カルグクス
"The Best Ten generation suddenly rushes to my mind with old songs, and I also sometimes have an intense craving for things I used to eat in the past. For example, I wanted to eat tsukemen (dipping noodles) at a place in Seizo called Dohtonbori on the Kawagoe Kaido before it moved. I used to go there for years. When I arrived, the restaurant was packed, and I had to wait outside. As I waited, a man went in ahead of me, buying his meal ticket in front of the ticket machine, and I felt quite anxious. I wondered if buying a meal ticket and then joining the line was the norm. Eventually, he stood behind me, and I felt relieved when a female staff member said, 'Customers go ahead, right?' I felt relieved.
Unlike the previous time, it seemed that tonight's customers were not the usual regulars who were always chatty with the staff. Communication with regulars is important if it doesn't affect the service, but I strongly felt that it's not so pleasant for first-time customers. It's not a ramen shop but more like an izakaya (Japanese pub) atmosphere. In fact, most of the seats were taken by regulars, and my mother, who used to come with me regularly, visited a few months ago and seemed to have sensed that. I wonder what kind of reaction people would have if they heard that there are certain people who can't sit at certain counter seats.
I ordered the same old thing, tsukemen with egg and wakame topping. It's a bit more expensive now due to the higher cost of living, but there's nothing as delicious as the wakame from Naruto in Dotonbori. However, I've been trying out rich seafood tsukemen recently, so now, even without diluting the soup, I can finish the light dipping broth in Dotonbori, and it seems a bit unsatisfying. When I think about it, the way people's tastes change over time is scary. The taste itself hasn't changed, I confirmed that. The condition of the soup at different times can be challenging.
The silver lining is being able to see the face of the owner, Mr. Shoji, who I apologize for not being in a position to comment on people anymore, but I can see that he is getting older year by year. Please stay healthy. I also wanted to eat gyoza, but it was already sold out by 8:00 PM. The marinated chashu appetizer was perfect with beer."
Note: The translation may not capture the nuances of the original text, but it conveys the general meaning.