本命に振られたランチでしたが、それにしては良かったです。 : Izakaya Aidu

The development of the railway network in the Tokyo metropolitan area in recent years has been remarkable. When I was a child, Musashi-Koyama, the city where I was born and raised, was one of the ordinary stations along the Megama Line (at that time) connecting Meguro Station ~ Kamata Station, and it was limited to a very small area of each station between Meguro ~ Kamata without changing trains. At that time, the only work I remember related to the Megama Line was the underground construction of Washoku Station (completed in 1965), when the level crossing of Ring Road No. 7 was abolished. In the little over half a century that followed, it would develop dramatically. In other words, in 2000, the Meguro-Denen Chofu section was separated from the Megama Line and renamed to the Meguro Line, and mutual direct operation with the Namboku Line of the Eidan Subway (now Tokyo Metro) and the Toei Subway Mita Line was started, and in 2001, the Saitama High-Speed Railway, which connects to the end of the Namboku Line, will also be introduced. In 2022, direct operation with the Sotetsu Line via the Tokyu Shin-Yokohama Line was also started, and now the area where you can go without changing trains has expanded dramatically, from Nishi-Takashimadaira (Toei Mita Line) and Urawa Mien (Saitama High-Speed Railway) to Ebina (or Shonandai). In parallel with such movements, the city of Musashi-Koyama has also been transformed, and now two Tawaman buildings are being built in front of the station, but I hear that two more are planned. It's a little hard to predict how much the city will change in my lifetime, not only in terms of hardware but also in terms of software. By the way, on this day, I went on an expedition to Hatogaya Station (@埼玉県川口市) along the Saitama High-Speed Railway, which has become possible to go without changing trains due to the development of such a railway network. Even if you say that there is no transfer, it will take a little more than 50 minutes, so I think the expression "expedition" is appropriate. Although this year = 2023 is after the Obon holiday, the heat has not abated at all, and the forecast of extremely hot days continues in the future, so I decided to aim for Unagiya Mr./Ms. for lunch as a way to prevent summer fatigue. That's why I came to a long-established eel specialty store called "[A:11000830, Takee]", which is about a 7-minute walk from Hatogaya. However, when I arrived at the store a little before 11:30 a.m., the opening time, there was a sign under the "Preparing" sign that said, "Today, only customers with reservations are available." Well, it's a sinking, but it's a common thing when you're walking around eating, and there's a limit to Tabelog 's information, so I'll give it up gracefully. However, the heat on this day was extraordinary, so I decided to compromise at a nearby store without saying too much luxury, and found this Izakaya (Japanese-style bar) Mr./Ms. right next to Takee. I couldn't find any information that specified the year of our establishment, but in September 2020, it was featured in "Yoshida's Tavern Wanderings", and at that time it was said to be more than 30 years old. The name "Aizu" is said to be derived from the hometown of the retired former proprietress, and the master who is currently running the restaurant is a former French cuisine chef. There is a sign at the front that says "Recommended", but what is written there is a Ramen menu, and it seems to be far from either Izakaya (Japanese-style bar) lunch or French cuisine, so I feel a little doubtful. However, there were no other restaurants in the area, so I decided to enter. The restaurant was run by a man who seemed to be the former French cuisine chef alone. There are 8 counter seats, 4 raised table seats, 12 seats, and a small private room in the back that can accommodate about 8 people. Tabelog restaurant According to the information, there are 30 seats, but if you cram it in, it seems to be a capacity that can fit that much. There were no customers, so I sat at the counter. There is a menu on the counter, but there is also a set menu with curry rice, focusing on Ramen and Tsukemen (Dipping Nudle). In any case, as you can guess from the "recommendations" posted at the store, lunchtime seems to be centered on the Ramen menu. French cuisine As a place where chefs have changed, Ramen restaurants are sometimes seen (in my neighborhood, "[A:13212911, Ebimaru Ramen]" in Jimbocho and "[A: 13161190, Ichido]" in Musashi Koyama, etc.), so I feel that our restaurant is also in that lineage as far as the lunch menu is concerned. The order was chilled sesame curry Tsukemen (Dipping Nudle) @850円にしました, which was also written in the recommendation. After about 9 minutes of waiting, the order was served. Chilled Ramen served on a plate is dipped in cold sesame curry dipping soup. Sesame curry dipping soup is a dipping soup with the scent of garam masala, and the flavor of sesame seeds is in harmony with it. The ingredients are bean sprouts, beef streaks, green onions, and string chili peppers, and the beef streaks are thought to be derived from the beef suji curry that was on the other menu, but they are slowly simmered down to the cartilage. The use of spices seems to be quite an elaborate dipping soup, and you can feel a glimpse of the former French cuisine chef. The noodles are small noodles that look like the usual chilled Chinese noodles, and the color is slightly whitish. It's not a very distinctive noodle, but the centerpiece of this dish is the sesame curry dipping soup, so it's better not to insist too strongly on the noodles in order to make the most of their flavor, so I thought this would be just right. It was the perfect Tsukemen (Dipping Nudle) on a hot day like this one, and the level of taste was quite high. In any case, this type of Tsukemen (Dipping Nudle) is hard to find in a specialty Tsukemen (Dipping Nudle) store, so it was good in that respect. However, since it is not a Tsukemen (Dipping Nudle) specialty restaurant, it was a pity that I could not divide the soup, and in that respect, I could not fully enjoy the deliciousness of the dipping soup. It was a Izakaya (Japanese-style bar) lunch that I was shaken by the favorite (eel) and ended up meeting by chance, but it was a very unique Tsukemen (Dipping Nudle) lunch that minimized the damage that was shaken.