Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo | Menmen Kamezo
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo food and service ramen soup with soy bean sprouts spring onions and slice of roasted pork meat
Japanese restaurant in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo serves Hakata style ramen.
This is so called tonkatsu ramen, in which broth is based on pork.
Ramen restaurant Menmen Kamezo is located in Tokyo area called Jimbocho, famous from not expensive Japanese restaurants and book shops.
Because I and my friend we ate very good tempura in Jimbocho before, we wanted to try if ramen there is good too
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo | Menmen Kamezo- outlook
From outside Men men Kamezo looks rather modest.
The most flashy thing is very big yellow signboard over the entrance which informs about cheapest ramen served in this restaurant.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo outlook
Below is signboard with name of restaurant, yellow awning, red noren and lantern over the door and from the left side, there is ticket vending machine.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo outlook entrance to the restaurant
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo | Menmen Kamezo- how to order and pay
You will not find any photo menu in front of restaurant. Instead there are menus in Japanese. It may be small problem but if you care about less expensive lunch, you can buy bowl of ramen which costs 500 yen, so not expensive at all.
You can choose ramen with different toppings and depends what you choose, you pay, but in general prices are rather low.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo how to order and pay ticket vending machine menus with prices stick to machine
Names of ramen dishes and their prices are written on buttons of ticket vending machine, so you must just choose one, insert money inside of the machine and press the button.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo how to order and pay fbuttons with names and prices of dishes
Machine will produce ticket and (eventually) also change. Collect both.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo how to order and pay collecting of tickets and change
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo how to order and pay tickets with names of chosen dishes and change
When you enter to the restaurant, simply present the ticket to chef and he will know what kind of dish you want to eat.
My friend wanted more expensive ramen and he used 1000 yen bill, so he received not only ticket but change as well. I wanted to try just a bit from his portion.
We entered to the restaurant.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo | Menmen Kamezo- interior and atmosphere
There is not much space inside of restaurant. Customer area is very limited and only place you can seat is near counter.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo interior customers eating ramen
Customers can easily see kitchen and how ramen broth is boiling in very big pots.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo interior kitchen area pots with hot ramen broth
Kitchen is covered in metal and looks like kind of laboratory.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo interior kitchen area pot with boiling water for cooking ramen noodles
All looks very simple, not many decorations or fancy details, only useful things.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo interior kitchen area
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo interior kitchen area
This place looked a bit old fashion, very quiet and kind of deserted, maybe because it was almost end of lunch time?
For me it looked like not expensive diner for hard working people. No music, no talking, just eating. It is a very quiet place.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo | Menmen Kamezo- food and service
First thing we got when we took a sit was tap water. Tap water is for free.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo food and service restaurant's counter and glass of free tap water
My friend gave ticket to the chef and he started to prepare ramen.
First he poured broth. . Later he drained portion of noodles and add them to broth…
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo food and service preparation of ramen noodles
, later chef placed piece of roasted pork on the top of noodles’ hump and sprinkled chopped spring onions.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo food and service chef preparing bowl or ramen soup
When it was done, chef put bowl on counter and my friend could pick it up and start to eat. Service was rather fast.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo Menmen Kamezo food and service ramen soup with soy bean sprouts spring onions and slice of roasted pork meat
Ramen broth was quite fine, even if a bit too salty for me, but chef used Chinese noodles (chukame noodles), which are good for Chinese style noodle dishes, definitely not for ramen!
It was a bit strange.
And noodles were not cooked enough, too hard. It was for too much “al dente”.
But piece of pork was tasty together with spring onions.
At least something was very good. I felt a bit sorry, both for my friend who was disappointed and for chef who made not good ramen but was very kind for us. He gave me small bowl to try some ramen. It was very kind.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo | Menmen Kamezo- comments
Menmen Kamezo is not expensive and not bad looking place, but I can not say this is one of good ramen shops I ate in. Ramen was not very tasty even if price was moderate. A bit too salty broth and too hard noodles are not something I want to experience eating ramen. From the other hand I liked the kitchen looks and it was clean and quiet place, chef was very kind and pork meat very tasty.
It may be interesting for all ramen lovers to eat in Menmen Kamezo, because to appreciate really fine ramen it is good to try also “so so” tasting one.
From the other hand, an “accident” with too hard noodles may happen anytime, so I think we should give Menmen Kamezo a chance going there again.
After all, it is really one of the cheapest ramen shops in Tokyo.
Japanese Restaurants in Tokyo | Menmen Kamezo- additional information
• cheapest ramen costs 500- 570 yen per portion
• portion has usual size of ramen portions it means big
• smoking is allowed
• it is place to stay short time and just eat
• single customers are welcomed same as couples, groups may have problem with finding place to seat, it is small restaurant, or rather bar
• it is interesting place to eat mostly because of rustic, classical ramen shop look
• dishes are served by chef
• tap water and spices are for free
• restaurant is open from 11:30 am
• as off 2009-05-06
Category:Japanese Restaurant
