A “third type of ramen” appears in Japan.
As ramen aficionados will know, there are two main types of noodles in the ramen world — hot varieties, served in bowls filled with broth, and “tsukemen”, which are cold dipping varieties, served with broth in a separate bowl.
Usually, people order either one or the other in one sitting, but at one ramen joint in Tokyo, they’ve come up with what they’re calling a “third type of ramen“, which gives you both hot ramen and tsukemen, all in the same vessel.
▼ The unusual dish is being served at a chain called Cho Gotteri Men Gottsu, the head branch of which is located in Akihabara (pictured below).
When our reporter P.K. Sanjun arrived at the head branch to try the dish, he was met with a sign at the front that read: “It is No. 1 Google Search Ramen Shop in Akihabara” in English. A banner at the front proudly advertised the two-in-one ramen meal P.K. was here to try, while another sign proclaimed that the dish is “Changing conventional wisdom in the ramen industry!!”
These were bold claims that made P.K. even more curious to sit down and eat inside, and as soon as he walked in, there were more posters advertising the dish he was here to try…
▼ …the Ganso Ratsukemen Gottsu (Original Ratsukemen Gottsu), priced at 1,480 yen (US$9.97).
Musing over the amalgamation of “ramen” and “tsukemen” in the name “Ratsukemen“, P.K. placed his order and took a seat. Looking at the walls around him, he learned that the standard ramen here is served in a soy sauce broth, and the amount of pork backfat can be customised, according to three levels from light to thick.
You can also choose your favourite tsukemen broth from a total of five varieties, including soy sauce on its own, miso on its own, or a blend of both, with options like dashi miso or spicy miso as well.
▼ Backfat levels (left), Tsukemen Broth choices (right)
On this visit, P.K. ordered his Ratsukemen with regular backfat and a soy sauce broth for the tsukemen, and when his meal arrived, his taste buds began salivating in earnest.
▼ On the left was the ramen, with plenty of shallots on top, and on the right was the tsukemen, with the dipping sauce served in a separate bowl.
P.K. had never seen anything quite like it, and he could’ve shed tears at the beauty of the bowl’s original design. The two-in-one bowl allowed him to finally live out his dreams of ordering ramen and tsukemen at the same time, because ordering two separate bowls in one sitting would usually be way too much for him, both in terms of serving size and cost.
Gottsu gets around this problem by adjusting the portion size, with each bowl containing around 0.6 servings, giving you approximately 1.2 servings of ramen for roughly the same price as one bowl of noodles.
▼ Two for the price of one.
It was a generous gesture from one ramen lover to another, so with his heart filled with the joy of goodwill, P.K. took a sip of the ramen, which contained regular backfat and a soy sauce broth. It tasted exactly like the noodles he’s had at Gottsu before, and if you don’t know what that means, P.K. has a a couple of tips for you when ordering.
First off, the broth is quite salty — so salty that first-timers might wonder if it’s normal — and the backfat makes the broth quite oily. Gottsu lovers know this about the chain, as “Cho Gotteri” means “super rich” and “Gottsu” means “a lot”, but if it’s your first time, you might want to request a light (“sappari”) serving of backfat, by saying “sappari de onegaishimasu”.
Secondly, P.K. recommends ordering a miso-based broth for your tsukmen. He’d ordered a soy-sauce-based broth, but after tasting the ramen, which also had the same soy sauce base, he found himself craving a contrast in flavour, which the miso broth would have provided.
▼ Plus, ordering miso broth is arguably the best value for money as you’ll get to enjoy two flavours instead of one.
After finishing his meal, P.K. was fully satiated, and glowing with pleasure from the enjoyment of indulging in both ramen and tsukemen at the same time. He’s now hoping the Ratsukemen trend might catch on at other ramen joints around the country, like this one at Tokyo Station that serves super wide dipping noodles.
Restaurant Information
Cho Gotteri Men Gottsu Akihabara store / 超ごってり麺ごっつ 秋葉原店
Address: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Kanda Matsunaga-cho 18-1, Biore Akihabara 1F
東京都千代田区神田松永町18-1 ビオレ秋葉原1F
Open: 11:00 a.m.-4:00 a.m. every day
Website
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[ Read in Japanese ]