After establishing itself as a tsukemen specialist with 18 branches in Japan and three in the Philippines, Mitsuyado Seimen has now arrived on our shores – its latest outlet in The Starling promises to bring authentic tsukemen to Malaysia. Located on the second floor, Mitsuyado boasts the artistic touch of Japanese interior designer Takahiro Todoroki and his signature use of warm colour palettes. There’s a long table at the centre of the restaurant which is perfect for family gatherings and team lunches, and just above that is Mitsuyado’s centerpiece, a grand chandelier made with bamboo from Japan.
At the front of the restaurant is a dedicated room where workers make the wheat noodles fresh on a daily basis, fronted by a large window to allow you to watch them. Mitsuyado use their own brand of imported flour from Japan, ensuring consistency and quality in every batch of noodles.
Mitsuyado’s specialty is tsukemen – thick house-made wheat noodles served with a separate bowl of broth with kamaboko and pickle slices. Here, you get to choose from four flavours of broth – yuzu, tantan sesame, spicy karashi and chicken. Unlike regular ramen, tsukemen is best enjoyed by dipping and swirling your choice of cold or hot dry noodles into the broth as opposed to having all components already mixed into a bowl. The recommended combination is to get cold noodles with hot broth; the texture of the cold noodles is a lot chewier and it helps cut the saltiness and richness of the soup. Because the broth is too thick and salty to drink on its own, you can dilute it with dashi soup that’s readily available at every table.
For something more familiar, there’s a selection of ramen and rice dishes for you to choose from as well. To make your meal more substantial, order from their options of side dishes which include pan-fried pork gyoza, chicken karaage and roast pork. End with one of the three flavours of ice cream on offer – yuzu, black sesame and green tea – and wash everything down with the bottomless green tea.