Elvis's Notes

Tsujita is a pretty new addition to Sawtelle’s bustling mini Little Tokyo. At lunchtime hours they specialize in tsukemen dipping ramen. This is how it works.

Perfect al dente noodles, fatass pork belly chashu, and slightly softboiled tajima tamago egg are in one bowl sans soup. The other bowl is filled with an especially thick, bone-marrowy tonkotsu stock. So first you dip the noodles into this heavy stock. The flavor is deep, decadent, and immensely satisfying.

After you’re finished with two-thirds of the meal, the restaurant recommends that you start squeezing lime juice over the remaining third of the noodles. When you dip said lime-y noodles into the stock, the acidity of the lime dramatically brightens the flavor of the soup. This changes the meal in a radical and surprisingly pleasant way.

Finally, when you’re done with the noodles but still have some of the stock left, the waiters pour hot water to dilute it into a drinkable soup (it’s just too heavy beforehand to drink by itself). Thus completes a three-phase ramen meal! Definitely worth checking out.

2057 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025