You’ll love this Japanese cult favorite down to the last slurpable, umami-packed bite.
by Nikki Buchanan | Photography by Tim Chow
Mensho, a Michelin-starred, multi-award-winning ramen shop founded in Tokyo in 2005, opened its first Arizona location in Mesa last June, and rabid ramen buffs immediately lined up – in the middle of a scorching Phoenix summer, mind you – to get a crack at ramen master Tomoharu Shono’s legendary noodle soup. I’m not sure what it would take to make me wait outside in 115-degree heat… huge sums of money, maybe.
Nevertheless, the goods are fantastic – rich broth, umami-laden tare (the sauce that provides the seasoning for the broth), springy house-made noodles and melt-in-the-mouth meat. Better yet, the ramen is only half the fun.
The short, seasonal menu will have changed by the time this issue comes out, but surely the kurozu karaage – crisp, juicy fried chicken pieces, drizzled with aromatic black vinegar – will never go away. It’s a stellar version, served with Japanese eggplant and microgreens.
Sweet teppanyaki scallops, sliced sliver-thin and bathed in butter and soy, are wonderful, too – especially with a spritz of lemon. A heap of crisp enoki chips, sided with togarashi and lemon, is indistinct fried food, vaguely mushroom-y and satisfying in its addictive snackiness. Nigiri sushi, topped with A5 Wagyu and a mound of grated shoyu-tinted daikon, is perhaps not the best medium for the prized beef cut. It’s a bit flavorless.
Then again, Wagyu is all about mild, buttery notes and fatty mouthfeel, which works spectacularly well in aburasoba – oily noodles, served without broth in a bowl arranged with luxurious slips of the A5, truffle sauce, key lime and onion. It’s my favorite dish, followed closely by signature tori paitan ramen, the chicken-broth-based cousin to pork-based tonkotsu. Mensho’s version is insanely rich and creamy, brimming with slices of Wagyu, smoked pork, duck and chicken, truffle sauce and a beautiful ajitama egg – the jammy, soy-tinted soft-boiled egg you’ll want to add to every ramen you order.
Just as wonderful and decadent as the tori paitan is duck-matcha ramen, combining rich duck meat with grassy, savory matcha powder, all set in a broth enriched with whipped cream. The menu offers add-ons – maybe fried burdock root or smoked nuts – to jazz things up, but if you ask me, these dishes are perfect as is.
Mensho Ramen
Cuisine: Japanese
Contact: 805 N. Dobson Rd., Mesa, 480-257-3021, mensho.com
Hours: T-Th 4-9:30 p.m., Sa 12-10:30 p.m., Su 12-9:30 p.m.
Highlights: Kurozu karaage chicken ($14); teppan-grilled scallops ($17); tori paitan ramen ($28); A5 Wagyu truffle aburasoba ($39); duck-matcha ramen ($24)
