It has been almost half a year since I have updated this Ramen Walker blog. Sorry for those of you who are looking forward to some updates!
Since late last year, I am fortunate enough to relocate to the land of ramen for work! Rather than reporting on ramen in Singapore, I'll be writing about my ramen adventure in Japan.
My first ramen expedition brings me to Menya Musashi Kanzan (麺屋武蔵 神山) at Kanda, Tokyo.
Menya Musashi is a one of the major families of ramen stores that started in Shinjuku in 1998. Named after a legendary swordsman in the Edo era Miyamoto Musashi, most of the stores have a Japanese styled decor. Disciples of the founder graduates from training at the main outlet, and then set up their own ramen stores in different parts of Japan under the brand Menya Musashi. This is called the Noren Wake (のれん分け) system, a system practiced since the Edo era for various types of businesses. Something like an old franchise system! This store "Kanzan" that I went to is one of those noren wake stores of Musashi.
I ordered the signature Kanzan Ramen (神山らーめん, 1000yen).
The part of this ramen that stands out the most is its char siew. The two large blocks of char siew stood out deliciously, covering almost half of the bowl. The outside is slightly burnt and crispy, and the meaty part is tender and soft. Taking a closer look...
Sitting at the counter, I observed how they prepared it. Pre-cook pork belly blocks are put under a salamander grill (overhead grill) for a few minutes before it is taken out and cut into big blocks. This is how they achieve the effect of the crispy char siew skin. It was good!
The soup is a a mix of fish and animal soups, faithful to its Musashi roots. Other toppings include a whole runny tamago, seaweed, and a handful of menma and leek.
The shop also provides black & white pepper in a grinder, as well as chilli & spice powder as additional seasoning for the noodles. I personally prefers the black & white pepper - the freshly grinded pepper gives the noodle a lovely scent.
The soup was good that I finished until the last drop!
Looking forward to my next bowl of good ramen in Japan!
Ramen Data - Menya Musashi Kanzan
Address: 3-7-8 Uchikanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Types: Tsuke-men and Ramen in animal/seafood double soup
Rating: 8.5/10
Address: 3-7-8 Uchikanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Types: Tsuke-men and Ramen in animal/seafood double soup
Rating: 8.5/10
