Yousukou Ramen Meimon Kamiyama Branch

Among the several Yousukou Ramen restaurants that have opened in Umeda and other areas of Osaka, I visited the Kamiyama Branch of Yousukou Ramen Meimon, which is rumored to have the most extensive menu of a la carte dishes other than ramen. One of the nice things about this restaurant is that they are open all day, which is not the trend in today’s world, and I had been planning to visit for a long time, thinking that it would be a good place to go if I missed lunch. And the other day, I was in the mood to fill my stomach before the night work started, and I went to the restaurant. Restaurant that are open even halfway through the day, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., are a very welcome sight nowadays, isn’t that right?

The rumor of “the most extensive a la carte menu” was true…Yousukou Ramen Meimon Kamiyama Branch is a ramen shop like this… 

Yousukou Ramen Meimon Kamiyama Branch is located in a rather secluded area, right in the middle of Umeda and Tenma, if you look at a map. There is a junior high school in front of the store, and despite being in the middle of Osaka, the area has a rather lived-in feel. Rumor has it that the restaurant itself has been in business for more than 30 years, and both the exterior and interior show its age (by the way, there are nine counter seats and one table for two inside the restaurant). In that sense, it has a slightly different atmosphere from the Yousukou Ramen brand restaurants I’ve been to.

Now then, let’s verify the rumors about the menu, shall we? There is a menu list outside the restaurant… 

There are many kinds of ramen as well as a la carte dishes. The menu of “Yousukou Ramen Lin Ji” in Usagano-cho has a lot of dishes, but at a glance, the number of dishes seems to exceed that of “Yousukou Ramen Lin Ji”. It is true what they say that they have the most extensive a la carte menu among all the Yousukou Ramen restaurants chain. Personally, I was attracted to the cold noodles, which are only available from May to September. When the temperature gets a little warmer, I may revisit the restaurant to try this cold noodle dish…

I already know that the ramen is delicious…so what did I think when I ordered the Mapo-don at Yousukou Ramen Meimon Kamiyama Branch?

I already know that the ramen is delicious, and since I came all the way to Yousukou Ramen Meimon Kamiyama Branch, I had to try something else on the menu…so I ordered the mapo-don (750 yen (tax included). After about 5 minutes of waiting after ordering, the donburi was brought in front of me… 

A generous amount of hot bean paste was poured over the white rice to cover it completely. The tofu is the most distinctive feature of the dish. It is cut into very small pieces. It is probably less than 1 cm in diameter. I don’t think I have ever seen tofu cut so finely at any other restaurant.

Now, let’s try it… As you can see, the bean curd is quite strong and rich, and the pepper gradually becomes numb over time. The pepper is also quite effective, leaving a lingering numbness in the mouth for a while after eating. On the other hand, the spiciness of the chili pepper is not so strong, and while the [hemp] is great, the [hot] is not so great…. In any case, I felt that it was not a beverage-style mapo doufu arranged for the Japanese, but a very authentic mapo doufu. If I had to say so, I would say that this seasoned bean curd would be better suited to cotton tofu, but, well, that’s a minor quibble.

To my delight, the rice is also very hearty. I once ordered a bowl of hot-and-sour bean paste rice at Gyoza no Ohsho a few months ago, and was shocked to find that the rice was so small that the price had been stealthily raised. My sense is that there was twice as much rice as there was then… The price is about the same, and if I want to eat Chinese food in this area, I personally would go here rather than to Gyoza no Ohsho.

Special set menus are available throughout business hours…To get to the Yousukou Ramen Meimon Kamiyama Branch, a 6-minute walk from the nearest station, Ogimachi Station on the Osaka Metro Sakaisuji Line

A special set menu is available throughout business hours at the Yousukou Ramen Meimon Kamiyama Branch… 

There are a total of six different set menus, mainly consisting of ramen and one dish. All of them are available for around 1,000 yen, which is a great deal, especially in this day and age. What’s more, it’s not limited to lunch time, but can be ordered throughout business hours. I highly recommend it for those days when you miss out on lunch, as I did.

Here are the details of the restaurant… 

Also a 6-minute walk from Nakazaki-cho Station on Osaka Metro Tanimachi Line.

P.S. If you are looking for delicious ramen in Osaka, please stop by this article…