Tsukemen Gonokami Seisakusho Shinjuku — Restaurant in Tokyo

although I’m not giving five stars, this restaurant is a “must try” if you are in the area!!

The food was very good. It just wasn’t totally to my taste in that it was somewhat “plain” tasting? I just came from Southeast Asia, where there are a lot of spicy things that I like and this wasn’t amazingly spiced. The quality was very good though, and it was very satisfying, also incredibly filling, so a good value.

definitely read reviews though, or use ChatGPT to figure out how you actually order and wait in line at this place.

It’s a process— and youre not just going to stand in the line and wait until you are at the front to go in. here’s my brief description to help you:

Ultimately, as you are standing somewhere in the middle of the line outside, you will leave the line and go inside after seeing the person in front of you do the same thing and come back outside with their tickets .

when you get inside, you will feed cash into a machine, push one of many buttons for the menu items that you want, and you will get little white tickets that correspond to your order. The many buttons are in English and Japanese and have the prices on them.

if you get confused (like I did, because I thought I would be walking inside to talk to someone to order.) just look at the kitchen guys and shrug your shoulders and look confused and someone will come over and be super helpful :)

You’ll then go back outside with your little tickets, go back to your original place in line, and wait in line and someone eventually comes to collect your tickets.

You wait in line a bit longer until you’re to the front of the line, and then you’ll be directed to your seat inside— and your food will almost immediately and magically come to you. my drink was somehow waiting at the stool number that I was directed to.

How their system works, especially if someone leaves the line for some reason, I have no idea. i’m a smart guy, but it seems like a bit of magic .

again, if you’re in the area, try this for sure, you will be telling people about it. and don’t be discouraged by a long line, it will move quicker than you think. I waited about 35 minutes, and I was very glad...

Every time I return back to Japan, I subconsciously anticipate the next great bowl of noodles that's going to proverbially change my life. Tsukemen (dry ramen noodles, prepared for dipping in a concentrated broth or consumme) is a favourite of mine above its soupy-er and more famous sibling. Characteristically, the "men"/"mein" is a thicker cut egg noodle that, when paired with a well developed broth-concentrate, plays the perfect vessel for carrying grenades of umami into your gullet. In many ways, it feels more like an analogue to torn bread and dip, or soup, rather than other noodle dishes.

Gonokami uses a unique blend of misoshiro and ebi (shrimp/prawn) along with various cuts of house cooked and cured tonkotsu. I had no idea this spot was reputable, but I should have known. From the look of the noodles in online snaps to succinct "bowling" (technically not plating) to the Kaiju-esque prawn banner out front, all signs pointed to potential foodgasm.

At GS, the sum of its parts is what makes this dry noodle interpretation truly unique. My friend who has also dined here, prescribed it as almost Italian leaning, the way the broth is essentially a rue with an intense sweetness from the prawn infusion, lambasted thereafter by some sourness from the pickled pork, earthy funk from the miso and finally shaved shallots to cut everything. A nice textural contrast is added with the lotus root blocks in the dipping broth as well.

For my money, this is, contextually, an upper tier dining experience back home in Sydney. With places charging around $50 AUD for product with half the heart/effort/sourcing, it feels like the best I can do to top up the bill and give this young team the props they deserve is some words from the head, heart and extremely satisfied stomach.

Like any other Ramen-Ya, a ticket system is used whereby your order is captured in advance of your seating. Get...

Nothing but immense appreciation for the staff who gave their best to serve a tasty meal to everyone lining up!

I arrived at 19:57, stressed out that I might miss the last order or end up waiting for nothing. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. An amazing lady kept coming outside, asking patrons to enter one by one to order. As I moved up in line, even more people kept arriving, and though I waited for ~40 minutes, it was absolutely worth it.

I ordered the small portion with extra bamboo and followed the recommendation to pair it with a side of basil pesto. This combination elevated the flavors making it one whole.

If you're unsure about portion sizes, there's a sign on the left side of the ticket ordering machine that explains the servings clearly. For newcomers, I'd like to point out that tsukemen noodles are served cold making it a perfect light meal even on hotter days. It comes with tender pork, a boiled egg, dried seaweed sheets, and surprisingly cabbage so tasty it turned me into a fan.

The music playing reminded me of my high school playlist. The calming ambiance of the interior, whether it was the lighting, the neautral tone colors, or the contagious joy of the chefs cooking, made my evening meal even more memorable. I'm thinking to return and try the tomato shrimp soup as well.

By the time I finished my meal and walked out, the line was still as long as when I had arrived. Patience is of key here! there aren't many seats at the counter, which explains the wait. I now realize the only picture I managed to take turned out shaky 😆 maybe my hands were trembling with joy from the intense aroma of the meal...