Shoyu ramen purveyor Iida Shoten in Yugawara, an onsen town in Tokyo’s neighbouring prefecture Kanagawa, is one of the most popular noodle restaurants in this region. It’s consistently ranked as the top ramen restaurant on Tablelog.
The good news is, you now don’t have to travel more than two hours from Tokyo to sample Iida Shoten’s crowd-pleasing ramen. The restaurant will be offering its cold tantanmen at chain diner Denny’s for a limited time this summer from June 18 to July 22.
A popular style of ramen originating from China’s Szechuan province, the hot and spicy tantanmen is characterised by its distinctive use of sesame seeds. Unlike the original Chinese creation, the Japanese adaptation of the dish is made less spicy with the addition of a creamy soup base.
While Japanese tantanmen comes in several variations, Iida Shoten’s take on the noodles stands out for the use of chilled soymilk and black vinegar to create a mildly tart and cooling broth that’s light, refreshing and not too heavy on the stomach. The spice mix, which includes Szechuan peppers, cumin, coriander and nuts such as macadamia, cashews, almonds and walnuts of various sizes, has just the right amount of kick to elevate the refined broth.
With its immense popularity, Iida Shoten only accepts diners with reservations – even then, it’s not easy to score a seat. But as Denny’s has over 100 outlets across Tokyo, this summer collaboration serves up a good and easy opportunity to finally taste the famed ramen.
For more information, check out Denny’s website.
The article was published on June 17 and updated on June 24.
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