Eating ramen at a restaurant in Japan is an experience no one should miss. There are many kinds of ramen, with traditional tastes like miso and salt being amongst the most popular ones. As I had tried ramen in Japan many times before, I thought I had tried most of the tastes already. However, when a friend of mine introduced me to a place known for ramen in tomato soup, I knew that I could not have been more wrong.
The concept is quite simple, a mix between the traditional ramen taste and a broth made of tomato soup. The most popular item on their menu even has cheese mixed with the ramen. Nevertheless, simple ideas often end up being the most successful ones, and this case is no different. When we went to the restaurant at around six in the evening, people were lining up to get inside the restaurant. Furthermore, the restaurant started taking orders from the people standing in line, so they could handle as many customers as possible. It did not take longer than 10 minutes in line before we were able to get inside the restaurant.
It should not have to be said, but if you are a fan of tomato, you will love the menu at this place. Of course, you can get the tomato ramen and other kinds of soups, but their menu also includes things like cheese gyoza with tomato topping and tomato juice. If you do not like tomato but a friend drags you to the place, no worries, there are also options that do not involve tomato.
The place is known in Japanese as “Taiyou no tomato-men”, which can rougly be translated to “Tomato noodles of the sun”. The place is located on the seventh floor of the building called “My Lord” in Shinjuku. Although this was the one I visited, as it is a chain, there are plenty more, at least around the Tokyo area. One thing to be aware of is that their menu was only available in Japanese, but the staff was friendly and seemed willing to help.
The food was delicious, and the flavor of tomato complimented the ramen very nicely. Especially if you are already familiar with ramen, I think you will have a pleasant experience here, since you get to compare the flavors.
