Menya Juémon - New Vancouver Ramen Shop [Review]

As a regular of Maruhachi Ramen, I was keen to try their new sister concept, Menya Juémon, which opened up at 545 W Broadway in Vancouver (BC Canada).

About the Broth

The broth they create at Menya Juémon incorporates chicken, pork, fish, and mushrooms and is simmered to bring out umami flavours. To further enhance the depth of the broth, they add in traditional soy sauces from various regions in Japan, tailoring them to complement each ramen option.

Menya Juémon Menu

Their menu features 8 types of ramen including Umami Shoyu Premium; Umami Shoyu Ramen; Cha Cha Cha-Shu Men; Spicy Garlic Cha-Shu; Spicy Garlic Ramen; Classic Shoyu Ramen; Shiro Shoyu Ramen; and Veggie Tantan. Bowls are priced $17.50 – $24.

Menya Juémon - New Vancouver Ramen Shop [Review]

They also offer mini rice bowls like Ikura don (with house marinated salmon roe); Rurohan (sweet braised pork); and Mentai Don (spicy flavoured cod roe).

For sides, they have Pork Gyoza; Mushroom Gyoza; Shrimp Wonton; Goma-ae; Ocean Pork Shumai; Smoked Edamame; and Premium Koshihikari rice.

They also offer bright and colourful spirit-free drinks including the Cold Brewed Oolong Tea; Kokuto Ginger Ale; Blue Lemonade; and Mystic Lemon Tea.

What We Tried

We went in during their first opening day and tried the following:

Umami Shoyu Premium

Dark soy flavoured four elements umami broth, thick cha-shu, bean sprout, Chinese greens, wood ear mushroom, soft boiled egg and seaweed, served with thick noodles. $24

Spicy Garlic Cha-shu

Spicy and robust flavoured four elements umami broth, thick cha-shu, bean sprout, green onion, corn and crispy fried garlic, served with thick noodles. $23.50

Shiro Shoyu Ramen

Seafood and white soy flavoured four elements umami broth, thick cha-shu, Chinese greens, Menma, Kaiware radish, fish cake and shrimp wonton, served with medium thickness noodles. $19.50

Ikura Don

House marinated salmon roe bowl. $7 with ramen combo.

Ocean Pork Shumai (created by Kam Wai Dim Sum)

Scallop, shrimp and pork shumai. $12.

The broth in the Umami Shoyu Premium and Spicy Garlic Cha-shu had depth and were rich and flavourful. Umami Shoyu Premium is their most expensive ramen bowl and was pretty reasonably loaded and filling for $24. Noodles were al dente and the ramen egg had a nice custardy egg yolk and umami flavour.

The Spicy Garlic Cha-shu was packed with garlic, umami and spicy flavours. The Cha-Shu was a bit firmer but still good.

The Shiro Shoyu Ramen had a much lighter, white soy flavourful seafood broth. Don’t go for this one if you want a heavier, richer broth. The shrimp wontons were an interesting addition but I think they are previously frozen so they didn’t taste as fresh.

The Ikura Don was a nice side dish to have with lots of ikura on a bed of fresh rice.

The Ocean Pork Shumai is a custom made for Menya Juémon by Kam Wai Dim Sum in Chinatown. How I know this is because I saw them being delivered to the restaurant by Kam Wai Dim Sum staff and asked them about it.

Portions and pricing seem reasonable.

I still prefer the chicken broth from Maruhachi Ramen more but I think the experience was OK. I would go for the Umami Shoyu Premium with the Ikura Don again.