Gwangjin ramen shop, pork belly chashu tori paitan: Mentsuru

I arrived at Mentsuru to eat some famous ramen 🍜 near Children's Grand Park.

How to reach Mentsuru from Children's Grand Park Station, and first impressions

Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch (멘츠루 어린이대공원점) is on the 1st floor of 394 Gwangnaru-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Standing in front, the simple signage was the first thing I noticed, and thanks to the full glass windows you can see straight inside — the clean, tidy interior made a good impression.

What we ordered at Mentsuru: basic and spicy tori paitan

Mentsuru has all kinds of menu items besides ramen — last time at the City Hall branch I had gyudon (beef rice bowl) and it was great. Today we decided on ramen, and choosing among the ramen types was honestly not easy 🥹 but I was craving a rich broth, so I went with tori paitan and added chashu as an extra topping.

Tori paitan is a milky-white broth ramen made by simmering chicken bones and meat for a long time. Mentsuru's tori paitan felt like the textbook version — rich and creamy. Time to prepare to stuff myself again.

I ordered the basic flavor to taste the broth itself, and added pork belly chashu and soft-boiled egg as toppings. The broth looked as rich and creamy as expected, but I was surprised by how clean and light it actually tasted.

(This one's what my girlfriend ordered.) She usually likes spicy food and figured the basic broth might be a bit greasy, so she went with the spicy version. Adding that fiery kick gave it a different charm from the basic flavor — the kind you only really understand once you've tried it.

Standard chashu vs the extra pork belly chashu at Mentsuru

The chashu that comes standard with Mentsuru's tori paitan seemed to be a different cut than what I've had elsewhere. The texture was tender with little fat, so it tasted light — maybe this one actually pairs better with the ramen?

They placed onion on top of the spoon, probably for the texture. Dipping it briefly in the broth before eating gives it a crunchy bite that I personally really liked.

Here's the extra pork belly chashu topping. Unlike the standard chashu, this one had more of a chew to it — not tough, but with that satisfying feeling of actually chewing meat, which I liked. Since it has some fat on it, it was really savory, and since the surface seemed to be torched, it had a smoky char that balanced everything out nicely.

I wondered if it might be too greasy, but since the ramen itself was spicy, it never felt heavy. If anything, it brought out the ramen's flavor even more, so I'd personally recommend the pork belly chashu topping.

The soft-boiled egg, and rice at no extra charge

You can't leave out the soft-boiled egg when it comes to ramen. I love soft-boiled egg so much that I always add it as a topping whenever I eat ramen. Some places season theirs a bit too strongly, but Mentsuru's soft-boiled egg had the seasoning just right.

Eating my way through the broth, I started craving rice. The rice came with no extra charge. I like mine a little cooled down, so I ordered it early and let it sit before finishing my broth. If you're a serious eater, you can never give up mixing rice into leftover ramen broth!

The most important part of any ramen is, of course, the noodles. Maybe because they're house-made fresh noodles, they held the broth so well that I found myself unable to stop bringing my chopsticks back for more.

Inside Mentsuru: solo bar seats and tables for groups

The bar seats are great for solo diners — you get to watch the ramen being made in the kitchen, which is fun and even feels a bit like being in Japan, so it's also a seat I enjoy on dates.

But there are also separate group tables, so it looks like a good spot to visit with a bigger group too.

Mentsuru, a famous ramen restaurant near Children's Grand Park, has bar seating for solo diners and tables for couples and families, along with well-executed ramen and a varied menu. With both price and taste covered, Mentsuru works well for eating alone or on a date — I highly recommend a visit if you're looking for good ramen near Children's Grand Park.