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2013-05-04
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Menya's tsukumen ramen $14.90 is rather unusual in the sense that the noodles are served au naturel or "kosong" in Malay, separately from the broth. At Menya, the ramen is served at a standard tasting portion of 120g which is like a kid portion but they allow diners to upsize their ramen portion by up to a whopping 5x! Due to their strict policy of "no sharing" and "no takeaway", most diners would opt for 2x 120g though those with huge appetites may opt for 3x 120g ramen portion. The upsize is s
Menya's tsukumen ramen $14.90 is rather unusual in the sense that the noodles are served au naturel or "kosong" in Malay, separately from the broth. At Menya, the ramen is served at a standard tasting portion of 120g which is like a kid portion but they allow diners to upsize their ramen portion by up to a whopping 5x! Due to their strict policy of "no sharing" and "no takeaway", most diners would opt for 2x 120g though those with huge appetites may opt for 3x 120g ramen portion. The upsize is strictly for the ramen only and does NOT apply to the soup or toppings/other ingredients.The tsukumen ramen was topped by four 0.5cm thick slices of marbled chashu, bamboo shoots, half egg and plenty of shredded scallions (see photo). It was accompanied by half a bowl of broth and they charge another $3 for another half bowl of soup. The included portion of soup seems adequate only for the regular 120g ramen portion so I guess the trick here is to let you upsize your ramen but not really free since you need to pay extra for the soup. Based on menu instructions the way to eat the tsukumen ramen is to dip them into the soup. Unfortunately the accompanying broth was way too runny or diluted to be used as a dipping sauce. IMHO Menya should serve concentrated broth similar to the consistency of lor mee gravy with their tsukumen ramen so that the broth is thick enough to coat each strand of ramen evenly.
I ended up mixing small portions of ramen and shredded scallions into the small bowl of broth. The result of doing this is that the broth had cooled down to room temperature when I was only half way through my ramen. So I had to order another portion of soup. Anyway I find Menya's food rather overrated. The soup was not that great - it was not really flavourful and the dominant taste was saltiness rather than meaty.
Service was attentive and brisk. However the restaurant was too dark and uninviting, with the dated stark black decor and dim lighting. Casual restaurants should be bright instead of resembling a dark, sleazy karaoke lounge.
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