Mensakaba Geishu is a small, hole in the wall ramen restaurant that recently opened on Aguirre Avenue in BF Homes. I had no idea where the restaurant was except that it was situated across The Girl + The Bull. I’ve only been to the area a handful of times, good thing there was Waze to help me out.
Irene and I ventured South the other day and met up with Jane and her daughter Jana. We actually had a lunch then went to have coffee at Magnum Opus (will blog about it soon) to wait for them to meet up with us. We actually killed a bit of time waiting until 5:45 before venturing to Mensakaba Geishu thinking they only open up at 6pm, in actuality they open at 5pm.
The restaurant is small, there are only 12 bar stools for diners, placed pretty close together, similar to ramen shops in Japan. From the stools you can see chef/owner Hirofumi Hotta doing his thing. His wife, Alyn also helps out in addition to another waitstaff.
Upon seating, we were all given wet towels and cold tea.
Mensakaba Geishu is actually more than a ramen shop, they also have a number of yakitori options and even a few rice bowls. We saw Horenso Goma-ae (P80) on the whiteboard specials menu so we got one order to start. We were introduced to this delicious appetizer during our trip to Canada last year and we’ve been hooked ever since. The presentation here is not as nice but the taste is really good.
I also ordered a stick each of Torikawa/Chicken Skin (P35) and Enoki Bacon Maki (P45) yakitori. Alyn is in charge of the grilling as well as the gyoza station. Both sticks were very good, with a teriyaki sauce that was just a bit sweet to complement the savory meats. I was actually looking to order my favorite Tsukune/Chicken meat ball but they were out of stock.
Jane and Jana ordered a plate of Gyoza (P140). They gave me a piece to try, it had a nice crust at the bottom with juicy filling inside. Not the best I’ve had but pretty good.
Irene was surprised to see Kantonmen on the menu but settled on her usual Shoyu Ramen (P250). The bowl came with an Aji tamago as well as two slices of chashu plus bamboo shoots and beansprouts. The broth was light yet flavorful, with no oily mouth feel.
The noodles were yellow and springy with enough thickness to satisfy my notion of what ramen noodles should be. They make their noodles fresh every day. The only mistake I made was forgetting to ask them to make the noodles “katamen” or al dente.
I had their best selling Tantanmen (P250). I’ve tried Tantanmen at Ukokkei and Yushoken before and loved them both. This bowl had the looks of a tantanmen with the orange hued broth plus two beautiful aji tamgo halves. There’s a little spicy kick as you get your first sip, it was also not oily unlike the previous one I’ve tried. There was a generous amount of noodles and ground pork. The aji-tamago was really good plus its so cheap to order extras at only P25 each. I was quite happy with this one but it still a notch lower than my two favorites because it was not oily. People who don’t like too much oil in their tantanmen will enjoy this one.
A simple wall of stacked ramen bowls and other serving plates in beautiful colors.
The Ebi Wantanmen (P270) was Jane order which felt like a cross between our favorite wonton noodles from Hong Kong and a ramen. I was not able to try this but Jane finished off the bowl quickly.
Mensakaba Geishu Ramen Bar is one of the better ramen shops in the metro. The prices are really one of the lowest for the quality they serve, no ramen above P270, plus you can really see the passion of the husband and wife team. The ramen bar is a great addition to the lively food street of Aguirre. I can’t wait to explore more of the restos there, the only limitation is how much my tummy can take in.
Mensakaba Geishu Ramen Bar
Southland Apartments, Aguirre AvenueBF Homes Parañaque
Operating Hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 11AM to 2PM, 5PM to 10PM Contact No.: (632) 546-9302
Facebook Page: Mensakaba Geishu Ramen Bar
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Omg “but jane finished off quickly”.. laglagan na hahaha! Pero at least you didn’t mention that I also polished of Jana’s bowl -at kulnag pa. :P How I wish you & Irene will visit the south more. And we missed Lauren. It was a really nice day. Mwah! And happiest of birthday to our dearest Irene!! <3
*polished OFF. *Kulang pa –sorry, excited fat fingers! ;P
I eat fast also but I was busy taking photos plus my bowl of ramen was spicy so I had to go slow.
We’ll visit the South again soon, lots of places I want to try and not enough stomach space.
This is what Jayvee Fernandez was talking about!! Cheap nga considering its just P250.00 per bowl. Good thing you were early kasi they run out pag maraming customers!!
sigh.. I think hanggang listahan lang ang mga ramen places there in the South for me. Hahaha!!
Love, Didi
Get a group together and do a food crawl so you can hit a lot of places in one trip to the South.
Walang group na willing to go South with me! Haiz………….. Di bale, I will think positively about it.. Hahaha!! IT WILL HAPPEN..
Think positively and the food will come. Lots and lots of places in the South already and its nearer than anyone thinks.
this looks awesome. thanks TFTT!
give it a try and tell me what you think.