Momonoki

If you’ve read my post on Momo Cafe, then welcome to the second half of the restaurant – the ramen side. Momonoki is a cafe plus restaurant, but each is treated separately even though they share the same space and are under the same name. This is the perfect spot for some delicious food and a caffeine kick in the form of espresso or matcha. Momonoki features dishes like classic ramen, rice bowls, Katsu sandos, and a selection of raw fish.

My husband and I stopped in for a quick bite to eat and we loved every bite we had! I grabbed the brothless Classic Mazemen which comes with thick, fresh noodles, poached egg, nori, cucumbers, stir fried pork, and green onions – I then had to add a seasoned egg to it because they are my absolute favorite. This dish was fantastic – the flavors blended so well with a little bit of heat, the aromatic ginger and garlic, and those chewy noodles. My husband also opted for brothless noodles but went with the Sichuan Beef Mazeman – it was very similar to mine but really ups that spice with chili oil, Sichuan peppercorns, and he added sliced jalapenos as well. To say he loves it spicy would be an understatement, but this really hit the spot with his heat taste buds! Now I know that you’re going to say why would you get a brothless ramen…like isn’t that the whole point? Well yes and no. Brothless can be just as delicious, especially when it is summer and you just can’t deal with another warm dish. Plus with the brothless dish I really feel like you can taste the toppings more and it has a better balance of flavors. I also love the contrast with the fresh, cold veggies and warm noodles; when you have a broth based ramen, you miss out on some of that crunch and texture since everything tends to be cooked or at least warm. So don’t sleep on brothless ramen!