Gwangjin ramen after a Japan trip: spicy shoyu chili at Mentsuru

A Korean restaurant that fully cured my Japan-ramen cravings?

Where is Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch and how do you order?

Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch sits right in front of Exit 4 of Children's Grand Park Station, less than a minute's walk away, so it was really easy to find, haha. You order at the kiosk near the entrance, but since there's also a mini kiosk at every table, it was nice to grab a seat first and browse the menu at leisure.

I'd gone to Japan not too long ago, and I couldn't stop thinking about the ramen I ate there. So while looking for date spots around Konkuk University, I found this ramen place in the Children's Grand Park area and went straight there!

The signature dishes are the spicy shoyu ramen and the motsu ramen, but there's also abura soba (mixed ramen), hormone-don (beef intestine rice bowl), gyudon, and plenty of other rice bowls and side dishes—so many good options it was hard to choose.

The real deal: comedian Moon Sang-hoon has eaten at Mentsuru

After ordering, I liked the vibe of the place so I looked around a bit, and it turns out Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch was visited by Moon Sang-hoon of the YouTube channel Padeoneoseu! I used to watch his channel because he takes food so seriously, so seeing his signature there gave me a lot of confidence in the place.

Inside Mentsuru: dining room and solo-dining seats

Inside, Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch is done up in brown tones that radiate Japanese ambience, and the layout wrapping around the kitchen made me think of my Japan trip even more. There are standard 4-person tables set up, plus seats for solo diners. The tables are spaced widely apart, so it never felt crowded—very clean and comfortable.

We ordered takoyaki, spicy shoyu ramen, and motsu ramen (beef offal ramen), and I'll walk you through each one and how they tasted!

Spicy shoyu ramen: always add the free cheongyang chili

Mentsuru's spicy shoyu ramen has a shoyu (soy sauce) base with a generous pile of meat on top of the noodles. The broth has a nice kick, so it wasn't greasy at all—delicious! Cheongyang chili is one of the free add-ons, and I definitely recommend adding it! The sharp chili aroma made the flavor even more vivid.

There's a subtle sweetness running through it, probably from the onions mixed in, and it really tasted like the salty-sweet ramen I had in Japan. The soft-boiled tamago (egg) tucked in there might seem minor, but it was actually a highlight—how is this yolk so jelly-soft and smooth?! Japanese ramen noodles can sometimes taste too floury and heavy, but these had none of that—just a springy texture that kept me slurping bowl after bowl.

Motsu ramen (beef offal ramen) with genuinely no gamey smell

Next up was the motsu ramen (beef offal ramen). Ah… this is one of the best ramens I've had in Korea. Usually in Korea, restaurants tone down the saltiness or intensity to suit Korean palates, but if you've traveled to Japan, you know real Japanese ramen broth is properly salty.

A spicy broth loaded with green onion, cheongyang chili, and a mountain of beef offal—the look alone is no joke, right? Dishes with intestines can sometimes have a gamey or fishy smell, so I don't usually take the risk, but the photo looked so good I ordered it anyway, and honestly, without exaggeration, there was zero gamey smell. None at all! What was left was just the chewy texture and rich, savory flavor. If you're someone who already likes offal, you'll love this—highly recommend.

Takoyaki as a side: does it go with Mentsuru's ramen?

Last but not least, they had takoyaki as a side!! I'd been going on and on about takoyaki even during our Japan trip, to the point that my partner Purple got tired of hearing about it—so of course I couldn't resist when I saw a Korean ramen shop selling takoyaki as a side dish.

From the ginger placed beside it to the chopped green onion on top, I had to wonder—did the owner study in Japan? From the moist batter to the generous chunks of octopus, it went great alongside the ramen.

Craving Japanese ramen in Seoul? Mentsuru cured it

That's my visit to Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Station Branch, the ramen spot near Konkuk University. With such a wide variety of ramen dishes and an atmosphere good enough to make you feel like you're back in Japan, if you've come back from a Japan trip with a serious case of ramen cravings like me, I hope Mentsuru cures you too. Ah, I've caught a case of Mentsuru-ramen cravings now... If you're looking for a ramen spot near Konkuk University, start with Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Station Branch!