鼎泰豐 (Din Tai Fung in Shinjuku)

鼎泰豐



Din Tai Fung could possibly be the most famous xiao long bao, soup dumplings, in the world. People swear by the original Taiwan outlet, and this popularity has led to shops across Asia and into America. Is this the gold standard?



Definitely awesome food, but I'd rather take a minor cut in the subtle seafood flavors and eat this sort of thing in a dirty Chinese dive. The upper floors of the Takashima department store definitely don't come close to the desired atmosphere.

I also want the soup to be scalding. For safety reasons, and to cater to the hoards of wealthy old ladies in line, Din Tai Fung's soup is served at a tepid temperature.



Even the table-side instructions opt for the break-them-open-first method of eating. The safe way. For my money, let it sit in the sauce until just barely cool enough, then down the thing whole. If you burn your tounge off, you didn't wait long enough.

Regardless, you won't have that problem here.



Oh, yeah, the ramen. Din Tai Fung serves up a few lunch sets. Noodles, dumplings, and buns. To grade the set, going clockwise from the ramen;



Weak, weak, decent.



Official Site Here



東京都渋谷区千駄ケ谷5-24-2
Tokyo, Shibuya-ku, Sendagaya 5-24-2
12th Floor of the Takashima Building
Closest station: Shinjuku

Open 11:00-23:00

勢得 (Seitoku in Setgagaya)

勢得



This spot is fairly out of the way, and their hours are for only lunch. Good luck making it here before they run out of soup. And if you do make it, congratulations. Totally worth it.

Your prize is some of the best tsukemen in town.



At a shop called sei-toku, you go for the toku-sei!



A bit sweeter than most tonkotsu-gyokai tsukemen, with plenty of meat in that soup.



Good to the last chunky drop. Power food for the group of cyclists who were there for lunch alongside me.




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東京都世田谷区桜丘3-24-4 山田ビル102
Tokyo, Setagaya-ku, Sakuragaoka 3-24-4
Closest station: Chitosefunabashi

Open 11:00-15:00
Closed Mondays

味かね (Ajikane in Shimokitazawa)

味かね食堂



A new shop across the street from my local go-to espresso shop has ramen on the menu. Must check this out!



Whoah, this is just the noodle page. The entire menu is 113 items deep. Yes, we counted.

Curry, lunch plates, ethnic food, it is all here. This is usually a bad sign for ramen.



The temporary specials page had something new. American reimen. Hunh? The explanation was not so appetizing; a mayo-soy sauce over cold noodles, topped with roast beef and a fried egg.

Luckily they were sold out.



The tantanmen? Too bad they weren't sold out of that, too. It was pretty poor.

This is what happens when you are drinking coffee and decide on ramen without a plan; you go to the first place you can find.

In Ajikane's defense, the rest of their menu looks quite nice. My friend got a lunch plate with fried aji and an omelet, much to his enjoyment.




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東京都世田谷区北沢3-30-2 1F
Tokyo, Setagaya-ku, Kitazawa 3-30-2
Closest station: Shimokitazawa

Open 11:30am-5:00am
Closed Mondays

By the way . . .