Tsukemen Yasubee / つけ麺屋やすべえ - Shibuya

*Full spread of toppings with the famous tonkotsu-gyokai tsukemen at Yasubee*

Tsukemenya Yasubee is a pretty successful tsukemen shop brand in Tokyo, with currently 8 shops distributed in all corners of Tokyo. Their main draw is their pork and seafood based tsukemen dipping noodle dish in several variants and sizes. However they also offer regular ramen, which can be ordered as shoyu or shio.

*The whole menu at Tsukemen Yasubee is quite extensive with lots of options to modify your meal*

Looking at the main star of Yasubee, the tsukemen, it is easy to identify why this shop has become quite popular and spread all over Tokyo. Basically, they have made it very easy to modify their tsukemen to everyone’s liking with lots of modification options and lots of offered toppings.

*More free toppings available on the counter of Yasubee like vinegar and raw onion*

I went to the Shibuya location to check it our for myself. The shop was quite busy and had a short line, which was quickly moving, as the place itself is quite spacious. It immediately becomes apparent that this shop has its fans and is not lacking business.

*The front of the Tsukemen Yasubee shop in Shibuya*

Unfortunately I could not really understand what the hype was all about. The soup and noodles were alright, with the soup being on the milder side of the tonkotsu-gyokai tsukemen spectrum. My main gripe was that it already came almost lukewarm to my table, with plates obviously not being warmed at all. Noodles are served cold, which is normal for the style. The toppings on the left were all also quite cold. After starting to mix and dip stuff into my soup, it quickly became a quite cold eating experience, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

*Cold noodles with lukewarm soup don’t make the best tsukemen experience.*

From that point on, it became difficult for me to actually enjoy this bowl. I cannot judge, if this was a “one off” type of situation, or if that is to be expected at Yasubee. However, since there are so many other options for this style of Tsukemen available, even directly in Shibuya, I will probably not be back there anytime soon to find out.