Rokurinsha Tokyo 六厘舎: My First Tsukemen

I like dry noodles and so Tsukemen is always a preferred option to normal ramen if I have the choice. After reading danielfooddiary's recommendation about Rokurinsha, I realised it was coincidentally the shop which I saw last time on a Japanese Ramen Special TV show. 

I could never forget that shop because it (the Shinagawa's main outlet) operates only ONE DAY per week for 4.5 HOURS. I thought the shop was quite snobbish but to be able to open your ramen shop once a week means that there must be some good stuff out there. Still, the last thing in my mind was to travel to the main branch for the queue could be the worst. 

Tokyo Solamachi was too far for me so I ended up at Tokyo Station. 

The queue at Tokyo Station at 1.15pm on a random Saturday was long (the longest if you observed all the queues for the ramen shops located in the same area).Luckily, the turnover rate for tables was pretty fast so I ended up queuing only for 30min. 

the ramen chefs were tasting the stock for quality control

The Ajitama Tsukemen (￥950) is the basic cold noodles serve with hot dipping broth and 1 flavoured egg. (Basic without egg-￥850) I did not dip the noodles straight away but mixed in the fish dashi powder (the secret weapon) and took my first sip. 

It was very rich and flavorful-a testimony to the long hours of brewing the stock. After that, I just went on without stopping.

I can't critique much about Tsukemen, as this is the first bowl of Tsukemen in my life. My mind was not saying "so good, so good" but was thinking "why are the guys sitting on both sides of me eating so fast?" The guy on my right ordered the original (￥850) while the one on the left had the Extra Large version. Both came in after me and left before me.  

Everything was good except that the noodles were too thick and chewy like udon and the Ajitama came without being halved (but the taste of the egg was perfect) 

Naively believing that the 辛味 would be spicy, I paid ￥100 for it but it was disappointingly bitter and lack any spicy kick.

So save the 100 yen as the free flow ra-yu (minced chilli soaked in chilli oil) was so much better to go with the noodles. 

Though the poster recommended adding only one tiny spoon and mixed well, I kept on adding as it boosted the fragrance of the noodles until the bottle was nearly emptied by me. And so in the end, my tsukemen become attractively red and even more appetizing.

To save money, you can come from 7.30am-10am to enjoy the 朝つけメン at ￥630! The portion was huge and I left the place with a very full and satisfied belly. 

It's time to find the next best Tsukemen. 

Rokurinsha Tokyo 六厘舎

Morning Tsukemen 7.30am-10pm (a lot cheaper!)

Usual Hours 11am-10.30pm

http://rokurinsha.com/

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