Menya Kintoki (麺や 金時); Golden Time Ramen in Ekoda, Tokyo
The Tabelog top 100 list is honestly littered with ramen shops in discreet places, on the outskirt of central Tokyo along train lines you’ve never even heard of. Menya Kintoki is one of those shops that kept creeping lower and lower on my hit list due to its inconvenient location from where I live. NamaJapanTV has recently been trying to clear the Tokyo top 100 as well and when he asked where we could go that neither of us has been, this shop immediately came to mind. Kintoki is located in between Ekoda station of the Ikebukuro line and Kotake-mukaihara station of the Fukutoshin/Yurakucho line. Open since 2012, the shop has even garnered recognition from the Michelin Guide a couple years back. Despite its location outside central Tokyo, it is still regarded as one of the top shops in the city as well as being a local favorite, so be prepared for long queues regardless of the day. Kintoki only seats about 8 people so the line moves quite slow so be patient and bring a book to kill some time while in line.
Unfortunately the shops don’t have an English menu so I’ll translate the ticket machine here. Top row is their most popular menu item which is the Shio Ramen. From left to right is the Shio ramen in various topping options starting with a regular bowl on the left, then with the Ajitama soft boiled egg, with won tons, and finally the Tokusei with two shrimp cakes, two slices of chicken thigh chashu, two won tons, an ajitama soft boiled egg, negi, pink pepper, and three pieces of menma bamboo shoots. Second row is the Shoyu ramen with the same topping options. The third row is the Shiru-nashi tantanmen which is served, from left to right, regular, with egg, rich in flavor, and rich in flavor with egg. Next row is the rice and extra spice for the tantanmen. Fifth row is for Ajitama soft boiled egg and menma bamboo shoots. Final row is beer, extra noodles, an apron, and finally receipts for your order. On this day, I opted to get the Tokusei Shio ramen pictured below.
I’m not really sure what possessed me to order the Shio Ramen on this day as I’m not the biggest fan of it if given the choice between Shio and Shoyu. However, since it seemed to be the recommended ramen with it being at the top row, I felt obligated to try it as it was my first time here. Pretty glad I did as this was probably one of the best Shio bowls I’ve had in the Tabelog Haykumeiten. Let me start off by first noting on the plating. Of course it looks a bit busy because I ordered the Tokusei with extra toppings, but it still looks so beautifully organized. The tablemats underneath was a nice touch as well and I enjoyed the exquisite service from the master despite it being busy and a one man operation.
As you can probably tell, the broth is a tori chintan or tanrei, light chicken broth and is apparently made from grilled chicken meat. I’m not quite sure what that means, but from what I’ve read, they roast the chicken ahead of time before steeping for the soup. Himalayan salt makes up the salt tare which pairs with the tori chintan beautifully. A very thin layer of Chiyu chicken oil float on the surface which help accentuate the chicken flavors without making the soup too heavy. The light aesthetic is the charm at Kintoki and I appreciated their crafting of the bowl to align with that theme. Noodles are sourced from Mikawaya Seimen and as you probably know from previous posts, is one of my favorite noodle manufacturers. I thought the balance was spot on and the thin, snappy noodles complimented the soup nicely.
As for the toppings, as I ordered the Tokusei, or extra topping version, I had a plump shrimp meatball, a rolled chicken chashu, wontons, menma bamboo shoots, long cut green onions with a bit of chili powder sprinkled over it, and a beautifully cooked Ajitama soft boiled egg. I thought the shrimp meatball was a nice addition as it gave the bowl some much needed umami lifters and it went really well with the soup. While the shrimp was plump, the paste gave it good texture after being boiled and I enjoyed the contrast between it and the noodles. Rolled chicken chashu was pretty predictable, but I did enjoy it as it fit the theme of the bowl and a pork chashu probably would have been excessive. Wontons were plump and juicy, but I didn’t think was too necessary. However, the menma and green onions, as simple as it sounds, really carried the toppings for me. The hosaki menma was a bit stringier than usual which went quite well with the green onions which were cut long to retain a pleasant crunch. Seasoned with some chili powder, the trio with the menma made for some really nice flavor combinations. Finally the soft boiled egg was honestly spot on in terms of cooking time with the yolk oozing out just the way I like it in to the soup after splitting it open.
Quite ashamed that it took me so long to make a visit to Kintoki, despite numerous people telling me how good it was. Glad I finally made it out however and now I need a repeat visit as I’ve been informed that the Tantanmen might be even better than their ramen. Moral of the story is to never let distance get in the way of ramen as the hidden gems are always in the most auspicious neighborhoods. If you’re here as a tourist, or even live right here in Tokyo, make some spontaneous trips and you might find some great shio ramen along the way. Definitely recommend a visit for a golden time bowl.