Mendokoro Mazeru

Mendokoro Mazeru is a specialty restaurant for Jiro-kei mazesoba (Jiro-style soupless ramen), conveniently located on the second floor (mezzanine) of a building behind a parking lot, just a 1-minute walk from JR Akihabara Station in Kanda Sakuma-cho. Their signature Mazesoba Shoyu (soy sauce soupless ramen) (regular 200g, 950 yen) features the classic Jiro-kei mazesoba visual: a mountain of bean sprouts with a touch of cabbage, thick cuts of pork chashu, and an egg yolk in the center. The shoyu tare (soy sauce base) accumulated at the bottom is not as heavy as it looks, striking a perfect balance of savory, sweet, and oily without being too salty or too sweet. Breaking and mixing the egg yolk instantly accelerates its mellow richness. The noodles are thick, wavy, and delightfully chewy (washi-washi texture), offering an enjoyable textural contrast when eaten with the crisp bean sprouts. It's especially delicious when the noodles absorb the kaeshi (seasoning sauce) thoroughly after an "aji karame call" (request for stronger flavor). The pork is thick and chunky, offering a satisfying chew rather than a melt-in-your-mouth (horo-kei) texture. A unique system allows customers to make "calls" (requests) for toppings (yasai/vegetables, abura/fat, ninniku/garlic, cheese, aji karame/stronger flavor) when handing over their meal ticket. The option of free cheese as a topping is a particularly rare feature among other shops. Adding coarsely ground black pepper from the table during the latter half of the meal creates an effective ajin-hen (flavor change). With variations like shio (salt) flavor, extra meat (niku mashi), and special large portions (tokumori) of 300-400g, this shop is a valuable find near Akihabara Station where you can easily enjoy high-quality Jiro-kei mazesoba.