Tori paitan with giant chashu at Mentsuru, Gwangjin ramen shop

Why we chose Mentsuru, a ramen shop by Children's Grand Park Station

I was craving Japanese food so badly today that I headed to a ramen restaurant called Mentsuru near Children's Grand Park Station. I think it really matters how chewy the noodles are, how good the broth tastes, and how tender the meat is. Would Mentsuru be as good as the ramen I had in Japan? I was curious.

Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch: location and opening hours

• Name: Mentsuru Children's Grand Park Branch
• Address: 394 Gwangnaru-ro, 1st Floor, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Transit: Children's Grand Park Station Exit 4
• Hours: 11:00 – 23:00
• Amenities: Group dining available, takeout available, reservations available, wifi, separate men's/women's restrooms, high chairs available, no parking, group seating available

What the Mentsuru storefront looks like

From outside, Mentsuru's lights are all lit up nicely and it's decorated like a proper ramen shop, so it's easy to spot! Totally ramen-shop style~~

Inside Mentsuru: bar seats and table layout

Inside, there are bar seats for eating solo and table seats for eating together. There were more seats than I expected, and it was packed!!!

We sat at the bar seats. The interior has Japanese liquor displayed and the ceiling is decorated in a Japanese style, so it had that legit-ramen-shop vibe, which I liked even more. You can also order via kiosk.

It wobbled a bit, but there are aprons set out too, so you can slurp your ramen without worrying about stains on your clothes.

There's also an event going on where if you leave a Naver review, you get a drink or fried gyoza! Might be worth joining~

Mentsuru menu and prices

You order like this via kiosk~~ It's a prepay system!!!

• Signature spicy shoyu ramen ₩11,000
• Signature motsu ramen (beef intestine ramen) ₩15,000
• Shoyu ramen ₩11,000
• Shio ramen ₩11,000
• Tori paitan ₩12,000
• Abura soba (mixed noodles) ₩12,000
• Hormone-don (grilled intestine rice bowl) ₩15,000
• Gyudon ₩11,000
• Handmade karaage ₩7,000
• Chicken skin gyoza ₩5,000
• Takoyaki ₩5,000

What we ordered: hormone-don, tori paitan and gyoza

Pepper and yuzu radish are set out on the table. Not plain radish but yuzu radish, so it was more refreshing and cut through the richness nicely. The pepper is also great when things get too rich.

We ordered the hormone-don first. Inside, it wasn't just grilled intestine — there was also beef brisket. The flavor was like smoky soy sauce?! With onion, chili, and green onion all mixed in, it was savory, not too greasy, and kept me eating more.

This one's the tori paitan! Apparently made by simmering chicken bones down into a rich broth. It was a bit different from the tori paitan I usually eat, but the charshu was tender and the egg was soft-boiled, so it was good~ This one was closer to a tonkotsu ramen flavor?! Next time I should try the shoyu ramen haha.

We also ordered gyoza dumplings. I wanted the chicken karaage but it was sold out. This was my favorite of everything we ordered. There's a bit of soy sauce underneath, and the dumplings were crispy all over — the best. Crispy enough to scrape the roof of your mouth!!!

How big is the chashu at Mentsuru?

The charshu in the ramen is massive. Three of these giant charshu slices go in. It's almost two-thirds the size of the bowl!!!

The ramen noodles were also nicely chewy. The noodle color seemed a bit deeper in tone too?!

This is the dumpling. As you can see in the photo, it's genuinely crispy through and through! Recommended!

Final verdict on Mentsuru

I'd been craving ramen for a while and this was a solid pick! And honestly the smoky hormone-don was even better than the ramen! I think I'd come back here whenever I'm looking for ramen in the area. If you're visiting Children's Grand Park, worth trying once~ And if you're looking for good food near Konkuk University, worth a try too~