Tan Tan Ramen

With so many ramen shops to choose from in Okinawa, there’s a lot of competition to make the noodle soup not just tasty, but distinct.

Tan Tan’s does this with their spicy tan tan soup, a mix of creamy sesame and hot chili oil, which can be ordered at three different spice levels, or without spice.

Level 1 has quite a kick, but isn’t so hot that you can’t taste the other soup flavors. Level 2 bites more immediately than Level 1, and we have yet to brave the fiery Level 3.Each level costs a little extra, similar to Coco’s Curry, as do additional ingredients, such as onion, egg, or pork. The staff at Tan Tan’s are quite familiar with the sinus-clearing effects of their signature dish, and now supply patrons with tissue boxes on all the tables. We’ve heard it’s rude to blow your nose in public in Japan (though it’s okay to ceaselessly sniffle away), but perhaps in this case it’s an exception.

Other ramen flavors are also available, including soy, miso, and paitan (pork soup base). Different sets include ramen and sides of gyoza dumplings, fried chicken pieces, or other dim sum. We recommend the shumai, round, fried dumplings wrapped in a crispy rice wrapper and filled with pork, onion, and other veggies. Shumai come in plates of three, six, or a whopping eighteen dumplings. The fried rice is also pretty good if you don’t feel like ramen.

The prices at Tan Tan’s are quite reasonable, considering the bowls of soup could easily feed two; larger sets are typically ¥880, not including the extra spice. Kids’ sets start at ¥500. We doubt you’ll have room for dessert after a meal at Tan Tan’s, but just in case, there’s Blue Seal ice cream if your mouth needs a bit of relief from the spicy soup, plus gelatin and fun candies and snacks at the register when you pay.