A tale of two Tsujita's: Ramen diary (Part 2)

二代目つじ田味噌の章 (Ni-dai-me Tsujita Miso no Shou)

Part 2 of this entry brings us to another branch of Tsujita's ramen - this time, its their shop selling only miso ramen. Located across the intersection from  めん徳二代目つじ田神田御茶の水店  (Men-toku Ni-dai-me Tsujita Kanda Ochanomizu-ten) These two restaurants are wreaking havoc on my diet to say the least.

Miso ramen is a staple hailing from Hokkaido, where the colder climate has moulded a miso based ramen into something fantastically comforting, especially in midwinter. While there are quite a few places that do miso ramen here in Tokyo, there are only a handful that I have enjoyed, Tsujita being one of them.

The shop is smaller than its Tsukemen brethren but seems just as popular. I would recommend going during off hours, just to avoid waiting too long. As usual, purchase your order at the ticket vending and head on in, where a member of staff will usher you to the nearest available seating. This time, I went with the Spicy Miso Ramen with egg 玉子入り辛味噌ラーメン(Tamago-iri kara miso ramen.) Going at a price of 1000 Yen.

Again, in about 10 minutes time, a beautiful steaming bowl of noodles arrives and the deliciousness begins....

Topped with slices of tender, moist chashuu, Japanese leeks, onions, bean sprouts, deeply flavored and darkmenma, a beautiful soft boiled egg and a generous scoop of vermillion spicy miso, this bowl is definitely easy on the eyes.

The golden yellow egg noodles are thinner than that used for tsukemen but still are cooked to al dente perfection. Slurping these springy stands of dough is immensely satisfying and for me, the perfect portion size. (Oomori also available)

The soup is a rich and creamy consistency, highlighted by the specks of lard and the lustrous sheen of piping hot oil on its surface. Make sure you remember that before digging in, the oil can burn your mouth! Before stirring in the spicy miso, I always like to taste the original soup first; a delectable combination of porky goodness and the savory unctuousness of their miso blend. There is a faint aroma of ginger that lingers for just a second before melting into the sweetness of stewed garlic after every sip. This is definitely a soup that a finish without question every time - the stick-to-your ribs goodness cannot be emphasized enough here.

After a few good slurps of the noodles, its time to move onto the add ons; a very pleasant selection to say the least. There is the usual bottle of pulverized garlic which adds a sharp bite of garlic to the broth, a yuzu shichimi which employs the wonderful fragrance of the yuzu citron with a mix of spices and lastly nori - yes, powdered nori, not unlike what you would top your yakisoba or okonimyaki with. The nori adds a nice briny taste to the broth but I would advise a light sprinkle before adding more, as the flavor is quite noticeable.

All in all, this is a great bowl of miso ramen, one of my favorite spots for it, actually.  Slightly on the pricier side, it is well worth every yen. I would recommend anyone in town to try this bowl of Ramen - I hope and am sure you wont be disappointed! 

Head over there next time at:

Address: Chiyoda-ku Kanda Ogawacho 1-1, Tokyo Japan. (東京都千代田区神田小川町1-1）
Open 11:00-23:00 on Weekdays and 11:00-21:00 on Weekends.

A tale of two Tsujita's: Ramen diary (Part 1)

めん徳二代目つじ田神田御茶の水店  (Men-toku Ni-dai-me Tsujita Kanda Ochanomizu-ten)

Tsujita Ramen is a place I frequently visit here in Tokyo. Located unreasonably close to my office, it usually wins against my battle with the bulge.

At this particular location,  a second generation store of the Tsujita empire (branches also found in Los Angeles and Bangkok!.) This Tsujita Specializes in つけ麺(tsukemen), a style of ramen that Tokyoites can call their own. Essentially, tsukemen are noodles that are dipped into an extremely concentrated broth and slurped. Much like the quintessential Zaru-Soba noodles, it is a delicious treat.

This particular shop gets very busy during the lunch and dinner rush so it is not unusual to see people lining up during these times. My recommendation is to visit before noon are after 2 pm, where you can get seated fairly soon if not immediately. Upon purchasing your order from the ticket vending machine, a member of their staff will escort you to an available seat.

I got the 二代目つけめん (Ni-dai-me Tsukemen) which is 980 Yen a bowl. From here on out, we start getting into the good stuff...

The noodles arrived after about 10 minutes and even the normal sized serving contains a considerable volume of egg noodles, cooked to the perfect slightly-firm consistency. The medium thick, glistening noodles are accompanied by what can make or break a ramen restaurant- the broth; and boy does Tsujita not dissapoint. 

The bowl is adorned with sliced chashuu pork a soft cooked marinated egg and a healthy sprinkling of menma (marinated bamboo shoots). The noodles come in a separate bowl with a sheet of nori and a half slice of Sudachi - a Japanese citrus fruit that lends a nice zing and aroma to the noodles.

