A note on the words: tantanmen is the Japanese reading of dandan noodles — here a creamy sesame broth rather than a fiery one. Sansho is Japanese pepper: citrusy, and it makes the tongue tingle. Niku-miso is minced pork cooked down sweet and salty, and chashu is the sliced braised meat laid on top.
Jinrui Mina Menrui to S Sawada on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Drinkers, thank you for waiting. It is Hangover Meshi time.
This time, Jinrui Mina Menrui to S Sawada. I knew about the collaboration, and I had been eyeing the Ikebukuro shop out of the corner of my eye, but I never quite had the chance. This time I had things to do in Ikebukuro until about three, so I decided to skip lunch, get through them, and then go and eat a bowl. I held out, finished the errands, and came to the shop.
There is the seafood-based macro Sawada, the original Sawada, and the Sawada-style tantanmen. The first two are Jinrui Mina Menrui’s popular bowls redone in the Sawada manner; then there is the tantanmen. A seafood-based tantanmen felt like an unusual thing, so I went for the Sawada-style tantanmen.
Now, the errands are finished. So let us drink.
This is not an ordinary Hoegaarden. It is the Hoegaarden Sawada. Ordering it means saying “Sawada” twice or more, which is a little embarrassing. What is different? Sansho is dusted over the white head of the beer. One mouthful, and the fresh scent of a wheat beer meets the fragrance and the small numbing prickle of the pepper. It works.
I had had a beer, so I asked for a smaller portion of noodles. They told me the price is the same either way, but it is better than leaving some. So: here is the Sawada-style tantanmen.
Poured into a black, hard-fired bowl, the broth shows a vivid contrast of white and red — a creamy, milk-white sesame soup with red chilli oil running across it. In the centre, niku-miso that looks sweet and salty; beside it a large white slice of chicken chashu, bean sprouts, chopped spring onion and aromatics.
A mouthful of the broth first. The toasted fragrance and body of sesame spread out creamy, mellow and rich, and behind it there is a quiet savour like a shellfish dashi. It is not that the shellfish comes forward. Following after it, the heat of the chilli oil and the tingle of sansho come on slowly. Rather than attacking with heat, the sesame savour leads and the numbing heat follows behind. A gentle tantanmen.
The noodles are medium-thick and straight, smooth going down with a springy bite. They come up carrying the thick broth properly. The noodles have that Jinrui Mina Menrui character — good.
The large slice of chicken chashu is moist, soft and lean, a good rest from the heavy broth. The niku-miso is sweet and salty, and breaking it up into the soup deepens the flavour as you go. Mix the whole bowl and the white broth turns red, the heat and the tingle step up a level, and the face of it changes — that is a pleasure too. The crunch of the bean sprouts adds a light note against the richness.
Yes, good. With a beer inside me, the smaller portion of noodles was about right.
So — Jinrui Mina Menrui to S Sawada is good. The tantanmen did not put the shellfish dashi out in front, but perhaps that quiet presence underneath is exactly why it tasted so gentle. I like the macro too, so I shall have that next time. The shellfish may come forward more.
May you meet something good to eat today too.
Jinrui Mina Menrui to S Sawada (ramen / Ikebukuro Station, Kanamecho Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.7
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
