Menya Sakura (麺屋桜)

By now, I guessed everyone has aware of how ramen invades Jakarta.. I don't have to list down all those names for you.. Menya Sakura is one of the latest ramen house to open a new outlet in Jakarta.. Originated from Nagoya, Japan, this ramen house is famous as the 'small store, long queue'.. 

Arriving around 11.50 AM, I was quite surprise that the ramen house was crowded and full with people craving for ramen.. Located in the 2nd floor, this restaurant was quite small and you can hear the hustle of people chatting.. So, the waiter taking our name in the waiting list is a Japanese guy.. Personally, I think he's a store manager taking over due to the long queue.. After waiting around 10 minutes and deciding what to order, we finally got our table at the back corner of the restaurant.. I have to say I was impressed with their speed in managing the queue.. The table was cleaned in split second and the new customers can quickly get their tables..

On the table, a tray of all condiments were available.. I noticed fresh garlic, soy sauce, chili powder and this purplish powder tasted like salt.. It was one hot afternoon that I picked the cold ocha 10k for drinks.. It's not refillable, but the glass was quite big, so I have no complains..

So, the each of the girls ordered tonkotsu ramen 49.8k while the guys ordered spicy tonkotsu char-shu men 75k.. Not a creative group, eh? As far as I know, tonkotsu ramen is the most famous menu in all ramen houses.. It's a bowl of ramen in a pork-based soup broth served with pork slices and half soft-boiled egg.. While spicy tonkotsu char-shu men is the spicy version of tonkotsu broth served with more pork slices.. And that is why the guys were having the char-shu men.. See? More pork, more love from the guys..

The broth looked quite thick, I guessed it's the result of hours of pork cooking in the attempt to get the best flavor.. Thank God, it was still quite light and not overwhelming.. Definitely not as thick as those broth I found in other ramen houses, which is good.. The soup was really tasty and delicious, all at the right level.. I prefer the basic tonkotsu soup (added with chili powder according to my liking) to the spicy tonkotsu as the spicy one was too oily for my palate.. The ramen was cooked al dente, chewy and smooth.. Again, it's at the right level of not being too hard or too mushy.. 

Now, let's continue to the best thing in the bowl, the char-shu.. Let me tell you, those pork slices were to die for.. It was so, so good as it literally melts in you mouth, giving a nice, fragrant pork taste at its best.. Heavenly! 

So we had our big meal, but you know that there will always be room for dessert, no? Menya Sakura's dessert selection is quite limited but I was attracted to the mochi green tea 20k.. Consisted of two pieces of mochi and green tea ice cream, then topped with soy powder.. The mochi was mediocre and a bit tasteless, but the green tea ice cream saves the day! It was smooth and not overly sweet, in other word, it was perfect! Perhaps next time, I will just order the green tea ice cream, which was priced 12k..

So overall, it was a hearty lunch at Menya Sakura.. The food was delicious at a reasonable price.. On top of above price, you will be charged 10% for tax and 5% for service.. I will come back for their green tea ice cream, for sure..

Menya Sakura

Lotte Shopping Avenue 2nd Floor

Jln. Prof. Dr. Satrio Kav. 3-5

South Jakarta

Ph.: 6221 2988 9256 

www.menyasakura.co.id