麺創庵砂田

Mensouan Sunada opened on Sugamo’s north side in 2020, amid the global pandemic. The master, Sunada-san, quit his job at the age of 50 to pursue ramen.

Did I bring my Twitch stream here? I don’t exactly remember. What I do remember is that the shop is located in the former location of Tsuta’s second shop called Tsutanoha (蔦の葉).

Twitch . . . ugh. Since then I’ve retired from live streaming. During the pandemic, chatting with people while I waited in long ramen lines was fun. Thanks for the views. I’ve since sold all of my streaming equipment and won’t be back.

I shot a TV show at this location way back in the day. The show’s name was GO! Osukaru! X21. I was teamed up with three or four 14-year-old Japanese idols and a host. We’d sample ramen and the girls would have to describe it in English. According to the Japanese Wiki, I was on it four times back in 2016.

Back to the present day. Sunada is highly ranked, appearing on the Tabelog Hyakumeiten each year since 2021. The ramen here is Shirakawa-style (白河). Shirakawa’s most famous shop, Torashokudo, is one of the top shops in Japan and one any ramen hunter should visit. While I highly recommend a trip, maybe you just want to head over to Sugamo for a casual lunch. Master Sunada-san has a good friend living in Shirakawa and was impressed by the style on his frequent visits. It’s a timeless style of ramen that lives apart from current trends.

Nagoya Kochin chicken is cooked at a simmer for 12 hours and the soup is left to rest for a day. Noodles are made in-house. Homemade wontons are plump and juicy. Everything here is Mukacho (無化調) meaning no chemical seasoning. All natural umami goodness.

Sunada-san’s story is an interesting one. He was a professional musician for much of his life. His group, Festa Mode, had songs used in commercials and TV dramas. He eventually left the unstable world of music to work for an Internet company. In 2006 he contracted a case of pneumonia, recovered, and quit smoking. This jumpstarted his taste buds and he suddenly enjoyed food a lot more. In his free time, he went to many of Tokyo’s famous ramen shops and even started making his own ramen at home. When his recipe reached a certain level, he started doing popups at his friend’s hotel in Shirakawa. Once his daughter graduated high school, he decided to take the next step and open his shop. After training with the Watanabe group at a few shops, he opened Mensoan Sunada. I love these stories of human drama in the ramen world.

Official X here.

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Ramen Shop Reviews from Japan and Abroad

麺創庵砂田 (Sunada in Sugamo, Tokyo)

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麺創庵 砂田 (Sunada in Sugamo, Tokyo)

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つけめん金龍 (Tsukemen Kinryu in Kanda, Tokyo)

ラーメンかなや (Kanaya in Honancho, Tokyo)

Ramen Riders! 門前の湯ホテル

麺創庵砂田 (Sunada in Sugamo, Tokyo)