Menya Ittou

This Tukemen is the best of Tukemen I’ve ever had.
I waited for 1hour and half outside of the shop.
But it worth the wait.

I walked here from Kuramae which is a crazy person thing to do but I had time and got to check out random suburban Japanese neighborhoods. Once there, there can be quite the wait but this is some of the best ramen in Tokyo and therefore Japan.
They’re most famous for tsukemen which isn’t really my thing so I went with the shio, which I’ve been told by Scott S. is also extraordinary. I can only concur. It’s the best shio ramen I’ve ever had. Notably the pieces of chicken that came with it were so well seasoned and soft. I literally have no idea how they do it but boy to I want to eat more of it.

Unlike back in the home of the free, waiting in line food seems to seldom disappoint in Japan, and I would most definitely put Ittou right at the top of the list of «restaurants I would gladly stand in line for.»
And trust me, you will be standing in line; unless you get here around thirty or forty minutes before 11, you will either find yourself standing in the main queue (right in front of the store), the second staging area (which is a little further down the street to the right) or if you’re really unlucky, in the third staging area all the way down the street after the next intersection.
The waiting also doesn’t quite end with simply standing around, yawning, and looking at your watch; you’re given a moment of false hope when one of the serving staff comes out, greets you, and ushers you inside so you can buy your meal ticket from the the vending machine — after which you go right back outside in line until that fateful moment when you get to go inside and reap the fruits of your hard-​earned (albeit by doing absolutely nothing) labor.
Men’ya Ittou has two main items on their menu, with each being as unequivocally good as the next:
Noukou Gyokai Ramen (濃厚魚介らーめん «Rich Seafood Flavored Ramen»)
The broth, like its name, is really rich and is packed with seafood in every bite. The broth itself has that initial punch, but doesn’t linger around like the fatty taste in Tonkotsu or the salty soya taste in Shouyu ramen. For toppings you get tsukune (chicken meat balls), spinach, white leek strips, menma, and scallions; I’m not quite sure what the tsukune is made of, but I originally thought it’s some sort of amazingly delicious chewy fishball… which kind of sounds like chicken in retrospect, but whatever. The noodles are medium skinny, leaning more toward medium and doesn’t soak up too much water.
You also get the choice between getting this as straight up Ramen or as Tsukemen, with the latter being the most popular menu item at Ittou.
Houjun Koumi Soba (芳醇香味そば «Mellow/​Fragrant Soba»)
You get the option of ordering this as a Shio ramen or Shouyu ramen, with the former being the more orthodox choice. The broth is a sensational blend of rich chicken broth and a seafood broth (which I believe is made with scallops, dried clams, oysters, among others) and the very first thing you notice about this masterpiece – like the name implies – is how fragrant it is. The chicken introduces a rich, thick mouthfeel once you slurp the soup, while its seafood counterpart leaves you with a clean, fragrant after taste. For toppings you get Menya Ittou’s special combination chashuu, made by combining chicken and pork loins; spinach, white leek strips, menma, and scallions. Medium skinny noodles again, with the option to add more noodles, add more toppings etc.
As far as side orders go, you can add rice and order extra chashu (chicken, pork, or combo) but no other funny business; this place is strictly ramen and extremely justifiably so.
Oh, and apparently Nissin (the people who brought you Top Ramen) has made a cup noodle version of the Houjun Koumi Soba, and it’s apparently mindblowingly amazing (
) grab it if you ever see it at Lawson’s!