Ramen Mutekiya 麺創房無敵家

Among the fierce battles of ramen joints in Ikebukuro, Ramen Mutekiya (無敵家) is my favourite for the following reasons:
1) thick and creamy tonkotsu broth (tonkotsu broth is my favourite type of broth, among shoyu, miso or shio broth)
2) thick and chewy noodles using 100% Hokkaido flour (I still prefer the thick noodles to the thin noodles like what Ichiran is serving)
3) this might sound extremely sinful to many, but Mutekiya adds fresh pork back fat cooked for 3 hours to make the soup even more flavourful.
4) their tender charsiew, with the right amount of fats to make it juicy.
5) their complimentary spicy takana vegetables (picked mustard leaf) locally grown in Kumamoto, Kyushu. And it's really spicy!
6) another complimentary item - low-odor garlic from Aomori prefecture. And you get the enjoyment of crushing the garlic yourself, with the special garlic crusher.
7) jasmine tea concentrate for you to add into your drinking water, to assist in fat absorption after your heavy meal 

When we arrived at about 11pm, coupled with drizzling rain and cold weather, there was still a long queue waiting outside the restaurant, which is normal for Mutekiya. I would be surprised instead if there was no queue. 

The staff would pass you the menu when you are queuing outside, so that you can decide what you want to eat while waiting. 

Shortly later, he will come and take your order. This ensures that once you get a seat inside the restaurant, the cooks would already be preparing your ramen. After you order your ramen, he will ask you - big portion (oomori) or normal portion (nami mori) of noodles. Prices are the same, so if you are big eater, you can opt for the oomori (230g). Of course we ordered the nami, which is 150g.
However, after you have decided on your noodle portion and have started eating your ramen, additional noodle portions will be chargeable at JPY100. 

Some signages displayed at their doorstep. 
The left one indicates that takeaway ramen is not served (this is so to ensure that customers will have the best bowl of noodles, and not cold or soggy noodles). 
The one on the right indicates that they use 100% Hokkaido flour, and low odor garlic from Aomori prefecture.

We finally reached the first on the queue line. But you still have to wait outside until a seat is available. Although the queue seems quite long, but we waited for approximately just 20minutes.
If you realise, opening hours are from 1030am to 4am, so no problem for a late night ramen supper, which is a must do for Japanese after a night of drinking. 

This special pot hung outside the restaurant describes all the ingredients which goes into their "Honmaru men" (本丸麺) which is also the ramen I ordered. 

The shop is only a small space, with a total of 17 counter seats. 

Everybody is busying eating their ramen. No time for chit chats. 

The following condiments are displayed on the table. Soya sauce, vinegar, chilli oil, pepper and tonkotsu shoyu, for customers who prefer a heavier soup base.

These are the 3 complimentary ingredients to add on to your ramen - spicy takana, fresh garlic and bonito powder.  

They are also very considerate towards customers. You can ask the staff for a free paper apron to wear it over your clothes, to prevent the soup from splashing onto your clothes. Perfect for office workers who are always in white shirts. 

First came our gyoza. I don't normally order their gyoza as the main highlight is their ramen. But their gyoza is delicious too! crispy skin with juicy meat.

Finally my long awaited Honmaru ramen (JPY780, approx SGD12). Can you imagine waiting outside in the cold and rainy weather for close to half and hour and finally a bowl of piping hot ramen arrives in front of you. The euphoria of taking the first sip of soup is indescribable! 

The noodles look like our yellow noodles, but they are definitely not. The noodles are cooked just right, and has a springy bite to it. In my opinion, thick noodles goes best with thick tonkotsu soup. 

You can see the bits of pork back fat in the soup. However, it does not make the soup any oily at all. 

The egg is also cooked perfectly well - still flowy in the middle, but the egg white still remains soft. 


Besides their main tonkotsu soup base ramens, Mutekiya also serves tsukemen, and rice bowls. Unlike most ramen shops which only have a few ramen selections, Mutekiya has a variety of close to 15 types of ramen and more than 10 types of toppings. You are sure to find one to your liking!


Mensoubou Mutekiya 麺創房無敵家
1-17-1, Minami Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
東京都豊島区南池袋1-17-1
Open daily: 1030am - 4am
Closest train station: Ikebukuro east exit