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Located just a short walk from Nakameguro Station is Paimen, a ramen shop that I had been meaning to go to for a while — and while they are mostly known for their ramen, what brought me in on this particular visit was a limited time mazesoba that caught my eye.

For those unfamiliar, mazesoba is essentially a dry noodle dish — no broth, just a rich sauce that sits at the bottom of the bowl waiting for you to mix everything together. It is less common than your standard ramen, and when it is done well it is an incredible thing. Paimen’s version absolutely falls into that category.

The specific one I ordered was a 鶏油 (chicken oil) mazesoba, which as the name suggests is built around a rich chicken oil base. Now, I want to be upfront — this was a limited time menu item, so I cannot guarantee it will be available when you go. But if it is, or if something similar is on the board, do not hesitate.

The bowl came topped with a raw egg yolk sitting right in the centre, thick slices of chashu pork, bamboo shoots, green onion, and a sheet of seaweed. Before you do anything else, break that yolk and mix everything together — the chicken oil sitting at the bottom of the bowl gets pulled up through the noodles and coats everything evenly, and the egg yolk adds a creaminess that brings the whole thing together in a way that is hard to describe without just telling you to try it yourself.

What impressed me most was how rich the bowl was without feeling heavy. Chicken oil can go either way — done poorly it just tastes greasy, but here it was aromatic and deep without overwhelming the other flavours. The chashu was tender and well seasoned, the bamboo shoots had a good crunch to them, and the noodles had the kind of firm texture that holds up well when you are mixing everything together rather than going soft on you halfway through. All of this for ¥1,000, which for Nakameguro of all places, is genuinely remarkable.

I also tried the gyoza here which I would strongly recommend ordering alongside whatever you get from the main menu. These are cooked with back fat and ginger — the back fat gives them an incredible crispiness on the outside that you do not get from the standard pan-fried version, and the ginger cuts through the richness in exactly the right way. They were some of the better gyoza I have had at a ramen shop and felt like a well thought out accompaniment rather than an afterthought.

The shop itself is a mix of counter and table seats, which makes it easy to go either solo or with someone. The ordering system is electronic with pictures, and you buy your ticket before entering and hand it to the staff when you come in — the same ticket machine style setup you will find at a lot of ramen shops in Tokyo. If you are not used to this system do not worry, the machine has pictures so you can point and tap your way through it without needing to read Japanese.

The staff were genuinely friendly which is always a nice bonus, and the interior had a clean, modern feel to it without being pretentious. It is the kind of place that takes its food seriously without making you feel like you need to dress up to eat there.

Paimen is primarily a ramen shop and based on how good the mazesoba was, I can only imagine the ramen is equally worth your time. I will be going back to try it properly and would not be surprised if it becomes a regular spot for me. The location could not be more convenient for anyone spending time in Nakameguro, and the price point makes it an easy recommendation to make without any hesitation.

If you are in the area and looking for a bowl that punches well above its price point, Paimen is exactly the kind of place this blog exists to point you towards.

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