clouds

Yawn…(stretch). What a nice day. Cool, fall weather…lazy, big, puffy clouds floating across the sky. It’s a perfect day for ramen!

tsujita ramen

Mitsuwa is having another food fair, and I’m in the mood for tsukemen (dipping noodles). The down side of lunch at Mitsuwa is the crowd, and boy, not only was it crowded today, but the line at Nidaime tsujita was as long as the typical line at Santouka Ramen across the food court.

tsujita ramen

Two pleasant surprises waited for me at Tsujita: they’re also serving ramen, and they’re also offering hanjuku eggs! Yes!

tsujita ramen

While waiting in line (it moves very slowly), you can study read up on “how to taste “tsukemen””. Be warned that their tsukemen takes longer to prepare than their ramen, and it will take a while.

tsujita ramen

Another surprise: they’re serving the tsukemen in real ceramic bowls with their name on them. Hats off to the Tsujita crew for being so prepared.

tsujita ramen

The thick noodles looked and tasted like al-dente spaghetti, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They were very chewy and paired very well with the dipping sauce.

tsujita ramen

The hot dipping sauce was thick and oily, almost like a thick gravy. It clung to the noodles and had a pork-and-fish flavor with a tangy aftertaste, which was further enhanced by a few drops of lime juice. The chashu itself was lean but flavorful. I found that breaking the chashu up into little pieces to eat with every bite gave a great “pork-kick” to the sauce. The lightly marinated menma provided a tasty contrasting crunch.

tsujita ramen

And finally, the hanjuku egg. The egg was cold, which was quickly remedied by resting it in the sauce for a few minutes, and the marinade was too light. But I have a real weakness for hanjuku eggs, and the texture of Tsujita’s egg was perfect. The egg white had a soft-as-custard texture and the yolk slowly flowed like molten lava. Delicious!

Cursed with only one stomach, I wasn’t able to try Nidaime Tsujita’s ramen, but their tsukemen is tasty and worth trying. The tsukemen gets a 7.5, and the hanjuku egg bumps it up to an 8 out of 10.

Nidaime Tsujita Ramen
(inside Mitsuwa Supermarket)
665 Paularino Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 434-1101
For a limited time only: Thurs 10/28 to Sunday 11/7.

3 thoughts on “ramen rating: nidaime tsujita ramen – costa mesa, ca”

  1. Hi Edjusted, I enjoyed the tsukemen a lot here too. I had the ramen too. I’m gonna go carve some pumpkins at a friends now and work off the calories, haha. 😉

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