Welcome to the house of Tsukemen–Mitsuyado Sei-men

I’ve always been curious as to how tsukemen would taste like. I often see them while watching Japanese movies/shows. All I know is you have this soba (noodles), dip them into sauce, try to look Japanese (ok I made this one up) and eat it. The Japanese seems to be enjoying it and they say that the dip would “depend” on the person’s taste (of course!) and sometimes, the season. Cold soba – hot dip, hot soba – cold dip, etc. I’m sure you get my gist :P

Anyway, I was not in a hurry to know the tsukemen experience but then my co-Arashist friend invited me to try out Mitsuyado Sei-men. As soon as I heard then words “House of Tsukemen”, it was a no-brainer when I agreed. No hail nor storm will stop me from experiencing tsukemen!

My friend promised that it’s an “experience” to try out Mitsuyado and as we arrived in front of the resto… Actually, I was expecting something more grandiose since my friend told me it’s an experience. Honestly, I didn’t checked the net for more info since I want to be “surprised”. And so, there I was standing in front a common (and pricey) looking restaurant.

Later did I know that the “surprise” part will hit me straight in the face as soon as I enter the shop! BANZAI NIPPON!!! IRRASHAIMASE~ I’ve been to Little Tokyo countless of times but the interior of this place makes you feel you just entered a small village in Japan.

They turned the place in a life-sized diorama of a small Japanese village complete with onsen, ramen stand and more. It was so brilliant that I can’t help but comment on whatever my eyes laid on. There are even vintage movie posters placed on some area of the resto. We stayed there for 3-4 hours (hey we ordered a lot during our stay!) and it’s pretty obvious that the place was packed during lunch time (12nn-1pm) and dinner rime (5pm-6pm)

Ramen Stall	Onsen
I’m not too sure if this is read as “Nakamura Menya”. I apologize for my poor Nihonggo skils	Seems like a corner street resto with, right?

We ordered Gyoza (dumplings), Oyakodon (egg-chicken rice bowl), Yuzu Soba, Cheese Sauce Tsukemen (my order since my friend told me this is one of their best sellers) and a can of Kirin beer (mine! ❤) Our orders didn’t took long to prepare and yeah, no matter how hungry we are, pictures, instagrams and Facebook uploads are top priority here.

Kirin Beer (P140). Tastes like SML but for some reason I didn’t turned beet red after finishing up the whole thing (ACHIEVEMENT!!!)	Gyoza (P180). One of the best I tasted. Chewy and not too salty.
Yuzu Ae-Soba (P230). I think Yuzu is some sort of a citrus friut in Japan. Topped with naruto and some other tasty stuffs, this one is superb. Lian’s order	Oyakodon (P230). One of the most familiar rice dish. Chicken with egg mixed in sauce then topped on rice. Ma-chan’s order.

My order was their best sellers: Cheese Sauce Tsukemen (P330). The dish was a hearty tray of soba (you get to choose hot or cold), cheese sauce and savory dip. It was a good thing that the staff asked me if I have any idea how to eat the dish. I’m fine with the dip but I don’t know what to do with the cheese. Do I dip the soba first in cheese then sauce or is it the other way around or something? Well, the correct way to eat it is first, you pour the cheese sauce into the soba, mix it then dip the cheese soba into the sauce. Makes sense :D

Me: *ready to dig in*
Ma-chan: I wanna see Lei’s reaction
Me: *taste test*
Ma-chan: How was it?
Me: Umai (deelish!) ❤❤❤

If you a look at the whole thing, yes, it might look a bit salty for your taste but no. The cheese sauce tastes really well with the dip. No worries with the soba since it’s bland to start with. No wonder this is one of their best sellers.

And I reserved a special spot for Edamame (P80) or boiled soybeans. This one comes in salted and tastes just perfect with tea (or beer but since I finished mine eons ago, let’s settle with tea. Hehe) I totally had no idea how to eat this thing. I tried chewing a bit of the edamame’s pod and with it’s texture, I’m sure I’ll end up looking like a goat since it’s difficult to chew. Lolz! So, we settled in just eating what’s inside of the pod. KNOW I KNOW HOW TO EAT EDAMAME! YATTA!

For dessert I order their Cream Anmitsu (P150). Anmitsu, based on my personal, very limited “Everything Japan” memory, is a traditional Japanese dessert made with jellies, fruits and read beans. This one comes with a special syrup which I didn’t used much since I love the taste of the anmitsu alone. I think they called it “creamy” since they served it with a small heap of vanilla ice cream ❤ Love love love this dessert! ❤

In all, I totally enjoyed my experience in Mitsuyado and will definitely return for another dose of Japanese gastronomic experience. The ambiance was great, the service was okay, food was superb and price range is pretty reasonable for authentic Japanese dishes. To those who are planning to visit the place, here are their details:

MITSUYADO SEI-MEN
No. 22 Jupiter Street, Brgy. Bel Air,Makati City
511-1390 and 511-1759
https://www.facebook.com/Mitsuyado.seimen‎
Personal Gallery: HERE