11 Bligh Place, Melbourne
A product of the ramen craze that has lead to a large number of small ramen shops and ramen chain stores opening up across Melbourne. Mugen Ramen has distinguished itself by not only keeping traditional elements in their dishes, but also drawing from some western influences in both their restaurant and the tapas menu.
A product of the ramen craze that has lead to a large number of small ramen shops and ramen chain stores opening up across Melbourne. Mugen Ramen has distinguished itself by not only keeping traditional elements in their dishes, but also drawing from some western influences in both their restaurant and the tapas menu.
Hidden in a small alleyway off Flinders Lane, Mugen Ramen boasts a stylish fit-out with a relaxed vibe, with venues such as the well known Robot Bar next door and Flinders Street Station only minutes away.
Goma Tsukemen (360g) $15
The Goma Tsukemen is a new item on the menu, consisting of the traditional elements of a tsukemen. However instead of the normal dipping sauce there is a strong sesame based dipping sauce.
Thick noodles, chashu, menma and nori
The thick noodles are cooked nicely and retain some of their firmness which resulted in a good texture. They were served with a small stack of menma, a small sheet of nori and a large slice of chashu, the combination of these elements creates the basic half of the tsukemen.
Thick Dipping Sauce
When immersed in the dipping sauce and slurped up, the noodles take on much of the flavour of the sauce. While I found the dipping sauce had a very intense flavour of sesame, almost too much for me to handle, I realized this was probably a dish designed more towards those who love sesame. While I was nearing the end of my meal and the dipping sauce was getting slightly colder, a waiter brought over a small pot of dashi. This was to be mixed into the dipping sauce so that after the noodles were finished you could sip at the broth afterwards. This was quite pleasant as the flavour of the dashi thinned out the thick sesame sauce creating a nice warm sesame broth.
Pipi-Sake Mushi $15
When the pipi-sake mushi arrived, the aroma of the pipis cooked in sake with chunks of melted butter on top enticed me into forgetting about my goma tsukemen and instantly dig into the large pile of pipis. The pipis were cooked well and blended nicely with the melted butter and chives on top. This made it all the more disappointing when I started noticing that a large amount of the pipis were very gritty, as it had the potential to be an excellent dish.
My adventurous nature and desire to try new things may have backfired on me for this meal. As I am not a huge sesame lover, the goma tsukemen proved to be too thick and heavy in flavour prior to the addition of the dashi, however I don't think this detracts from the dish itself which is most likely designed for those who love sesame, and as a result I would highly reccomend it to sesame lovers. The pipis on the other hand, had a great flavour profile but was let down by poor preparation of the pipis. Being a ramen store which specialises in tsukemen over the traditional ramen (both are served) is something harder to find in Melbourne. With a wider variety in their menu and more open minds, there is a lot of potential in the restaurant, however on my particular visit there were just a few things that could have been done better.
Food Rating 6.5/10
Overall Rating 6.5/10