Hanam Misa ramen after a lake park stroller walk: Menji

Seulji Hye, hard at work documenting things lately.

My roommate doesn't have much parental leave left, so I feel like I won't be able to hang out with her much longer — running around like crazy while I still can~

Last weekend I was trying to figure out where to take the baby, and I remembered Hanam Misa Lake Park being so pretty, so we went to Hanam for a walk!

And then we thought, let's grab a meal while we're at it~ and the ramen place we ended up at had generous portions and a satisfying set menu, so let me introduce it!

Follow along to Menji Hanam Misa Branch!

Where is the entrance? Menji Hanam Misa Branch is inside a bakery

The entrance to Menji Hanam Misa Branch is inside a bakery in the same building. We stood outside going "huh? is this really it? here?" and shuffled in hesitantly.

There's a ramen restaurant inside a bakery... If you're all thinking "the address says here, but where's the ramen place?", just open the door of that bakery first.

Right in front of you, the ramen restaurant's door is right there like this~

Tori paitan: the chicken broth Menji builds its ramen on

Menji Hanam Misa Branch is a ramen restaurant built around chicken broth!

Japanese ramen tastes completely different depending on the broth, and chicken broth has a charm that's cleaner than tonkotsu but still quietly deep!

Personally, I like chicken broth ramen more than tonkotsu! Tori paitan... let's go!

Park view through the windows, plus a baby chair and stroller access

The highlight of this place: the park view through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Most ramen restaurants tend to be on the small side, so having that open view outside made it feel spacious with zero stuffiness — I loved it.

Menji also had a baby chair ready, which I loved. Something I check every time I'm looking for a restaurant these days: whether the place has a baby chair = it's kid-friendly!

Sometimes a place is actually no-kids without labeling it, so you end up wasting a trip, which is why a baby chair is the most intuitive indicator! Haha, Siwoon, you can come in here~

Seating options were bar (counter) seats and regular tables! Since we had a baby, the owner recommended a table seat, but kindly said the stroller could come in, so we settled at the bar seats right by the door!!!

There's a basket under the chairs, so if you have bags, you can just set them down there!

Two sets ordered at Menji, with mini rice swapped for mini cheese rice

Menji Hanam Misa Branch runs various promotions. When we visited, the set menu prices were so reasonable that we'd originally planned to just order ramen and tonkatsu separately, but—

I ordered the tonkatsu + mini ramen set, and my roommate ordered the shoyu ramen + mini tonkatsu + mini rice set! We swapped the mini rice for mini cheese rice!!!

Even ordering this generously, the price was still super reasonable!

Let's power up +1. A hair tie that shows the owner's thoughtfulness. Hair tied up a bit, and it's all over for you, ramen and tonkatsu!!!

To eat ramen well you need takanazuke (pickled mustard greens)! Pepper and chili oil fully stocked too... ready to eat ramen

The mini ramen isn't mini: inside the tonkatsu + mini ramen set

My tonkatsu + mini ramen set!! I thought "mini" ramen meant like three bites of noodles, but nope — a (not so) mini ramen generously loaded with char siu and sous-vide chicken breast

This much would fill up even a woman with a small appetite on its own. And the tori paitan... this place is legit. As you'd expect from a ramen specialty shop, the ramen is really, really delicious... I mean it...

Salt, wasabi and Menji's house tonkatsu sauce

Dipping it in salted wasabi, and also in Menji Hanam Misa Branch's own special tonkatsu sauce!

I normally don't eat tonkatsu sauce at all, but this was a flavor I'd never had before — I couldn't quite place what it was, but I kept reaching for it. It was clean and light, which cut through the usual greasiness of fried food nicely!

Shoyu ramen + mini tonkatsu + mini cheese rice set

This is the shoyu ramen + mini tonkatsu + mini rice set my roommate had! Same as mine, the tonkatsu comes out heartier than expected. Thick-cut and looks delicious, right?

A firm, dense-textured loin tonkatsu, not much different from mine! We enjoyed a little escape from the heat eating similar-but-different menus together!

For the mini cheese rice, they sneak in a bit of the tori paitan broth and mix it up! This is the secret to enjoying it like a risotto, and it's genuinely delicious... b

Menji Hanam Misa Branch: address, hours and parking

• 📍 36 Misagangbyeonbuk-ro 30beon-angil, 1st floor, Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• ⏰ Daily 11:00–20:30 (last order 20:00)
• 🚗 No dedicated parking