“Menya Kiyo” opened in Ichijoji, a ramen battleground in Kyoto

Language:Japanese

In this article, we will introduce “Menya Kiyo,” which opened in Ichijoji, a district known as a hotbed of ramen in Kyoto.

This shop is a sister store of “Menya Yukou” in Karasuma Oike, and opened in 2018. Like “Yukou,” the store is designed more like a stylish cafe than a ramen shop.

Upon entering the restaurant, you’ll notice a simple and clean atmosphere. There are counter seats (four seats) and table seats (two four-seater seats and one two-seater seat), for a total of 14 seats, which is about the same number as a typical ramen shop, but there is ample space between the seats, so you can dine in a relaxed atmosphere.

The concept of “Menya Kiyo” is to promote Kyoto’s dashi culture to the world, and the ramen they serve is made with a focus on local Kyoto soy sauce.

The noodles are the same as “Menya Yukou” and are homemade whole grain, but unlike “Yukou,” the chashu pork is stewed pork.

The menu has three options: “Gift,” “Simple,” and “Shirushi,” but if you just hear the menu names, you might be wondering, “What kind of ramen is that?” However, the menu generally has the following descriptions, so you can guess to some extent what it’s like.

I was wondering which one to order, but I decided to order the “Simple” one, thinking that “bonito” and “kelp” are indispensable for Kyoto’s dashi culture. My wife, who came with me, decided on the “Gift” one, seeing that it was advertised as the most popular menu item.

Ramen called “Simple”

This is the “Simple Ramen” I ordered. The menma and chashu were as expected, but I was a little surprised to see that they were served with “mitsuba” along with thinly sliced green onions.

When it comes to ramen in Kyoto, many restaurants emphasize their brand “Kujo Negi,” so I thought, “Modest thinly sliced green onions and mitsuba?” However, when I thought about the fact that mitsuba is often used in clear soups and simmered dishes in Kyoto cuisine, it felt like a ramen that was made with Kyoto cuisine in mind.

As you can see, the soup has a rich and light taste. Without the chashu oil, it would taste like a thicker version of Kyoto cuisine’s “sumashi soup.”

The noodles are the same as those at “Menya Yukou,” made from whole wheat medium-thick noodles that are chewy and firm.

The pork slices are cut in the kitchen across the counter and are available in either thick or thin slices; if you order the latter, it comes with a boiled egg.

It depends on your preference, but the stewed pork is quite rich, so if you want to pair it with a light soup, I think thin slices of pork and boiled eggs go better with it. (By the way, what I ordered was thick-sliced char siu.)

The thick Menma(bamboo shoots) have a nice chewy texture and are lightly flavored to go with the light soup, but the flavor is well-absorbed.

Ramen called “Gift”

This is the “gift Ramen” my wife ordered, topped with thickly sliced pork and a boiled egg. I only wanted to see the taste of the soup, so I tasted just a little bit.

As it is the most popular, the clam flavor is indescribably delicious. I have tried seafood salt ramen before, but this is not salt ramen. It is clam ramen without clam meat, and it reminded me of the sauce of sake steamed clams and tsuboyaki.

In conclusions

This time, we introduced “Menya Kiyo” in Ichijoji, a ramen battleground in Kyoto. With the concept of disseminating Kyoto’s dashi culture to the world, the ramen, which is made with local Kyoto soy sauce, has something in common with Kyoto cuisine.

The interior of the shop is like a cafe, and the seats are spaced far apart and spacious. The menu names are a little hard to understand, but the descriptions of each dish tell the theme of the ramen.

The overall light soup seems to be inspired by Kyoto cuisine, and has a taste unique to Menya Yukou Group.

Please check out the article about the original “Menya Yukou” here. Both are very popular ramen shops, so it might be a good idea to compare the two.