Sakura ramen brings a touch of hanami flower-viewing to popular Japanese noodle chain

A tasty way to enjoy the cherry blossoms.

With cherry blossom season fast approaching, restaurants around the country are adding pink dishes to their menus for a limited time.

Mitsuyado Seimen, a tsukemen specialty store, is one such restaurant, where the noodles are getting a new dipping sauce that’s deliciously pink and topped with a couple of real cherry blossoms.

▼ Mitsuyado Seimen

Though both ramen and tsukemen are often served at ramen chains like Mitsuyado Seimen, tsukemen is slightly different to conventional ramen as it separates the two components, with noodles served in a bowl on their own, alongside the broth in a different bowl.

Mitsuyado Seimen serves up a wide range of tsukemen, but this spring, customers will want to opt for the Sakura Tororo Tsukemen, which captures the beauty of sakura season, both in terms of flavour and visual appeal.

The sakura tororo in the dish is a special mix of tororo (grated Japanese yam) and mentaiko (walleye pollack roe). While the lack of actual sakura in the broth might disappoint sakura purists, diners will know that the strong taste of sakura isn’t always the best option for savoury meals like this, so limiting the floral component to a couple of pickled cherry blossoms is enough of an accent to create a fun yet tasty twist on the chain’s high-quality noodles.

Mitsuyado Seimen recommends that diners either dip their noodles into the broth or pour it over the noodles. Either way, it’s said to be a perfect companion for the noodles, which have been made with premium domestic wheat flour, using a variety specially chosen for its excellent mouthfeel.

Of course, there are plenty of other tsukemen to choose from on the menu, all crafted with careful attention to ingredients like broth, noodles, and char siu.

One of the chain’s signature ingredients is yuzu, which is specially sourced and added freshly grated to meals in front of the customer.

While Mitsuyado Seimen is a great place to go for a good-quality noodle fix year-round, spring is definitely the prime time to pop by for a taste of the limited-edition Sakura Tororo Tsukemen, which will be on the menu from 15 March, priced at 1,180 yen for dine-in and 1,280 yen (US$8.62) for takeout.

Related: Mitsuyado Seimen Locations
Source, images: PR Times
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