Menya Hanabi 🍜 – Irvine's Hidden Gem for Japanese Mazesoba!

Lately I’ve been eating alone a lot 🍚… and there’s something strangely comforting about having ramen, Chongqing noodles, poke, or malatang by yourself. It’s lonely… but also weirdly peaceful? 🥹 Tried this Japanese-style mazesoba (brothless noodle dish) in Irvine – and it did NOT disappoint! The shop shares a plaza with HeyTea and 99 Ranch 🧋, and Soma Boba is right across the street – perfect for a post-meal drink 😌 I ordered the Deluxe Maze Soba – which basically means it came with an extra soft-boiled egg 🥚 The default chashu is served in thick chunks, but you can also choose minced pork. I stuck with the chunks… but turns out the dish already comes with both! Lucky me 😂 What makes this noodle SO interesting: It’s loaded with scallions, garlic, chives, and a noticeable kick of white pepper 🌶️🧄🌿 The flavor isn’t overly salty – honestly, just perfectly balanced 👌 Went right after opening on a Wednesday noon – and it filled up FAST! There was already a waitlist when I left 🚀 Right before I finished, the server even offered me FREE rice to mix with the remaining sauce (classic mazesoba move!) – such great service 💯 (I was too full to take it… but the gesture was 👏) 📍 Menya Hanabi (Shared plaza with HeyTea & 99 Ranch) #IrvineEats #IrvineRamen #JapaneseNoodles #Mazesoba #SoloDining #IrvineFood #LARamen #ComfortFood #HiddenGem