903 Keeaumoku St., Suite C101A
Honolulu HI 96814
808 955-8860
Taishoken is one of the most famous ramen shops in Tokyo, and thus the world. Or I should be more specific - the shop named Taishoken in Tokyo's Higashi (East) Ikebukuro district is. The shop has spawned a horde of imitators throughout Japan with similar menus, many also calling themselves Taishoken. The vast majority have no ownership or franchise connection with the Higashi-Ikebukuro shop. Thus ramen afficionados in Japan distinguish the famous Taishoken from others by calling it "Higashi-Ikebukuro Taishoken" or "Taishoken@Higashi-Ikebukuro".
What's all the fuss about? Kazuo Yamagishi, owner and chef of Taishoken@Higashi-Ikebukuro, is famous for having invented "tsukemen", which is a kind of cross between ramen and morisoba. In the original version, a broth made from pork, chicken, and anchovies is boiled down until it is extremely concentrated, and is served, along with additional seasonings (primarily shoyu or miso) and toppings, in a small bowl beside a plate of plain ramen noodles. You dip the noodles into the soup before eating them. This is the "Kantou" tsukemen. There is another kind, "Hiroshima" tsukemen, which uses a dip of cold spicy soy sauce, that seems to have been derived more from "hiyashi chuuka" (a cold garnished Chinese-style noodle salad) or directly from a Chinese source rather than from ramen. This version has nothing to do with Taishoken! (For more discussion on tsukemen, see this thread on the Japan board).
The whole business of which Taishoken is "related" to which is a murky affair. This is complicated even further by the fact that there is a completely independent Taishoken@Eifukucho, which offers a different ramen menu and concept, that itself has inspired a horde of followers (I don't know which one is older. The name "Taishoken" has been around longer than either restaurant, dating apparently to the days when trademarks were not such a big deal! I searched for an official website for Taishoken Ramen in Tokyo and came up with quite a few such as this (@Shibuya + a lot of other places), this (@Shinjuku and @Ginza), this (@Nakano), and this (@Shonan, a resort area south of Tokyo). But none of these seem to have a formal link with Taishoken@Higashi-ikebukuro, which does not seem to have an official website. It does however seem to have a number of apparently "official branches", including this one in @Kichijoji, an affluent suburb of Tokyo. This branch actually calls itself "Higashi-Ikebukuro Taishoken" even though it is not in Higashi-Ikebukuro, in order to bolster its claim to parentage.
Got it all straight? I don't. Where is BON when we need him? Speaking of the one-time (and still?) eGulleter, please do look at his review of Taishoken@Higashi-Ikebukuro on his premier "real" ramen resource site, WorldRamen.net. There is a touching story there about how Yamagishi closed down his own place several years ago after the death of his wife, but was convinced to reopen by hundreds of small notes of encouragement taped to the door of his establishment by his loyal customers.
Yamagishi first came up with tsukemen in 1961 at the restaurant that is now Taishoken@Nakano, then used his invention to open the Higashi-Ikebukuro establishment, where he can be seen cooking to this very day. So in some ways, Taishoken@Nakano is the "original tsukemen restaurant", though most ramemophiles would attach the more salience to Yamagishi himself than to the particular establishment. An detailed history (in Japanese) of all this can be found on this page at the Taishoken@Nakano official site.
I'm writing all this because a new branch of Taishoken@Higashi-Ikebukuro has apparently opened in Honolulu, on Keeaumoku St., near King St. next to the Sino-Korean "Beijing/Bukgyeong" Restaurant. As far as I know, this is the first official branch of Taishoken located outside the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.
The restaurant definitely plays up the fact that it is an official branch, with photos and articles about the Higashi-Ikebukuro restaurant pasted on its wall, as well as the characters for Higashi-Ikebukuro prominently displayed on its "noren", the short curtain that marks the entrance to a traditional Japanese restaurant, though in this case it is located on the entrance to the kitchen from the eating area. The restaurant is apparently doing great business since it opened a few weeks ago, as there is a sign in front saying that they will not do any takeout orders due to the high volume of customers. I went at 11am, right when they opened, and there was already a short line of Japanese tourists waiting outside.
At Taishoken@Higashi-Ikebukuro@Keeaumoku, you can order one of two kinds of tsukemen broth - shoyu (soy sauce) or miso flavor. You then select a quantity of noodles (small or large), then a set of toppings from chashu (sliced boiled pork), menma (young bamboo shoots), yasai (mixed vegetables), ajitsuke tamago (seasoned eggs), and nori (dried laver). You have to pay of each of your toppings separately - if you don't order any, you get plain noodles and broth. You can also order ordinary ramen as well, with the exact same permutations and prices. Gyoza (potstickers) are available in quantities of 5 or 3 (the latter available only if you order ramen as well). Fried rice, curry, and pork and chicken katsu round out the token additional offerings. "Is your tsukemen the same as what is served in Higashi-Ikebukuro?" I asked the restaurant manager. No, unfortunately not, he said - it's not possible to buy the same kind of noodles and meat. However, he promised that the recipes were otherwise the same.
I ordered a large shoyu tsukemen with chashu and yasai, total price $9.20. After about 10 minutes, I received a huge mountain of noodles and about a pint of soup. Lying in the soup were about four slices of pork with a mixture of cabbage, mung bean sprouts, and green onions. There was single gratis slice of nori sticking out of it as well. The noodles were squiggly egg noodles, soft but still slightly chewy, extremely eggy. They were served lukewarm (as is apparently the tradition in the Taishokens), while the soup was hot. The soup was extremely salty and porky, and dark with soy sauce. It had notes of fishy flavors, and was very faintly sour. While they provided a spoon of the sort that you get in Chinese restaurants, it would be only a very brave person so who would drink the soup straight from the bowl.
Intimidated by the gallon or so of noodles, I started out by nibbling on the pork and vegetables to clear out some room in the soup bowl for dipping. Then I dipped and ate the noodles, and dipped and ate some more. . . About halfway through, the store manager came through and asked me if I was about ready to quit. No, I said indignantly, and kept on going until even though I could feel my abdominal muscles stretching out as I downed each skein of noodles. So much for the low-carb diet, but I finished it all.
Very nice experience for those who of us prefer strong flavors for our noodles rather than a lot of broth. But I think I'll order the small next time.
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