. The half rice also seemed to have been prepared early and was a bit cold. Please serve the rice piping hot.

+3