Menya Musashi Ramen
A bowl so big, there are multiple meals within this meal. Menya Musashi serves one of the largest and most special bowls of ramen that I have encountered, featuring way more than the traditional broth and noodles.
Niten Ichiryu (Large)
Ratings
Broth
Noodles
Chashu
Egg
Toppings
Overall
Date of Visit: July 2018
What I Ordered: Niten Ichiryu (Large)
Cost: $19.00
Offers Extra Noodles: $2.50
Offers Extra Broth: $2.50
Notable Features: The menu has changed since opening, and this item is no longer offered.
Review
This place had its grand opening one week ago, and it seems to be poppin right now. Even thought they close at 10 pm, I am here at 9:20 and there is a significant wait. This place seems like they have their priorities straight. They specialize in ramen and tsukemen. You can choose one of the above with variations on the meet or toppings included. The only other items they have is different rice bowl dishes. But obviously we are here for one thing. Ramen. I waited for over 40 minutes. Now it’s go time. They have interesting bar seats that are not particularly comfortable. They actually have a back that leans back that you don’t expect, so you may think you are falling out of your seat.
-
If you love your broth rich and thick where it feels like it’ll clog your arteries, this is it. The soup has a deep brown non milky color, but one lick and you will immediately know that this is not for the feint of heart. The broth is rich, flavorful, salty, and full of pork flavor. It has that fantastic richness in flavor and texture without being milky in color. Very good.n text goes here
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The noodles are thick flat noodles with a lovely yellow color. However, they are quite plain in flavor and don’t have the firmness that I would prefer. They looked like they would be great noodles with hearty noodle flavor, but they are honestly rather quite plain in flavor. Unfortunately the noodles are not made in house, and it reflects in the taste. However, they certainly don’t take away from the other aspects of the bowl.
-
The broth is rocking the flavor show, and the noodles provide great texture. Despite the noodles individual shortcoming, these two work together as a pair to give quite the performance.
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If you ever want to bite into a block of rich, melt in your mouth, pork fatty flavor, boy do I got the food for you. Their chashu is actually three big blocks of kakuni which are braised blocks of pork belly. When kakuni is done well like this is, it is the pinnacle of fatty pork meat.
-
The egg is soft boiled perfectly with a deep orange yolk. It is marinated well and soaks up the saltiness of the broth. I love the texture of this egg and the way that the yolk is like a pudding. However, it seemed ever slightly salty.
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Why do the toppings get a 8/10? Because along with the green onions and seaweed, the bowl is served with home made bamboo shoots, and two pieces of pork katsu. Apparently the idea of the bowl and the restaurant is the concept of pairs. This bowl is actually a combo of ramen and pork katsu. So two decent sized pieces of pork katsu are served along with a small amount of dipping sauce. Then they also offer home made spicy garlic and home made fruit vinegar to add to the broth if one desires. The high cost of the bowl is reflected through the quality and quantity of the ingredients.
Overall: 8/10
Would most certainly recommend. What makes this ramen shop so great? It is the dangerously thick soup, with excellent ingredients made in house. The broth is prepped and stewed for over 8 hours each day. All the ingredients from the Japanese imported bamboo shoots and fat pork belly is prepared in house and the quality of home made items shows. The focus of the broth is to provide that rich almost gravy like texture and flavor background. The noodles were unfortunately nothing special, but did pair great with the broth. The kakuni chashu is something special. You are given two to three chunks, and I mean chunks, of rich, fatty pork belly. This is really soft in your mouth and is great for those who love pork belly that melts. The bowl doesn’t stop there. It includes egg that is cooked wonderfully, and pork katsu to top it off. I walked into the restaurant hungry, and struggled to finish the large bowl. It is quite a lot, and you certainly get your money’s worth in quantity. If you are like me, and eat the broth with everything, including by itself, then you may run out of broth, as there is so much else going on in the bowl. Everything was great and nothing was lacking. As you progress towards the end, everything does become salty. This was a great bowl of ramen, and I’d love to come back and try their tsukemen.
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