It's Getting Hot In Here (Tajima)

Last week it was a gajillion degrees out, so naturally, I decided it'd be a genius idea to eat soup. Does it make more sense when I tell you I was already in the area and I got to use a coupon? Either way, I went to Tajima Noodle House for lunch because I wanted to avoid the dinner crowds that this place seems to always have. With good prices, a 10% dinner discount for students and a 10% discount for lunch, plus late night hours, I totally get why there's always a wait. 

I'm a pretty big noob when it comes to Japanese cuisine, but I wanted to get an appetizer and figured the Agedashi Tofu ($3.95) would be a safe (and healthy) bet. 

The tofu was.. okay. I liked the broth that it was in, but the tofu itself was pretty bland. Shoulda known. I also had no idea what the white stuff was on top of the tofu, which was even more tasteless than the tofu itself. Maybe it was there for texture purposes? 

What's cool about the ramen is that you get to customize your order. You choose between a thin or fat noodle, 5 soup flavors (soy sauce, salt, miso, tajima original-tonkotsu, or curry) and a variation of toppings. 

J got the fat noodles with miso soup and tofu ($7.95).  

He seemed to enjoy it, but noted that the noodles were a bit too chewy for his liking. I didn't mind either way. I got almost the same thing as J, except mine was the Mabo Tofu ($8.95), which came with extra ground pork and spicy gravy sauce. 

 

I loved the egg with the partially cooked yolk, and found myself trying to save it for last. Fun fact of the day: growing up, I used to think tofu and egg were the same thing, until I realized what my grandma was steaming on the stove was in fact eggs. The extra pork in the ramen was good, but I found myself getting kinda sick of it by the time I got near the bottom of the bowl. 

I've never had ramen in any other establishment besides Tajima (because obviously the creamy chicken Maruchan ramen doesn't count), but I was really into the soup spoons.

That's such a clever idea! Maybe other ramen places do this with their spoons, too? 

I'll have to revisit Tajima when it's actually cold out (cold in San Diego= anything less than 70 degrees), but if you're thinking about going anytime soon, be sure to get the yelp deal, which offers $10 for $15 worth of food there. 


Tajima 
4681 Convoy St, Ste I
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 576-7244