I know this overseas trip was a while back but we had such great meals that I just couldn’t not publish these stories. Finding a restaurant in Tokyo is not an easy experience, the addresses make no sense in relation to street signs and the easiest thing to do is ask a passerby or if you happen to see a Police station (Koban) they’re best to ask. So when we emerge from Aoyama Itchome train station and have no idea where to go, the nearby friendly neighbourhood Police point out the way-of course they know Menya Musashi ramen. We follow their instructions to the ramen restaurant with the tell tale blue curtains and Japanese writing on the outside.
You know that you’re in a slightly different ramen restaurant when you walk in and hear reggae music playing and there’s a team of young cool tattooed guys at the helm whilst the patrons themselves are a range of ages. It’s full and there are 4 people waiting for a seat. As most ramen restaurants, they’re not a linger and savour kind of place, within a few minutes, everyone that was waiting is seated.
We however are standing in front of the vending machine looking confused. My very limited Japanese can only read a few things (in Katakana and Hiragana) so we do what we always do in this situation, either order what the person before us ordered or just press a random number. Ramen is between Y750-1200. We hand the tickets to the goateed guy behind the counter and he asks if we want the soup “Kotteri-aji” (thick or heavier) or “Assari-aji” (thin or simple). We choose thick as that seems to be what everyone else is ordering.
Examining the ramen for “doneness”
The show is definitely on the floor where one of the gumbooted guys carefully extracts one single strand of ramen, pulls on it gently and examines it carefully for “doneness” before inevitably putting it back in the pot. Once done, he takes out the basket of ramen from the boiling water and then shakes the excess water onto the floor with a deft flick onto the floor producing a clapping or slap sound several times until the ramen is ready.
Menma (bamboo shoots)
We receive the bamboo shoots first, simmered in a lightly sweet soy stock.
Ramen Y820
Ramen Y750
Our ramen bowls arrive, mound of yellow ramen with sliced spring onion, tiny dried prawns and veges. They look very similar except one has a soy sauce boiled egg in it. The ramen is good and firm, slightly thicker than the ramen at Ryo’s (which I confess I still prefer) and the thin large slice of pork is gorgeously soft.
Chili sauce
I add some chili sauce and find myself doing a good job of finishing these noodles (I usually can’t eat a whole bowl). It’s restorative and soothing in the heat.
We leave to go to Harajuku to have a look at the “show” of Cos-Play-Zoku costumed people. Perhaps it’s the heat or the time of day but there are only a few girls in their outfits. I seem to recall the area being full of them. Indeed there are almost more people taking photos of them.
And for the Arrested Development fans amongst us, we found a Never Nude!
As well as a bank that should probably rethink their name…
Menya Musashi Ramen
2-3-8 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Aoyama Itchome stattion
Tel: 03-3796-8634
Open: Monday-Saturday 11:30am-3:30pm, 5:00pm-9:30pm
Sunday 11:00am-9:00pm
Address shown on below Google map is not accurate
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22 Comments | Add your own
I LOOOOVE ramen. My most favorite is Sapporo tonkotsu-miso.. but this looks pretty good too
PS- I’d love to do Tokyo with you one day!
I so want to go back to Japan for these sorts of experiences once more. Shame about Harajuku being somewhat on the quiet side. Shame about the current exchange rate too, though hopefully it wasn’t so bad when you were over there.
I love ramen! Lucky you for getting authentic noodles too.
There’s a couple ramen houses here in Vancouver, and chances are they will have lineups out the door for them, any time of year!
Hi NQN, I’m a fan of your entries and very fond of your blog. But something’s been bugging me…It was enough to make me stop lurking and actually post a comment! Hehehe…
I saw a comment of yours on another food blogger (chocolatesuze’s) post regarding not getting freebies.
It generated quite a bit of reactions, discussions and retorts. What are your thoughts on the responses? What it a misunderstanding…?
-a dedicated NQN reader, and still am
With the exchange rate, I think Ramen is the only place I could afford to eat if I were to go there… not that I’d be complaining of course!
A pity about Harajuku, the name of the bank made me laugh.
Oooh, that’s a real bowl of ramen right there!
DH’s favourite food… Next time you’re in Japan you’ll have to try and make it out here to inaka Kagawa (Shikoku) and try the famed Sanuki udon! Love that the ‘Never Nude’ isn’t wearing any undies!
What a fun post! I’ve never been to Japan – it must have been such an interesting experience! Love those noodles.
Sounds like a great adventure. I’ve never been to an Asian country. Do you travel for business or pleasure?
Japppaannn whheeeeee ^^! Rammmeeenn yuuummmm! That sure looks goooddd!
This looks interesting! I’ve never watched them cook ramen but I doubt theyd do it like this here. Must be real experts in it!
Ordering what the person before you got is a clever idea. It’s just like following the traffic to go through a detour.
Never nude – LOL!
