麺屋一燈

I can’t believe it took me so long to make it here. Itto is one of the highest ranked shops in Japan, and Shin-Koiwa really isn’t that far from central Tokyo.

Expect crowds on any day that ends in the letter Y (or 曜日 for that matter). And though almost everything on their menu comes recommended by one source or another, you should probably go with the tsukemen the first time around.

If you look like you aren’t from Japan, the staff will assume that you don’t know what you are doing and help you order. I obliged and asked, in English, what I should get. The special thick fish tsukemen. Tokusei noko gyokai tsukemen. 特製濃厚魚介つけ麺.

This one is amazing. It’s hard to pinpoint something that stood out above anything else. The noodles, handmade in the shop, are pretty much the top tier of Japanese noodles. I’ve been to the most famous udon shop in Kagawa, countryside soba shops where old ladies have made noodles for centuries, and many, many ramen shops. These are up there. Top 5 without a doubt.

The soup is lighter than the typical tonkotsu gyokai that most tsukemen shops serve. Light, but full of great flavors. One of Itto’s main draws are the chicken meatballs. Made from specialty French chickens called レッドブロー. Red Brow?