Toshomenso is a Chinese restaurant in Ikebukuro that I've been meaning to go to for a while, and yesterday I finally made it there for lunch. I had the spicy soup with "ma" noodles, which is similar to another spicy dish, Tan Tan Ramen. I think the soup had more chili oil than usual, as well as sesame, cilantro, garlic, and chili peppers with minced pork. The noodles were unusual for a ramen-style dish, they were soft, flat, and wider than usual. It was very tasty and reasonably priced, 680 yen (about $6), so I'll be back in the future.
I had Tan Tan (Dan Dan) noodle in a Szechuan restaurant in Hong Kong last year. It was nice and spicy as I recalled. I think the key ingredient is the Szechuan peppercorn that they are using to make the red oil.
Posted by: AzianBrewer | July 24, 2005 at 12:51 PM