A note on the words: tantanmen is a Japanese take on Sichuan dan dan noodles featuring sesame paste and chili oil; the soupless version tosses thick noodles with rich sesame sauce, seasoned minced meat (nikumiso), and fresh garlic chives. Mala refers to the numbing and spicy profile of Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili peppers, while sansho is the citrusy, numbing Japanese prickly ash pepper.
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Tantan Men Penpen on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Toranomon Hills! I headed over to a nearby curry shop called Ganjii, but their lunch service was already over! Wondering where to go instead, I came out onto the main boulevard and spotted an unfamiliar ramen shop. Looking closely, I saw the words tantanmen (spicy sesame noodles). Oh, so there was a shop like this here! And it looks delicious too! So tantanmen it was. There is a ticket machine by the entrance, so I bought a ticket there and stepped inside.
Outside looked like it was about to rain… I really hoped the weather would hold out.
Soupless tantanmen — 950 yen
Tantanmen — 950 yen
Chengdu tantanmen — 1,000 yen
Mala men — 950 yen
The mini curry rice — 150 yen
Tantanmen! Which one should I get? Looking at the photos, every single one looks so good.
Still, I went with the most popular soupless tantanmen! And look at that, they even had a mini curry.
Since I had missed out on curry earlier, I ordered that as well.
Well, after a short wait…
Ta-da! Garlic chives and nikumiso (seasoned minced meat), on top of tantan sauce. Plump and chewy thick noodles.
I gave it a thorough mix and dug in. Taking a bite — mm, delicious! The heat is just right. You definitely feel it, but it is not overwhelmingly hot. The aroma of sansho (Japanese pepper) spreads softly. And within that, there is a distinct, powerful umami. Ah, this is seriously good stuff. It goes down so easily.
The mini curry was a massive hit. Or rather, a genuinely proper spice curry. How should I describe it? It is spicy — more of a spice curry than a European-style one. Honestly delicious. Wow, this is a must-buy. They could easily hold their own just serving this curry bowl. Delicious.
With the mini curry, as you eat your way through, you end up with leftover rice.
And dumping that extra rice right into the leftover sauce from the finished soupless tantanmen is delicious all over again.
Honestly, isn’t this the ultimate way to eat it? On my very first visit, I found the perfect formula.
Soupless tantanmen + mini curry + finishing off by adding the leftover rice to the tantanmen sauce. Absolutely the best!
Man, delicious tantanmen, highly recommended. Rather than upsizing the noodles, the mini curry is definitely the way to go. There was also jasmine rice on the menu, though I imagine that is probably meant for mixing into the leftover tantanmen sauce. The curry was seriously well-made, so I really want people to try it! Next time maybe I will try the soupy mala men. Definitely want to visit again!
Tantan Men Penpen (Tantan-men / Toranomon Hills Station, Toranomon Station, Uchisaiwaicho Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
