Food and drinks
- Alcohol Served
- Beer available
- Lunch menu available
- Dinner menu available
01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Soupless tantanmen is served with a sauce that you mix thoroughly through the noodles. Diners who have tried it describe thick noodles coated in a rich sauce, making for a satisfying bowl; some also say the flavours remain well balanced even with the heat and numbing spice turned down. The menu describes a rich, spicy sauce made with homemade chilli oil and sesame paste, paired with chewy noodles. Another diner noted the tingle of Sichuan pepper in every bite and enjoyed adding vinegar and pepper. Try the noodles as they are first, then experiment with the condiments on the table.
Some diners say they chose their preferred levels of heat and numbing spice when ordering. One example came with coriander and a small serving of rice to finish, offering another way to round out a meal centred on the noodles. These are individual orders, however, so check the available toppings and rice options, and their prices, when you visit.
The menu says the soup-based tantanmen is made with homemade chilli oil blended from 3 kinds of chilli and spices, along with sesame paste roasted slowly for a deep flavour. It is an option for those who would rather enjoy their noodles with soup than coated in sauce, as with the soupless version. The black sesame tantanmen lets you adjust the heat and the numbing effect of Sichuan pepper separately, each within a range of 0 to 2. If you would like something other than tantanmen, there is also a soy-sauce ramen with seasoned egg, combining soy sauce and fish sauce. Listed as limited-time dishes are tantan tsukemen, with the richness of sesame balanced by heat and numbing spice; curry tantanmen, made with 40 kinds of spices blended in-house; and curry soup tantanmen, served with cheese rice for a risotto-style finish. Check whether limited-time dishes are available before ordering.
The restaurant has counter seating and can suit solo diners. One visitor’s account gives the seating capacity as 6 and mentions watching the kitchen while eating. In Otsuka, part of the appeal is choosing whether to start with soup-based or soupless tantanmen, then adjusting the heat and numbing spice to your taste.
