Dining at This Ramen Spot in Japan Requires a Safety Briefing First

Trust us, it's worth it.

Kyoto, the one-time capital of Japan, is a place that can sometimes feel trapped in time. Most travelers — and there are plenty of them — swarm into the city to see one of the famous historic temples or to have a Kyoto Kaiseki dining experience, which involves sitting cross-legged on tatami mats through at least seven, if not nine, delicate courses, the same way it’s been served for centuries, or, if their trip is timed right, to catch the cherry blossoms in full bloom.

Yes, Kyoto is famous for its rich history, traditions, and natural beauty. But it also is home to one of the most interesting and forward-thinking ramen spots I’ve ever been to.

Unlike many other top-tier restaurants in Kyoto (and Japan in general), which are tucked away on random floors of buildings, Menbaka Fire Ramen is difficult to miss. After all, if you happen to be walking down the street and turn your head into the clear glass doors, chances are you’ll see a burst of flames shooting up toward the ceiling at any given moment.

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To dine here involves donning a lobster bib and undergoing a crash-course safety briefing, which is more thorough than one you’d need to go bungee jumping. Before your bowl is placed before you, the chef comes over with flip cards, instructing you to put your hands behind your back, to never, ever stand up (at least while the fire thing is happening), and to not touch your bowl until the server tells you. Ready? The show is about to begin.

Next, a bowl of ramen is put down in front of you, and the owner — he is wearing a nametag with the words “boss” written on it — comes over, wearing a glove on his left hand that looks like it was borrowed from part of an astronaut’s suit. He’s holding a scalding hot cast iron pan with remnants of flames still coming off it. He reaches over, tilts it slightly over the ramen bowl, and for a moment, your whole world goes up in smoke.

The whoosh of flames is drowned out by the raucous laughter of the chef, cackling like a creature from hell — because you’ve got to have fun with it, right? The flames disappear after a few seconds, but if your eyebrows are anything like mine, they’ll tingle until you leave the restaurant (they are still intact, by the way).

While this sounds like a quick gag, it is, and it isn’t. Masamachi Miyazawa, AKA “the boss,” is serious about ramen. He spent his youth training at ramen restaurants all over Japan, and the recipe for Menbaka’s shoyu is notably 226 years old. But Miyazawa says he wanted to do something different, and it all started with leeks.

He says Kujo Negi, a local varietal of leek found as a topping to most ramen in Kyoto, is served at ramen spots all over the city, but he wanted it to taste more. “No one was getting the flavor from it,” he tells me.

So, he tried several methods. First, he tried to put a heat stone in the ramen, but it broke, which didn’t make for a great dining experience. He tried sauteeing the leeks, but they came out a little soggy, especially when submerged in broth. Finally, he borrowed a technique from Chinese cuisine of pouring hot oil over onions to cook them.

And that’s where the umami of this ramen comes from, I think. Miyazawa describes the flavor as “wok hei,” and I couldn’t agree more — the scorched scallions lend the entire bowl of ramen a flavor not unlike that of a Chinese stir-fry. The noodles are perfectly cooked, and while it is on the oilier side (the chef did just pour hot oil onto the bowl) the broth is well-seasoned, too.

And hey, maybe it’s just me, but I think food tastes better immediately after a near-death experience. 

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