Mensousai Mugen

This place looked promising with the traditional style ramen bar seating at the top and a similar style downstairs with a cool projection of Japanese movies on the wall. The menu had a wide selection of choices from ramen, to lunch bento box specials, curries, seafood, and dessert.
I chose the standard miso ramen in regular size for $ 13 (large was $ 15). The entire bowl was entirely surprising and a bit disappointing for a ramen fan like me. Let’s start with the broth. It was both savory and sour at the same time. I couldn’t quite place the taste (dashi is not normally this sour), as it was a far cry from the traditional miso/​pork broth I was expecting.
Then there were the noodles. Advertised as the thinner noodle, it was actually quite large compared to normal egg noodles. It also had a strange consistency that was unique to the flour or ingredients used to make them.
Toppings were sparse: one pork slice, half an egg, corn and bean sprouts. They should have added the toppings offered on the sesame soy sauce ramen: bamboo shoots and seaweed. It lacked the depth and the richness I was hoping to savour from my ramen experience.
One redeeming quality was the friendly staff. I was greeted upon entering and leaving, they offered to hang up my coat, and thanked me for coming. They were also quick with serving, although it was not very busy for lunch time.
If I happened to find myself at the restaurant again, I would gladly try another dish in the hopes that their non-​ramen cuisine stands out. However, I won’t be going out of my way to venture back any time soon.

Love this place. Great service. Delicious ramen. Recommend thick ramen dipping in tasty soup. Most dish is just under $ 15.

Mensousai Mugen is literally an underground ramen bar. An inconspicuous ramen bar located on Bligh Pl, opposite Robot Bar (an awesome Japanese bar). Unlike the popular Little Ramen Bar and Hakata Gensuke, there’s no line outside. That’s not to say this place isn’t worth checking out. It simply means the word has yet to spread amongst the foodies and Melbournians.
You’ll be impressed when you first step inside, especially if you can appreciate nice architecture. The interior is slick, dark and elegant with a slightly eerie finish. There was no one eating inside. Well that’s what I thought till a Japanese lady directed me to head downstairs, which I was pleasantly surprised to see a small cozy yet modern dining area. There was a black and white old Japanese movie projected against the wall and a bar on the side. I sat down and the first thing I saw in front of me was a paper menu on one side and an animé on the other. It was quite cute and reminded me of Akihabara in Japan (Geek district). The restrooms was quite nice too, with the same theme of black, grey and eerie finish.
I had the «Wafu Ramen» which included soy sauce, dashi broth cooked over 48 hours, house made thin noodle served with slow cooked pork (chashu), bamboo shoots and seaweed. The dish came in a pretty Japanese ceramic bowl. I ordered the medium size for $ 13. It also comes in large size for $ 15.The broth was sightly salty and lacklustre (not as good as aromatic and wholesome as Hakata Gensuke) but better than the foodcourt ramen broth quality. I really liked the handmade noodles. It’s soft and slightly chewy, not dry. The chashu is tender and melts inside your mouth. You can tell that this meat has been cooking for a long time. Overall, a good dish at a reasonable price especially considering a really good/​gourmet ramen in Melbourne can cost you $ 15 – 20 for a bowl.
This ramen eatery has a lot of potential. I think Mensousai Mugen needs to improve on their broth and customer service. Their customer service is slightly slow. It didn’t bother me as I wasn’t in a rush ti eat and go. Plus I was quite happy sitting inside this place which seems like a secret to the rest of Melbourne.
The ramen won’t be as good as the ones in Japan or Hakata Gensuke (best ramen in Melbourne in my opinion) but it’s certainly worth a try. I say give it go!

Most meals under $ 20… Good casual Japanese style dining experience… Get the Wafu Tsukemen and slurp!

After a couple of beers at Robot Bar we went to Mensousai Mugen for ramen. We opted for the basement because of its atmosphere. Their place mats were instructional manga which I found cute.
I had their only vegetarian ramen, a hiyashi with salad, omelette and sesame soy. The ramen was firm and easily the star of the dish. I also enjoyed their chips with green laver and salt.
They’d brewed their own beer with Thunder Road, a lively and unique saison. We followed these with Oakdene pinot noir and stayed until close.