Men Kui Tei Men Kui Tei is hidden in a row of restaurants and their name is not displayed, at least not in English. It’s a shabby looking place, only a drop above the description of whole-in-the-wall, not the kind of place for a first date. When places like this are cheap and have great food, they gain a special place in my heart, but this place just didn’t meet that mark. I had the Tan Tan Ramen, which is the Shoyu Ramen with Spicy Ground Pork, but it wasn’t spicy (given as part of the description) and more importantly, the noodles were like any you could buy in a Chinese supermarket. It was otherwise pretty enjoyable, but not very memorable.
My friend Chrissy had the Miso Ramen, which she thought was too salty. She seemed even less pleased with her bowl of ramen. In the end, $8 or $9 is not that cheap, but reasonable, so it’s one of those places to go to if you’re in that neighborhood. Don’t make a special trip though.
The Menkui Tei in East Village is better I think. The one you went to is by my office and I’ve had take out from there and didn’t enjoy it at all. But a couple and of friends and I went to the one on 63 Cooper Sq(3rd ave) and had a decent meal.
Wonders, thanks for the comparison. Funny how chains aren’t the same when they should be. I’m also going to try the other one you recommended. I have a lot of Ramen eating to catch up on but winter will be coming soon enough.
I am a huge Momofuko fan…but I have heard of a few other ramen shops that are supposed to be some great cheap eats. But too salty…that is too bad, because it looks mighty tasty.
Manger La Ville, I’ve heard Momofuko is very good but I’m boycotting them because they don’t allow photo-taking at one of their locations.
I took a picture of my ramen at Momofuku noodle bar, I think it’s just Ko that doesn’t allow photos. I thought Momofuku wasn’t as good as Ramen Setagaya, it was saltier and had a weird tasting bite to it. It wasn’t bad, just different than what you would expect from a bowl of ramen.
Wonders, it is only Ko that doesn’t allow photos but for that, I’m boycotting all of them.