Tsukemen Mitaseimenjo

They say that there are two certainties in life 1) Death and 2) Taxes. If the Certainty Committee is open for another entry, then it would be 3) A queue at Tsukemen Mitaseimanjo. Sorry Charlie, it doesn’t matter what time of the day you get here, there will be a queue. To borrow a phrase from a great American lyricist, «That’s just the way it is» — T. Shakur.
While we’re still in expectation setting mode, you’re likely at this restaurant for one thing — the namesake tsukemen ramen which is sort of a deconstruction of ramen — the noodles and toppings (slices of roast pork, half a runny egg, and bamboo shoots) are served separately from the broth. The idea being that the noodles, which are cooked to the perfect ‘al dente’, won’t go mushy from a long soak in the broth. Plus it’s just fun to eat.
Broth in this case is a loose term. The version here is the thickest dipping sauce I’ve ever tasted, redolent of a curry rather than traditional ramen broth. It also somehow manages to avoid the rookie mistake of being too salty. Instead it’s insanely deep and savory, with hints of brine from its base of bonito and kombu. It clings to the noodles like a needy girlfriend. It’s evocative of everything comforting that you can imagine — a fuzzy sweater, a hug from Grandma, a huge hit of some quality sticky ick.
The noodles can be ordered hot or cold (I’d recommend cold for contrast) and are exceptionally user friendly as the diner can pick their portion size as dictated by weight. The only downside being that one knows the exact amount of weight they might be gaining by eating here (210 grams of carbs going straight to my thighs).
If you’ve leftover broth after your noodles are done, there are three options: 1) Ask the waiter for ‘more’ (pronounced like ‘mor-​ay’), the Japanese term for «more noodles» (duh) 2) Ask the waiter for hot water to dilute your broth and turn it into a delicate soup or 3) Act like a slovenly heathen (like me) and slurp that shit straight #likeaboss.
Death, taxes, and a queue at Tsukemen Mitaseimankjo I can predict with certainty. And the odds of a great set of ramen here? Most likely.

I love Tsukemen and came here after hearing good reviews from my sister. We came on a Friday night and there was a long line of people waiting already. After discussing, we decided to come back around 10pm and get a snack beforehand. When we came back again there was still a line, but managed to get seats after 20min of waiting.
Seating is compact like many ramen places in HK. You can choose between small, medium, large of extra large (for an additional $ 10). The food came quickly. I really liked the texture of the noodles, perfect al dente, the broth was also flavorful and thick. We had gyoza on the side. Overall, it was a really filling meal. I had the large noodles, which was more than enough. Very happy with the food and will be back again.

LONG LINE. Lined up for 45mins — 1hr in swealtering heat on a Friday night! Luckily this place specialises in Tsuekemen because I sure as heck do not want to eat a big hot bowl of ramen after sweating! To be honest, I’m really not a big fan of tsukemen because it’s tiring to eat and I prefer my noodles to be HOT. This was really the perfect weather to be having it!
I ordered the TSUKEMEN in medium $ 78 which is ample enough of noodles. Large is good for a big eater, and X-​Large costs an extra $ 15? but I would highly discourage you from eating that because it’s the biggest bowl of noodles I’ve ever seen. However the normal looking, Japanese? guy sitting next to me FINISHED it. I was in awe.
You can also choose the noodles to be hot/​cold. Apparently you’re supposed to eat tsukemen noodles in cold which is what I got. The soup is pork bone based fish broth and is rather thick and lukewarm. The fish base taste is slightly stronger than the pork base. It comes with 2 slices (thin but big) charsiu which, eh i’ve had better, half boiled egg, some bamboo, minimal spring onions and one seaweed. I did add cabbage for $ 10?
In the end you can add hot water to your broth and drink it like soup. I was not a fan though.
All in all, it’s average priced. Not really worth the wait though.
***
Tips: Large portions. If you’re an average eater, medium is more than enough! Big eaters, get Large. Get noodles cold for the «authentic» experience. I’d come on a weekday/​non peak hours.
Favourites: Refreshing, big portions.
Meh: I prefer hot ramen. Long line. I prefer stronger pork base soups
Last words: 3.5* in my book