Hanam Misa ramen restaurant for sharing set and rice bowl: Menji

Craving ramen in Hanam Misa? Menji

Menji is full of Japanese vibes 🍜 I was trying to figure out what to eat for lunch in Hanam and suddenly craved ramen, so I ended up at Menji!

I thought about just getting ramen, but the menu had set meals combining tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) with ramen! There were two options — ramen with mini tonkatsu, or tonkatsu with mini ramen — and I picked ramen + mini tonkatsu!

An interior packed with One Piece and Ghibli posters

The moment you step in, the cute interior catches your eye 🫢 Overall it has a warm wood-tone feel, and there are Japanese-style props and posters everywhere, so it's fun just to look around haha. The walls and ceiling are covered with One Piece and Studio Ghibli posters, and I kept spotting familiar titles one by one lol. There are character figures on the shelves too, so you can really feel the owner's taste in the space.

It felt like stepping into a small local ramen shop in Japan, so I was excited before even eating. It seems like a good spot for a casual meal with a friend, a date, and since there are solo seats, it doesn't feel awkward to drop in alone for a bowl of ramen either.

What we ordered for two

There were two of us, and since there was a ramen I really wanted, we ordered the ramen + mini tonkatsu set and, from the rice bowl menu, the yakitori don!

They have cold noodles, ramen, tonkatsu, rice bowls, and a variety of side dishes! There's also beer and highball on the drink menu, so pairing one with ramen would really feel like being in Japan. I personally prefer tasting a bit of everything over eating a lot of one thing, so I loved that there are set menus and combo menus! I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a good ramen spot in Hanam Misa or a hearty Japanese restaurant in Hanam.

Tori-paitan ramen + mini pork loin tonkatsu set

The first dish! Handmade ramen with mini pork loin tonkatsu arrived. I ordered the ramen made with a milky chicken broth base, tori-paitan ramen! 😛 It comes with ramen + 4 pieces of tonkatsu + a mini bowl of rice!

It's a perfect order for when ramen alone feels a little lacking and you also want something fried. It's exactly my type of menu since I prefer eating a bit of everything over just one main dish haha. Getting to eat warm ramen and crispy tonkatsu all in one meal — such a filling set!

So how does the tori-paitan broth taste?

The warm broth comes loaded with noodles, meat, and various toppings! Just looking at it feels satisfying 🤭 Personally, I prefer ramen broth that's rich and full of umami rather than too light, and this broth was genuinely delicious...! I usually only eat tonkotsu ramen, so this was my first time with tori-paitan, and the broth had a deep, rich taste, almost like ox bone soup.

Warm broth is one of those things that makes me crave ramen as the weather cools down. Menji's ramen broth was especially delicious, so I think I'll be craving it again soon! The savory, concentrated depth of the chicken broth kept pulling my spoon back in!

The broth wasn't greasy at all, and it balanced perfectly with the noodles! Even sipping the noodles alone, you could taste the broth's umami 🫪 Noodles, then broth, on repeat. Eating the toppings one by one also kept it from getting boring till the end. The egg was soft and savory, pairing perfectly with the rich broth, and the meat was tender and delicious too.

Mini tonkatsu

A bite of the crispy, thick tonkatsu too! 🍖 The outside was fried nice and crispy, with tender, juicy meat packed thick inside. The breading was thin enough that it didn't feel heavy at all! The tonkatsu itself was tasty on its own, and even better dipped in Menji's secret sauce >_<

The second dish, yakitori don

The second dish that paired great with the ramen was yakitori don 🍛 Ordering two noodle dishes felt like too much, so we picked yakitori don from the rice bowl menu instead, and the combo was a great call. Yakitori don is a rice bowl topped with grilled chicken. The moment it hit the table, I was surprised by how appetizing it looked. The chicken was seasoned savory and slightly sweet.

The seasoning wasn't overpowering, and eating the chicken together with the rice felt perfectly balanced. And ordering the milky tori-paitan ramen alongside the sweet-savory yakitori don was really a great choice!!

A bite of yakitori don, a sip of ramen broth, and it just kept going down. Rice with seasoned chicken plus a bit of dried seaweed flakes, ginger, and wasabi made for a big satisfying bite 😮 So filling, and it really felt like a proper Japanese meal haha.

How to order if there are two of you

I went for ramen but left having eaten tonkatsu and yakitori don too — a solid ramen spot in Hanam, Menji 💞 I also really liked that when a group visits, everyone can order according to their own taste. Especially if you order the ramen + tonkatsu set and a rice bowl like we did and split them, you get to taste noodles, rice, and tonkatsu all at once haha.

Menji is a great ramen spot to visit when you're craving something warm. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting a filling meal. Next time I visit, I want to try the spicy ramen and karaage don combo I didn't get to this time 🥘🍜 Ate well and felt full haha.