Michelin Star Ramen (Tsuta)
If you read the previous post about Nick’s visit to Japan, you'll know that food was a huge focus of his trip. One of the things I had been wanting to try since moving here was a Michelin starred ramen place in Tokyo called Tsuta. I knew Nick would be game for this adventure, so we decided to pick a day and head to Tokyo to try it for ourselves.
As you may expect, a Michelin starred ramen joint becomes pretty popular once it gets that kind of recognition. The restaurant itself is a small, nine-seat place in a residential area of Tokyo. When they acquired the star, apparently it become a little too noisy with people lining up for food, so they had to adopt a new system. That system is pretty simple; show up early, get a ticket for a selected time, and then come back at that selected time. If you do those things, a Michelin starred bowl of ramen will be yours.
Nick and I had discussed the best day of his trip to make our Michelin starred journey and decided on a Sunday. Being a weekend presented an additional challenge to our adventure; from various blogs and videos about this place, the line to get a ticket can start very early....especially on weekends. So, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity, Nick and I set alarms for 4:30AM in order to catch a 5:00AM train to Tokyo.
We arrived in Tokyo a little after 6am and then had to hop to a different train to get to Sugamo Station, where Tsuta is located. By the time we arrived around 6:45AM, a line was already forming. This was a bit of a relief, as it confirmed that we were in the right spot and we didn't have to start the line ourselves.
The line starts to the right of the door.
The shop doesn't open until 11AM, but employees started showing up at 7AM. A few minutes later, one came out to begin the distribution of tickets. Since we had arrived so early, we were able to secure tickets for the first available time slot of 11AM.
When Nick and I first came up with this plan, I was excited to have a few hours to kill in Tokyo between obtaining tickets an eating lunch. Here is something to know about Tokyo: it is not New York City. Early on a Sunday morning nearly nothing is open. We both needed coffee so we killed a half an hour or so at a Starbucks, but after that we struggled to find ways to occupy ourselves. We walked through some of Tokyo’s famous public parks and even went to Shibuya Station which is home to the world’s busiest crosswalk. Guess what? Hardly anybody is crossing that crosswalk at 8:30AM on Sunday morning. Just something to keep in mind for your future Sunday morning Michelin ramen trip.
Anyway, 11 o'clock did manage to eventually come around, so we headed back to Tsuta. Another line was already forming consisting of the other people who had grabbed 11AM time cards. We were back early enough where we had spots 8 and 9 in line.
If you remember from earlier (there will be a quiz at the end), this is a nine seat restaurant which meant we would be part of the first group let in. When the clock struck 11, an employee came out and counted off the first 9 people. He gave us each the 1000 Yen deposit which was required to secure our ticket earlier in the morning, and then led us inside to use the ticket vending machine to place our orders.
Nick and I both went with their signature dish, a bowl of Charsiu Wonton Ajitama Shoyu Soba, accompanied with a beer. Interestingly, Nick and I were the only two in the group of nine to order alcohol. I'm not sure if it was due to being 11am on a Sunday, or they were trying to purely focus on the flavor and not be distracted, but if I'm eating some of the best ramen in the world you better believe I'm enjoying a tasty beverage as well.
Once inside, Nick and I had the two seats at the corner of the bar, which was great. We were the last of the nine to be served our food, which gave us a good amount of time to see if we needed to follow any Japanese customs or do anything special not to bring dishonor to our families.
After waiting literally all morning, we were finally served our bowl of ramen.
So, how was it? Well...it's always difficult to say in situations like this. Was it the greatest thing ever? No. Was it delicious? Yes. The pork, two wontons, and especially the salted soft boiled egg were incredibly delicious. However, the Shoyu style of ramen isn't particularly my favorite. I'm currently having a love affair with tonkotsu ramen and this didn't change my mind. If you are a Shoyu fan, then I'm sure this bowl of ramen would be right up your alley. That being said, it's not every day that you get to have a Michelin starred meal, and for $18, an early wakeup, and $7 in train fees, it was totally worth it and I would definitely do it again. From what I've read, if you can manage to go on a weekday, you don't need to get there particularly early to secure a meal.
There is another Michelin ramen place in Tokyo that I haven't yet tried. Having now experienced Tsuta, I look forward to comparing my Michelin baseline to the other bowl of ramen. I hope they serve beer.
