Today's ramen joint is Katsuryu. I got their special tsukemen (トクのせつけ麺) with the normal portion of noodles (並盛り) and, for some reason, a free extra flavor egg (味玉). The "special" component in this case means the tsukemen came with three pieces of nori, three pieces of pork/cha-shu (チャシュー), and bamboo (メンマ). Though this is only my third bowl of ramen in Tsukuba, this appears to be the most canonical tsukemen bowl I've had this trip.
That being said, the first whiff was very bonito/fish heavy, which took me aback since I was expecting the tonkotsu, pork flavor to be at the forefront. I think with the dipping noodles, the broth didn't seem to stand out too much which initially was a bit of a letdown. Even with the mightiest slurp, the soup never stood out. I'm not sure if more seasoning would've helped, or maybe just salt. I will say that sipping the undiluted broth was quite nice with the fresh grassy kick of the green onion, the mouth feel and richness from the pork bones, and the nice fragrance and umami-ness from the seafood. But the fact that the broth was enjoyable by itself, rather than needing the thick noodles, supports the fact that the seasoning is a bit lacking.The broth also didn't taste too heavy, which was a bit baffling from the mouth feel and the appearance.
Thankfully, the texture of the egg yolk with the ajitama egg was jammy (maybe even custard-y?) and paired well with the broth. The meat had just enough of a bite where it withstood being roughed up in the broth but still so tender. I wish they torched the meat a bit to warm it up and add some nice char but maybe is extraneous with this broth.
Only when I finished my noodles did I really have the chance to appreciate the broth. By diluting the broth a bit more with the provided hot water, a hidden element had revealed itself. Mixed in with the green onions was some julienne yuzu peel; this was the element that helped cut through the expected heaviness of the broth. It's a bit unfortunate that it was a subtle enough component where pairing the broth with the noodle muddles the yuzu's contribution and the seasoning of the broth seemed just a bit lacking. Maybe, as my roommate would say, that is a nice show of constraint from the ramen chef and I'm being too greedy.
With the scale I've somewhat constructed from the two previous ramen locations, I think I'd give this an 7.5/10. It's still very enjoyable but the seasoning wasn't tuned well for the noodles and I wish the yuzu component came out a bit more and less green onions. Overall, minor critical comments so it's definitely worth going to. Next time, I think I need to try their mazesoba. However, I'm waiting for a special location to lose my mazesoba virginity...
Comments