We visited Mugi to Mensuke (麦と麺助), located in Nakatsu area of Osaka. It’s currently one of the most popular ramen shops in the city. I’ve heard that there’s usually a long line before the shop opens. When we arrived one hour before opening time on a weekday, there were already people waiting in front, and by the time the shop opened, there were about 40 people in line.
They are located underneath National Highway Route 423. If you’re heading there from Nakatsu Station, you’ll pass in front of Yashichi (弥七), another popular ramen shop.
Inside, there’s an L-shaped counter with 13 seats. The interior resembles a fancy Japanese restaurant, with vermilion-colored trays and a plain wooden counter. The seat intervals are spacious, making it comfortable to sit. (Especially since I’m left-handed😊)
They offer two types of ramen: Kyo-Jidori chicken broth ramen (京地どりのまろやか醤油) and Iriko ramen (イリコそば). “Iriko” refers to dried sardines, and both soups are based on soy sauce. On Saturdays during dinner, they also serve duck ramen.
Kyo-jidori chicken based shoyu ramen with ajitama comes with roast pork cooked medium-rare, menma (bamboo shoots), meatballs, and a soft-boiled egg. The presentation was beautiful. The noodles are made from flour from Hokkaido, which added a unique flavor to the dish. The soup is made from a stock of Kyo-Jidori chicken and Nagoya cochin, and although there was some fat floating on the surface, the soup wasn’t greasy at all. Instead, it had a pleasant sweetness from the chicken fat, balanced by the sharp taste of soy sauce.
The roast pork was incredibly tender, and I honestly wished for more slices.
The addition of yuzu (a citrus fruit) added a refreshing note to the dish. The menma was soft and the half-boiled egg was perfect.
This is Iriko ramen. The soup for this ramen is transparent and made with Ibuki Iriko (a type of precious dried sardine). You might think this is a shio (salt) ramen because of its appearance, but it actually contains soy sauce, making it a shoyu ramen. The flavor of the sardine was mild and pleasant. The dish comes with three slices of roast pork and a meatball.
If you still have room for rice, I highly recommend this grilled roast pork bowl. The portion isn’t large, so if you come with an empty stomach, you’ll be able to enjoy it with your ramen. The bowl is packed with juicy slices of roast pork.
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Name Mugi to Mensuke (麦と麺助)
Open Lunch, Dinner
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