松波ラーメン店 (Matsunami in Setagaya, Tokyo)

0 Reviews

松波ラーメン店

Matsunami (pine tree wave) advertises shinasoba and tantanmen on their shop sign. Although I love a good shinasoba ramen, in the colder months I want nothing more than tantanmen. Give me the spice!

Although Japanese tantanmen and Chinese dandanmien have similarities, they are very different dishes. The Japanese tantanmen usually has more layers of umami and meat flavors with spice on top while the Chinese is mostly layers of spice. Both are awesome when done well.

Allspice, nuts, garlic. These are just some of the ingredients that go into tantanmen. Everyone worth their weight in sansho has their own secret mix of 11 herbs and spices.

A cool thing about these shoyu ramen / tantanmen shops is that the base broth is often a culinary masterpiece using high-quality chicken, vegetables, and seafood. The seafood I’m referring to is konbu seaweed and dried katsuo, the foundations of Japanese dashi.

It’s the dashi that gives ramen its unique umami flavors. Subtle but noticeable. When matched with Chinese spices, some of the subtle flavors are overpowered, but much of the underlying umami remains.

Matsunami’s take on tantanmen was mellow and smooth. The spice was barely a one on the ten-point scale, but it was more about flavor than heat.

Most (all?) shinosoba shops have wonton as a topping choice. I had to try a side of those plump, hand-rolled beauties. Very tasty.

Matsunami is located next to the Tokyu Setagaya Line (東急世田谷線). This tram line connects Shimo-Takaido and Sangenjaya. It’s low-key a super cool part of Tokyo that most tourists know nothing about. Cool shops, temples, and little nugs of local culture abound on this line.

You could just walk along the tracks for a few hours and find your own hidden gems. Let me know what you find!

I believe Matsunami was on quite a few best-of lists, so expect a line.

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