Spice Ramen Manriki — Restaurant in Tokyo

If you're after delicious spicy ramen, you're looking at the right place!! The restaurant has limited counter seats and is very popular with locals, so there is normally a short line to join. The 15-20 wait will be well worth it.

Once inside, you place your order via a vending machine (all text is in Japanese, yet one of the friendly staff will assist you to select your order with limited English) Your tickets will pop out, hand these to a member of staff. This process is a cool experience in itself!

Tip: Order a 'special' with leek/onion and 'side pork'

Need to know: There is no 'no spice' option here, however, the base spice...

It was recommended to me by a random person I was chatting with at a bar.. Super spicy they said.. Nope, mild! I guess if I'd ordered extra spicy which was clearly marked on the self ordering station it would have delivered, but I thought it wod have been great out of the box.. Second gripe, The sauce felt very "traditional", lots of pork fat swimming around in the sauce.. It was tasty, but I wonder how much it really added as I've tasted good ones that didn't have so much fat..

To conclude, it was an award winner in 2014, TRY award which stands for Tokyo Ramen of the Year..

It was ok and I would buy again, but don't...

Pictured is the スパイス・特製ラー麺 / spice tokusei ramen .

(ig @wei.oframen to follow my ramen adventure 🫡)

While reading up on Kikanbo, I saw a nearby shop in Akihabara called Manriki. After some research, this is their main branch in Nishi-Kasai and apparently, the master trained at Kikanbo too. If I'm being honest, I still have mixed feelings about this bowl. It was unique but at the same time, I'm not too fond of this spice combination. I really like how they wok-tossed the spice mix before adding it to the bowl, giving it a slightly charred flavor. The broccoli and cilantro also really help cut through the greasiness...