Address: Kyoto Station (10th floor in "Ramen Alley")
Website: http://www.menya-iroha.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner
After visiting Japan, I’ve learnt two things about the beloved bowl of ramen:
1.
In
Japan, they consider these to be “Chinese” noodles as some believe it
originated from China’s hand-pulled noodles, whereas in Canada, we describe
ramen as “Japanese”. In reality, the more traditional Japanese noodles are soba
and udon; and
2.
The
different soup bases are actually linked to different regions in Japan with
miso being popular in Hokkaido, tonkotsu developed in Kyushu and black (dark
soy) from Toyama.
With so many
regions it feels impossible to try them all. Luckily, the 10th floor
of Kyoto Station consolidates eight restaurants into Ramen Koji or Ramen Alley.
Most are outposts of popular ramen chains from across Japan. My husband and I
ventured to the floor and found each set-up similarly – with a vending machine
order system out front and a series of tables / bars seats making up the dining
room.
After doing a
full circle, we ended up choosing Menya Iroha as it didn’t have a line-up but
still seemed busy. I’ll admit, the big poster of Iron Chef Chen also caught our
eye even though we couldn’t understand what it was advertising. Something that’s endorsed by an Iron Chef
must be good right? Upon doing some research afterwards, it turns out Menya won
best ramen in the Tokyo Ramen competition for the last few years with their
black ramen… hence their bragging rights.
Alas, I didn’t realize this was their specialty and after
purchasing a combo of ramen, rice and gyoza (¥1,150) and being asked whether I wanted “white” or “black”,
I naturally went with white as I prefer salt based soup over soy. Had I known their crown jewel was the black
ramen I would have ordered it – my husband did and said it was delicious.
Having been
use to the smaller bowls of noodles served previously, we were surprised with
the large size presented to us about ten minutes later. Topped with tons of Japanese
scallions, bamboo shoots, a soft boiled egg, two slices of pork, three dried
shrimp and a sheet of nori there was a lot of food to get through. The noodles are
thinner & softer and the broth more watery than the springy noodle with
thick soup combination I’ve become accustomed to in Toronto. I personally
prefer the noodles to be more al dante, but enjoyed the broth as it wasn’t as
heavy so I could have more of it with the ramen. The slices of pork were
marbled to a bacon like consistency and so tender that it just flaked off. If
only everything was hotter this would have been one of the better bowls I’ve
had in my life.
Alas, I only had a bite of the rice as I couldn’t even finish the noodles. Luckily, I wasn’t missing much as it’s pretty average - sticky rice with sprinkles of sesame seeds and very hard pieces of dried seaweed. After adding some broth into a spoon with the rice and seaweed it did help rehydrate things and make it more appetizing.
The gyozas also
needed more heat. But, I still loved the lightness of the wrapper and flavourful
crust on the bottom; these wrapper didn’t get hard and rubbery as some can get
once it’s been sitting out for a while. The simple pork and chive filling was pretty
tame so a bit of soy sauce and chili oil was needed to give it the right
flavour.
Menya Iroha’s
dining space is quite small but has a fair number of counters and four top
tables, each equipped with a pitcher of ice water and condiments. If you are
looking for a quick and inexpensive meal, this is the place for you. We were in
and out in less than half an hour and couldn't finish our meal with their hefty
portion sizes. For the price it was a great quality and very satisfying. If you can’t make it to Japan, Menya
also has an outpost in LA which may be a bit easier to get to.
Overall mark - 7 out of 10
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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
