WHAT WE ATE
- Original Cheese Ramen – 90/100, Tokyo, 8 July 2025
- Original Standard Tonkotsu Ramen – 55/100, Tokyo, 8 July 2025
Just a short walk from Ebisu Station, Tsukumo Ramen Ebisu Honten (九十九ラーメン 恵比寿本店) has carved out its own space in the Tokyo ramen scene with something a little unexpected—cheese. Known for grating generous amounts of Hokkaido Gouda directly into its bowls, this ramen shop offers a creamy, umami-rich twist that sets it apart from the usual shoyu or tonkotsu-heavy lineup across the city.
If you’re exploring ramen in Tokyo and looking for something that strays from the classics without going full gimmick, Tsukumo is one to put on the list. It’s casual, open late, and unafraid to experiment—just enough to make you curious before the first sip.
Original Cheese Ramen: 90/100
Note: I’m a big cheese lover, and the more pungent the better for me. If you’re not big on cheese, this one might be a bit much — you’ve been warned.
Noodle: 35/35
Ordering is done through a digital kiosk, where you can choose between thin or medium thickness noodles. I went with medium — thicker noodles usually hold up better with thick, hearty soups, and that bet paid off.
The noodles are wavy and medium thick. Served al dente, they’re firm through and through, with just a thin surface layer of chew that gives each bite a nice spring and a bit of resistance. Taste-wise, there’s a gentle earthy wheat flavour, clean and nutty without any harsh alkaline notes. It’s actually better than it looks — the kind of noodle that surprises you in a good way.
Soup: 35/35
The soup arrives blanketed with a pile of cheese shavings. Now, I debated whether to classify the cheese as a topping — but since it melts almost instantly into the soup, trying to taste it separately feels impossible. So I’m treating it as part of the soup.
First impression: the cheesy smell hits you right away. It’s bold. The soup starts with a strong umami punch from the cheese — salty, rich, and pungent — like a funky cheddar. Then comes a deeply savoury miso body, rounded out with a soft sweetness underneath. And just when you think it’s done, there’s a sourish, tangy aftertaste from the cheese that lingers in your throat. It’s literally like drinking cheese.
Partway through, I added a dash of black pepper — game changer. The pepper cuts through the sourness and adds a woody, smoky spice that makes the broth feel more rounded and layered. Highly recommend doing that midway if you want to pace the richness.
Meat: 15/20
The ramen doesn’t come with chashu by default, so you’ll need to add it on as an extra.
The chashu is a rolled slice of pork, medium thin. It’s mostly lean meat with a bit of marbled fat. The lean parts are tender and juicy, while the fatty bits melt in your mouth. Marination-wise, it’s relatively strong — which works well, since the soup is no lightweight. There’s a savoury, slightly porky funk to the flavour that ends up being oddly addictive. It’s solid, just not a standout.
Other Toppings: 5/10
This is where the bowl falls short of a full score for me.
There’s some sweet corn, which adds little pops of fruity sweetness throughout. Beansprouts are in there too — they bring crunch, but not much else in terms of flavour.
At the table, you’ll find spicy marinated beansprouts and diced negi. Unfortunately, both are too mild to shift the overall flavour balance of the soup. They’re nice to nibble on but don’t do much for complexity.
Summary
This is a rich, punchy bowl made for cheese fans. The broth is bold and unapologetic, the noodles are way better than expected, and it’s got enough depth to keep things interesting. Just don’t expect much from the toppings unless you start adding on.
Original Standard Tonkotsu Ramen: 55/100
Noodle: 20/35
Just like the cheese ramen, ordering is done through a digital kiosk where you can choose between thin or medium noodles. For this one, I went with the thin option to pair with the tonkotsu broth — a classic combo.
The noodles are pale, thin, and straight. Texture-wise, they lean soft and verge on soggy, which makes for a pretty underwhelming bite. There’s not much resistance or chew — more slide than snap. Taste-wise, they’re alright. A faint earthy wheat note comes through, and thankfully there’s no unpleasant alkaline aftertaste. But overall, it’s not the kind of noodle that leaves an impression.
Soup: 15/35
The broth here falls flat for me.
While there’s a mild savoury body with a touch of sweetness underneath, the whole thing leans heavily into a milky soy flavour — and not in a good way. It lacks the depth and richness you’d expect from a proper tonkotsu broth. There’s no real punch of pork or fatty umami. Just a thin, hollow, and almost watery experience that left me wanting something more substantial.
Meat: 15/20
Same chashu used as the cheese ramen, and still one of the better parts of the bowl.
A medium thin slice of rolled pork, mostly lean with light marbling. The lean parts are tender and juicy, and the fatty bits melt in your mouth. The marination is strong enough to hold up even in this weaker soup, with a savoury and slightly porky funk that’s oddly addictive. It’s good — just not enough to carry the bowl.
Other Toppings: 5/10
Pretty standard tonkotsu toppings. There’s a sheet of seaweed which adds some umami, and bamboo shoots that are tender and savoury without being overly pungent — which is a good thing here. From the table, you’ve also got spicy bean sprouts and fresh negi. The sprouts bring a slight layer of spiciness, but not enough to shift the flavour in a meaningful way. The negi adds the occasional piquant lift, but again, it’s not enough to change the overall profile of the bowl.
Summary
This bowl just didn’t land for me. The noodles were limp, and the soup lacked the richness and body that makes a tonkotsu bowl satisfying. The chashu holds up well, and the toppings are decent, but overall it felt like a muted, toned-down version of what it should have been. A pretty forgettable bowl.
DISCLAIMER
One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Find out more about our palettes and how we evaluate our ramen here. 😉
