Menya Imamura — Restaurant in Tokyo

So glad that I didn't get in at Tsuta Michelin star ramen the first day I went. So Menya Imamura was my alternate ramen option.

The shop serves a solid bowl of creamy chicken broth ramen with either shoyu flavor or salt based for only 800 yen. The ramen accompanied by mushroom oil and grated ginger on the side which you can add in the soup to improve the taste. Very unique condiments for ramen but it works brilliantly well. To make your ramen experience even better, please add semi-cooked marinated egg (100 yen) I'm a loyal fan of those savory runny eggs.

While you sitting at the counter, you can watch the shop owner grilling chicken chashu right in front of you and that will increase your appetite immensely.

The creamy chicken soup taste complex, slightly smoky kick, rich and light at the same time. I don't understand how they pulled off this magical soup, it's absolutely crazy.. in a good way.

Chicken chashu may not sound exciting for many people, including me lol. I always support & preferred pork for ramen all the way. But chicken chashu from this shop was incredibly flavorful and literally melted in my mouth. It's a perfect example of simple ingredient elevated to the next level.

I would literally visit this shop at least once a week but unfortunately I don't get to stay that...

Affordable, delicious, and honestly the best chicken ramen I've had so far. My hobby is to keep comparing all the chicken ramen shops I've had back in Malaysia. The best chicken ramen I've tried in Malaysia was Michelin endorsed, straight from Japan, and the chef there was super particular about the pH of the water used for the broth. Even with that perfectionist high bar, this little shop in Sugamo beats it and worth to be endorsed by the Michelin.

The broth is super thick and flavorful, and they add minced onions that makes it taste insanely good. The grilled chicken slices are soft and juicy, and the mushroom pieces condiment really enhance the richness of the broth. Every bite just hits the spot.

The only small downside is that they grilled the chicken in the middle of the counter. The smoke and smell ends up sticking to your clothes. A minor annoyance, but the taste still makes it super worth it.

Overall this hands down the best chicken ramen I've had...

Before heading to Japan, we did the only logical thing: watched Tampopo to prepare ourselves for the art of ramen appreciation. So when we sat down at Menya Imamura, we followed the sacred 3 steps:

We contemplated the bowl. The broth, rich and layered, a blend of creamy Tori Paitan (creamy chicken broth) with Niboshi (dried sardine broth), With the tips of our chopsticks, we smoothed out the surface of the broth and caressed, to express affection. Finally, we nudged the tips of the chashu lovingly, the charcoal-grilled, sous vide-tender chicken melting into the broth.

Menya has yakitori roots, and you can taste that in the grilled depth of its chashu. The lemon-flavored ginger and oil-marinated mushrooms were a fun twist, offering flavor shifts. Def worth a visit if you're in this...