Mendokoro Ramenba — Restaurant in Muntinlupa

We have been wanting to try Mendokoro ramen for a while because we rarely visit the metro area, so we took the opportunity since it was close by.

Tried their gyoza (5 pcs, P290) I'd say it's "commercial"-sized. Tbh, I had better for the same price, maybe even cheaper. Good thing it was crunchy enough and juicy.

Shoyu ramen (P520) with aji tamago (P80) The pork was so good. It was tender, and it melted in your mouth - I felt like a baby. The broth was good at first, but as the temperature goes down, it becomes too overwhelming. I have high tolerance in umami and salt, pero nangati yung labi ko. It pains me to say na ang alat, grabe. However, the noodles were al dente, and I loved its texture. Aji tamago was creamy, and as an egg lover, I approve.

Miso ramen (P570) with aji tamago It lacked the 'comfort' that miso ramens have. It tasted alright at first, but as mentioned above, it became too salty and overwhelming eventually. Normally, miso broths have that certain quality similar to chicken noodle soup that sort of hugs and envelopes you. Mendokoro doesn't have that. But oh well, at least the pork was good.

Karaage (5 pcs, P495) Grabe, ang mahal! Although smaller in size, the karaage I had from an authentic Japanese restaurant was 100 times better and much, much cheaper. I liked the texture of the chicken meat, but all I could think about at the moment was how steep the prices were.

All in all, I'm just glad we were able to try it. Will I recommend it? Hmm, there are better...

Really great food! I've read some of the other reviews comparing it to other ramen places, but I'm not a big ramen fan, so this was my first time in a ramen restaurant of this caliber. The broth was so savory, the epitome of umami, and rich in ingredients.

The noodles surprised me as well, so tasty. They're probably cooked in a special stock or broth. This, combined with their al dente texture, made them a perfect complement to the broth, rather than just the staple carb that is their usual role. When I eat noodle dishes, whether ramen, mami, or a Chinese noodle soup, I usually eat less than half the noodles. But these made me breach my daily carb quota, even if I was subsequently unable to move for 15 minutes. Which brings me to another point – the dishes may be way above fast food budgets at an average of 400+ pesos, but they're very generously portioned. I recommend sharing if you're not that hungry.

The place looks quite small from the outside, but it's very efficiently spaced. Seating is at two long tables, one facing the kitchen and the other facing the window. You order first from the wall menu behind the cashier, pay your bill, and then wait to be seated. A note at the bottom of the wall menu warns groups that they might not be seated together initially.

Service is efficient, attentive, courteous, and knowledgeable. You are very loudly greeted upon arrival and departure, in the manner of many Japanese restaurants, so be forewarned if you're not...

AMBIENCE Establishment is across Omakase and what will be Atilla Meat Bar. It is limited seating just like their branch at Makati and you also Pay As You Order. We arrived shortly after opening time and there were few customers. Several minutes later, the branch started getting crowded but there was still lots of breathing room. We chose seats facing the window instead of the kitchen.

FOOD Shoyu Ramen was insanely umami with a sinfully delicious and tender pork belly, broth and noodles with a perfectly hard texture. Ebi Tonkotsu Ramen (off-menu) was just as umami with a generous serving of a variety of seafood. Broth was mind-blowing and the experience was like having several soupy shrimp heads. Aji Tamago oozed out nicely! It was like watching melted chocolate falling off a marshmallow, and it was actually served cold with a thick texture. Temperature didn't matter since I threw it into the hot broth.

SERVICE We were welcomed by loud greetings, a very familiar experience back at Japan and we really miss that! Staffers assisted us with our umbrellas since they didn't seem to have a rack nearby. While deciding on what to order, they offered us to try their off-menu Ebi Tonkotsu Ramen and the name, alone, sounded precious! So, we threw them a YES! Kudos for being very knowledgeable about the ingredients. Although the water pitcher was beside us already, a server was always ready to pour us H20. As we left, we still received the same loud and...