Remember that old SNL sketch from the ’90s where Chris Kattan played Antonio Banderas as the host of a talk show? And every time he tried to unbutton his shirt, the members of his band would plead with him to stop, because he was too sexy? Well that’s how I feel about Tokyo at this point. It needs to stop, because it’s clearly too sexy.
Even aside from the food, there’s something about this city that’s completely beguiling. I don’t think I’ve been anywhere else where just wandering around is so consistently rewarding, with interesting stores everywhere you look, amazing parks and temples all over the city, and a very pervasive (and endearing) love of pop culture — among many, many other things that make me want to fake my death and live here forever.
The latest place that has me contemplating buying a dummy replica of myself and throwing it over a waterfall is Fuunji Ramen, which might just have the longest food line I’ve come across in Tokyo so far. Not only is it super long outside the restaurant (as usual), it actually continues once you get inside.
It’s totally worth it.
Their specialty is tsukemen ramen, which features a separate plate of noodles that you dip into a much more concentrated bowl of soup. And oh man, the soup… I don’t even know how to describe that flavour. It was everything at once. It was like a magnificent fireworks show inside my mouth. It had a bit of a fishy funk (but in the best way possible, trust me), it was a bit smoky, mildly spicy, and just the best. It was the best.
The soup also featured some amazingly tender pork, and a perfectly cooked hard-boiled egg — the eggs in ramen shops here all have this dark orange, amazingly creamy yolk, and how do they do it? Is it the quality of the eggs? The way they cook them? Or is it just the magic Tokyo fairy dust that seems to be in the air here?
It’s the dust. I’m pretty sure it’s the dust.
The thicker-than-average noodles had a super satisfying chewiness that, when dipped in the amazing soup, were pretty much the best.
Yeah, I live here now. Sorry, everyone back home! Come to Tokyo if you ever want to see me again.