With the primary stock made up of fish, that is the immediate flavor that hits you with the first slurp. It is a concentrated shot of creamy goodness which is mellowed out by a blend of Tonkotsu (Pork bone broth), Konbu dashi (Kelp Stock) and Tori-no-gara (Chicken Stock.) The result is a rich tasting broth that does not overwhelm with the pork or fish flavors. Even with the oil content of this broth, it doesn't taste overtly greasy, much to the protest of my thighs.

Since the noodles are chilled before serving, the gradually cooling broth after every dip does feel a little heavier towards the end, but even so, this is only a minor detail that does not detract from the enjoyment of this meal - especially if you hold off squeezing the Sudachi over your noodles until the last few bites.

According to the menu at Tsujita, the best way to enjoy their tsukemen is in the following manner:

After finishing 1/3rd of your noodles, squeeze in the Sudachi juice. When you get to the last 1/3rd of the noodles, add a generous sprinkling of their famous black chili blend "黒七味" (Kuro-shichi-mi).

These steps gently alter flavor profile of the tsukemen and it is indeed a wonderful and well thought out progression. I would certainly recommend this place to anyone seeking a good noodle joint in Tokyo.

Address: Chiyoda-ku Kanda Ogawacho 1-4, Tokyo Japan. (東京都千代田区神田小川町1-4）
Open 11:00-23:00 on Weekdays and 11:00-21:00 on Weekends.

Money Orders through the Japanese Postal Service

Sending money from Japan overseas via the Japanese Postal Service

I had to send money overseas for the first time today. Needless to say, my searches have been uneventful in providing up-to date information.

Hopefully this blog post can help anyone else looking to how to remit money internationally from Japan.

1. Go to the post office and ask for the 国際送金請求書兼告知書（kokusai soukin seikyuusho danshinn chisho) This is the form to remit money from the post office. 

There are two types - one that directly wires money into the payee's bank account and one that allows you to send a check to an address. This time, I wanted to send a check so I chose the 住所あて送金用　(jyuusho ate soukinnyou) form.

2. Filling out the form is easy enough as there are English translations throughout the form. Do not forget to bring some sort of identification along as they will verify your identity. I simply used my Alien Registration Card (外国人証明書, gaikokujinn shoumeisho）
3. They will convert your currency at the post office with the daily exchange rate in addition to a processing charge which is now 2000JPY per transaction. Once you pay, you must take the check to the window that deals with mail in order to send the check.
4. I chose to be cautious and sent the check by EMS, which incurs an additional 1200JPY. This way, you can track the status of the shipment through the EMS website which can be accessed at: http://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/ems/index_en.html
5. Once that is done, all you have to do is wait for the money order to arrive at its intended destination!

Somewhat down

Sometimes permanently being on the outside really gets to me.

No matter where I go, everything is brushed off as "you are a foreigner, you'll never understand."

I was born in a country not my own, raised in a country not my own and now working in a country not my own. Even going back to me roots leaves me feeling awkward and uncomfortable. Who am I, at the very core of things?

Lately, its seems everyone has their own pace, everything is growing distant. We make plans, only to have them broken when a Girlfriend/Boyfriend decides they want to do the same thing. Off they go, forgetting who initially wanted to go in the first place. Our friendships so easily brushed aside?

Maybe it is just ignorant bliss, I don't know - but its left me feeling more and more distant and not knowing where to head to next.

For me it seems, once a drifter, always a drifter.

The Beginning of Fall

Sigh, I've left this blog unattended for so long.
I noticed my last entry was right before the March 11th Earthquake that struck Japan.
It certainly was a life-changing experience and I'm ever thankful to have lived through it.
Hopefully, recovery and restoration efforts wont be hampered to much by a government
that is unsure on how to approach anything efficiently.

Last week we were also pummeled by Typhoon no. 15 which resulted in us getting out of
work early, but not early enough to avoid being completely drenched.

Now, we are into a new week and fall seems to be right around the corner. Hopefully
the salaryman in me can muster more energy to put into this blog.

Cheers!

Longing for some warmer weather

Its now March.
Spring should be coming but we are hit with a snowstorm today.
This kind of weather always makes me want to go somewhere warmer, but unfortunately, the salaryman life/salary affords no such luxury at the moment. Instead, I cooked up an Okinawan feast of stewed pork liver, stewed pork belly, bitter gourd stir fry, pickled onion shoots, fermented tofu, bonito sashimi and various other goodies to remind ourselves of warmer places. Being an Okinawa theme also meant we had to have Awamori, the liquor of Okinawa. Through rather terrible sanshin playing, lots of food and alcohol, it was a wonderful distraction from the cold weather we are still experiencing.
On another note, less and less of my friends seem to be around as of late... I do miss long vacation time...

Busy Busy Busy

Things have started to get busy after New Years - preparing for a trade show in a product that I have no confidence in really has me at my wit's end. In addition, no one listens to me until things start to go wrong. Oh well, cest la vie....
I'm off to Oregon again late March so the final chapters of the Yakushima trip will probably be fully documented when I'm there. Its not that I dislike Oregon per se, its simply the living and working situation once there which is the blight of my existence. Oh well, life throws curveballs at you every now and then.