Tantanmen is one of my favourite dishes and I’ve always loved Japan’s adaption of the Chinese dish. So having it as my first meal upon arriving to Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City at Chengdu Tantanmen before shopping seemed right for my solo trip.
Hidden on the first floor in the food corner next to the CoCo Ichibanya branch, the tantanmen I chose was simply the classic Chengdu Tantanmen or written as 成都担々麺. Spice wise? It was really good. I hadn’t tasted spicy dishes from Asia in over four years so it was great that a standard chain like this had a minimum gochujang level to it’s dish and that it wasn’t labelled as the most spiciest to eat.
The dish was packed with a lot of seasoning along with the Sichuan pepper and chilli oil inside that mixed nicely with the noodles, mince pork and the broth. It was the perfect balance of spice with not much oil taking over the taste to me.
Because of the heat that still lingered in my belly though, I’d give it a level 5 spice ranking that equals to vindaloo. With that being said, this chain’s tantanmen is a delicious dish that will definitely fill you up after a long day of shopping.
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