Taishoken Ramen to bring famed tsukemen noodles to the Bay Area

Scroll ahead to see Yelp's top-rated ramen restaurants around the Bay. Tsukemen-style ramen from a Taishoken location in Japan. Scroll ahead to see Yelp's top-rated ramen restaurants around the Bay. Tsukemen-style ramen from a Taishoken location in Japan. Photo: Yelp / Euoni J. Photo: Yelp / Euoni J. Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Taishoken Ramen to bring famed tsukemen noodles to the Bay Area 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

Great local ramen houses are about to get some serious competition.

A famed Japanese ramen restaurant Taishoken Ramen will bring its iconic dishes to San Mateo after pioneering tsukemen style ramen nearly 60 years ago.

Tsukemen involves serving cold noodles alongside a hot broth for dipping and seasoning, rather than the traditional combined method. Local restaurants, including Waraku in Japantown and Iza Ramen in SoMa, serve tsukemen-style ramen, but the variation is widely credited to Kazuo Yamagishi, who was reported to have first crafted it at the renowned Taishoken at age 17 in 1961.

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And now, Taishoken is bringing their famous dish from Tokyo to the Bay Area in late May, as Eater reports.

Through the decades, the ramen company has stayed in the family, and is now run by CEO (and ramen chef) Yoshihiro Sakagachi, who is both a relative of Yamagishi and the grandson of the Taishoken founder Masayasu Sakaguchi.

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This Peninsula location won't be the only one in California as the company looks to expand west, but it will be the first. And to cater to local eaters, it will be slightly different than the Japanese flagship. Eater writes that the broth will taste a bit richer than its traditional, more vinegary counterpart in Asia, and will showcase locally grown ingredients.

Taishoken will open on East 4th Avenue in San Mateo later this month.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

