Men Kui Tei is Just What the Doctor Ordered

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I know I promised to ease up on the Asian soups, but I’ve been sick all week… so back off! Sure, a good bowl of matzoh ball soup might have been tempting- but you know what is more tempting? A gigantic bowl of ramen. (Because this fat Jewish boy tends to react better to pork broth than chicken broth.)  I was totally inspired by Blondie and Brownie’s post about the tonkotsu ramen at Men Kui Tei (on 56th btw. 5+6th) on Monday, and it’s been a long time since I had slurped a bowl of what I called Best Ramen in Midtown back in 2007.

Apparently 1:45pm is the time to hit up Men Kui Tei. At 12:15 the line is out the door, but at 1:45pm I quickly got a seat at the near empty bar. I toyed with the idea of ordering one of their menu delicious sounding soups (miso ramen being my usual goto), but the milky tonkotsu called to me.

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And it didn’t disappoint. I’ve never tried Sapporo’s “more salty” version, but this soup was plenty salty enough… probably too much so for some. But the pork was delicious, and the ginger added a nice tang to the pork bone broth. The only thing I didn’t love was the ramen itself, which tasted a little more like pre packaged top ramen than I would have liked. (Still ate it all though…) I guess now I’ll have to try Sapporo’s version.

Men Kui Tei, 60 W. 56th St. (btw. 5 & 6th), 212-757-1642

6 Comments

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    the Tonkotsu ramen is definitely the best way to go, esp when you are sick, nothing soothes the soul better…

  • I think the non-asian soup is well on its way to being this years “wallgreen’s sandwich”. I’m not sure which one Zach will have first.

  • I wanted to go here today but it’s abit of walk from me so i went to Ariyoshi and had their nabeyaki udon.

  • If a glass of Sapporo and a bowl of Tonkotsu doesn’t cure you: go to a hospital, fast.

    I can testify to Men Kui Tei’s healing powers, mending everything from the flu to the shakes (on post-bender Mondays).

  • The ONLY soups that I eat are:

    Southern-style, homemade, chicken noodle soup;

    Southern-style chicken and dumplings soup; and

    Southern-style matzo ball soup (like comes out of a Streit’s box).

    And do I ever get sick? Hell no.

  • Zach, you should totally check out the souper soup at sarge’s. Matzoh ball, noodles, and a giant kreplach… unbelievable.

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