That soup looks just wonderful. Such a great post. You travel to such exotic places while my latest post is on mall food court hot dogs
Thanks for taking the time to share with us all.
Hi Kathy-Mmm yes Tonkotsu is awesome! Iloved how you could get the soup served thin or thick
That would be great!
Hi Simon-I can’t help but keep going back to Japan, I adore it there and there’s so much to see and do. Yes the current exchange rate is not great. When we went it was great. About $1AU for Y100JPY which made things so inexpensive!
Hi Jessica-Wow, they sound popular. I can definitely imagine huge lineups when it’s cold. It’s so nice and warming
Hi tasho-Thanks for your comment
I had no idea that was going on and they decided to take a little comment and make so much out of it. To be honest, I didn’t mean much by it and find it disheartening that they’ve decided to attribute all of those negative (and inaccurate) connotations to me. To me I was simply disappointed that I went to Boon only a couple of weeks before they did and they knew I was a blogger and I got different treatment. I think most people would be disappointed if they had been in the same situation. I wasn’t demanding freebies at all.I think most people would be a bit disappointed that they didn’t get anything if they were in the same situation.
I think it’s interesting that they’re all non bloggers that say this. We food bloggers blog for the love of it and freebies are things that we very occasionally get and when we do they are very welcomed. Some bloggers (that I won’t name) feel that we should get all our meals for free and some happily write for money or in exchange for money. I don’t necessarily agree with either of these bloggers but that’s their opinion and they can do what they want. I suppose it’s because we spent a lot of money writing our blog and if we are offered just one thing occasionally, it’s something that we are all grateful for. As for discussing my integrity, that is quite insulting. I didn’t change my story on Boon at all nor did I even think about it. I still think their chocolates are great, however given all of the fabulous chocolatiers though in Sydney I’d choose to go to Zumbo or Colefax and that is my personal choice as I prefer both of them for both service and chocolates.
I think some people may be determined to cast a negative light on something fairly innocent that you say, to me it’s a misinterpretation. I’m glad you’re still a reader and as for those 2 or 3 people, it’s their choice if they don’t want to read me but to me it comes out of a complete misunderstanding of me and what I said. Also, the internet is a pretty ideal environment for misinterpretation to occur and I find it odd that they’ve taken a few lines and written a whole script out of it instead of just asking me to clarify like you did
Hi Cappucino-LOL yes it’s pretty dire at the moment for the AUD!
Hi The Duo Dishes-It sure is!
Hi Angela-Oh cool, thanks for the recommendation! Hehe yes no undies but a shirt for modesty!
Hi 5 Star Foodie-Thankyou!
Japan is one of the most interesting countries to visit. Even after living there and visiting, I feel like I’ve sill only tapped the surface 
Hi Barbara-Oh really? Well Japan is one of my favourites although it is quite different from other asian countries. We travel for both business and pleasure
Hi FFichiban-Hehe your favourite cuisine right?
Hi Diamond Lil-Yeah I’ve never seen them cook like this either. I think they are from the way they were examining the ramen!
Hi Arwen-It’s sometimes risky (if they have odd taste) but it usually works out well
Hi. Christie-Are you another AD fan?
Hi Beth-Aww thanks! Still, you’ve got a great blog and it’s all about Buffalo so that makes sense
Looks like a great restaurant. I love eating in Japan. Actually I love almost everything about traveling in Japan but the food is a highlight of the experience. We don’t usually eat anything very elaborate but a simple meal is not difficult to find and is very satisfying. I also love Japanese breakfasts. I wish I had plans in place to go there again!
I saw a whole bunch of those goths when I was a teenager visiting Tokyo. It was pretty exciting for me to see all of them. That ramen guy with the goatee looks really cool too.
the only thing i know of bamboo shoots is that they’re jammed under a person’s fingernails as a form of torture. yeah, i think i’d prefer to eat them.
Wow, great pictures Lorraine! My favourites of this post is probable the one of the guy pouring the soup into the bowl and of the Y820 bowl of ramen. Great use of lighting!
Very nice ramen presentation you had there. The shots were simply mouth watering. I believe that is a form of shoyu ramen right?
Nice blog! I enjoy the variety of your posts with reviewing eateries, baking, cooking & also overseas eateries/sights ^^
btw,
the name of the bank is actually korean, which means “Us”/”Our”/”My”= translating essentially to “My Bank”
Hi Lisa-Me too, I never get sick of the food as it’s so varied. I agree even the simple stuff is so lovely!
Hi Brianna-Yes I seem to remember seeing a lot more when I lived there. Perhaps it was the super hot day!
Hi grace-Haha you know I never really thought of it that way!
Hi Christine-Thankyou so much! Hubby took those, he can shoot great pics in darkish light
Hi Grentone-Thanks!
I think it was shoyu ramen but the thick version
Hi fish4wish-Thankyou so much
Variety is the spice of life they say 
Ahhh cool, now that makes sense about the bank name!
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