○惠中華そば (Marue in Sugamo, Tokyo)

0 Reviews

○惠中華そば

Clear, old-school-style soup topped with gorgeous chashu pork and dark, contrasting menma makes the bowl at Marue one that is instantly recognizable by any Tokyo ramen head. Clear, meaty soups are a bit in fashion these days, with shops like Marue leading the pack.

Marue opened July 4th, 2020 to a bit of fanfare. They are connected to popular shop Emoto(らーめん惠本将裕) in Meguro. The bigger news, though, is that they are located in the space formally occupied by Tsuta, the Michelin-starred ramen shop of much fame. Quietly line up across the street from a shady love hotel while you wait for some tasty ramen.

What’s your favorite ramen? It’s a question I’m asked all the time. This leads me to beg a bit of clarification. What genre? The ramen at Marue is labeled as chukasoba, but isn’t it also shio ramen? Is it some kind of new style? Is it some kind of old style? So many questions!

Regardless of the classification, this one could be your favorite. The chashu is in a genre of its own. It’s very “Chinese” in my opinion. Smoky and firm.

The menma is heavily seasoned. Quite often the pork is dark and flavorful with the menma being light. The opposite is true at Marue.

This style of nostalgic, retro ramen has led to a new buzzword being used. Noss (ノス) style is anything that harkens back to the old days of ramen. With most new, noteworthy shops serving refined, kodawari style ramen (Tsuta is one of these) some customers want to go back to a more simple time.

Most ramen heads go for extra pork. For 1650 yen you can get double extra pork. It’s an expensive bowl, but worth it if you love this style. You can also get the pork to go. Twenty slices for 4000 yen.

To be honest, it’s not really my style. I like my pork more tender. The soup and noodles were quite nice though. Definitely one for the true ramen heads and those interested in hitting all of the hot shops in town.

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