Tuesday, January 4, 2011

狸穴 (Mamiana in Ikebukuro)


馳走麺 狸穴

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Next door to the excellent King Kong in Ikebukuro is another tonkotsu gyokai tsukemen shop. If you follow the belief that the longer the line the better the meal, then Mamiana should be one of the best in town.

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Like most tsukemen shops, the menu is simple. The unique point is the inclusion of not just tsukemen, but tsukesoba, a thinner noodle with a lot of buckwheat flour. It seems like everyone was going with the thicker option.

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The 980 yen special tsukemen was as normal as could be.

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To me, the key to a good tsukemen is not the rich pork and fish broth, but the subtle things. Mamiana was fine, but there was nothing to stand out.

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Until I asked for the owari soup, a little hot broth to add to the left over soup. Yuzu peel and raw onion. The yuzu was great, and might have been the redeeming bit I was looking for. But the onion was an unwanted visitor, though others may enjoy.

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