Tsuta

I am thrilled to say that I finally got to visit Tsuta in Tokyo, the first michelin starred ramen restaurant in the world.

Let me start off with my order "Chashu Wonton Ajitama Shoyu Soba" This black truffle ramen comes with savory seasoned egg, black truffle oil, fermented crunchy bamboo shoots, chashu and handmade wontons. These braised Iberian pork chashu were absolute killer. Flavorful, tender, and melts in my mouth. Pork wontons were perfectly boiled and quite tasty along with ramen but nothing to write home about.

The noodles are handmade with different kinds of wheat flour. Hard to describe the texture but I would describe it as a cross between soba and ramen. Thin but still have a bite to it almost like al dente noodles.

The broth made with mixed seafood and chicken stock including specialized soy sauce and other goods. The truffle flavor in the broth was subtle enough to balance with the soy sauce flavor. It's light, delicate, flavorful and not too salty, I finish every last drop of the soup without getting thirsty for a gallon of water afterward.

1700¥ for the Chashu Wonton Ajitama Shoyu Soba. Arguably expensive for ramen in Japan. For me, that's the standard price for ramen back where I live in the States. But here at Tsuta, it's an incredible price for what you get. The most exceptional premium ramen I ever had in my life.

I also got TKG (aka raw egg on rice) as a side dish as well. Their TKG is more luxury compare to other places though. Not only raw egg served on top of fluffy rice but black truffle powder as well. Just mix everything together and eat, it's creamy and tasty. If you ever wanted to try the freshest raw egg on rice for once in your life, it's a perfect time to try while you are in Japan, trust me!

Lastly, I want to talk about the major problem of Tsuta. Personally, it's not that serious for me but I just want to let it out lol. Tsuta's main problem gotta be their convoluted reservation ticket system, absolutely a pain in the butt especially for non-locals.

For people who want to eat here during early afternoon hours, you have to visit the shop as early as 7am to reserve time slot availability ticket which also require 1000¥ deposit then you will get that money back when you return to the shop at a designated time. All the tickets are color coded. 11am (White), 12pm (Light Blue), 1pm (Blue), 2pm (Pink), 3pm (Green) and 6pm (Yellow).

In my case, I arrived at the shop at 9am for a reservation slot, and I got a blue ticket (1pm). I went back to my hotel then came back to the shop 10 minutes before 1pm, I still had to wait in line along with other ticket holder people for another hour and a half before the staff let me inside the shop to order. AND then back to the line for another 10 minutes before I finally getting my seat at the counter. Trust me, I'm very patient at waiting long hours in lines especially for restaurants and concerts. But wow, what an ordeal that was..

By far the most complicated ramen shop to get in. But of course, it's worth it once you get to eat there.