Enjoy Ramen: めん徳二代目つじ田

豚骨魚介つけ麺, Tonkotsu Gyokai Tsukemen ￥980

The scene on a Friday night at Tsujita, with a row of eager customers with their backs turned to the audience waiting to get inside, could easily be the opening scene of a musical with the flashy golden lettering the perfect backdrop for a stage production. The only difference being that the people are hungry and have already been waiting about 20 or 30 minutes to get inside so probably aren't so keen to break into song. Especially since there is another ramen shop about 30 metres away into which they could have walked in and sat down right away.

It's a little weird inside, as it seems to be a combination of old and new - It has the rustic vibe we've all come to expect, but it also has stylish light fittings and the aforementioned gaudy signboard. Maybe it was this combination of old and new, but there were a lot more women inside than most ramen stores I visit. And of course the ramen nerds - One of whom managed to come in after us, order more and leave about 5 minutes earlier! Way to go!

As always though, we had come for the ramen. Tsujita's signature dish is a tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen that is served with a sudachi, a lime-like fruit which we are supposed to squeeze onto our noodles somewhere between trying them as they are, and with the secret blend of spices spread over the top. Well, according to this sign, I think....

It was pretty amazing. Once I put the lime in I was rewarded with a really fresh, sweet tasting noodle (Not to mention the noodles themselves which were cooked perfectly). The spices were OK too, but not in the same league as the sudachi.

I would definitely recommend squeezing as early as possible. And then once you've finished your noodles get your soup watered down so you can finish it off a lot easier.