I-Mei insists on no artificial additives   Taiwanese ramen shop IROHA’s noodles contain no alkaline water

▲ Toyama Black Soy Sauce Flavored Egg Ramen

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan / Hsinchu

I-Mei Foods, which introduced and distributes “Menya Iroha (面家いろは / Menya IROHA),” famous for its Toyama black soy sauce ramen, will begin trial operations on December 14 and officially open on December 22. As I-Mei places great emphasis on food safety, it insisted from the start of agency discussions on using natural ingredients and no artificial additives—even the noodles could not contain alkaline water. Menya IROHA President Kiwaki Kiyoshi said this was one of the challenges of setting up shop in Taiwan, and another challenge was using I-Mei’s whole soybean pure-brewed soy sauce to formulate black soy sauce.

Faced with I-Mei’s insistence, Kiwaki Kiyoshi said these were the two major challenges in coming to Taiwan. He explained that Japanese ramen noodles must contain alkaline water—without it, they can’t even be called ramen—but I-Mei insisted it couldn’t be added. So he and I-Mei’s team began making improvements in Taiwan. After six months, they finally created noodles with a similar texture but without alkaline water.


▲ The noodles at Taiwan’s Menya IROHA do not contain alkaline water

Another difficult challenge was the black soy sauce—the key element of black soy sauce ramen—which also had to be free of artificial additives and was formulated using I-Mei’s whole soybean pure-brewed soy sauce. After a month of continuous trials, and starting over whenever they were dissatisfied, they went through 10 iterations before finally perfecting the taste a few days ago. President Kiwaki Kiyoshi said that black soy sauce ramen is Menya IROHA’s signature dish. Although it looks very dark and seems salty, it’s actually not salty or greasy.

Since Taiwan’s Menya IROHA uses almost exclusively local Taiwanese ingredients, President Kiwaki Kiyoshi did his utmost to match the flavors to those in Japan. However, he said adjustments were made to suit local Taiwanese preferences, particularly in terms of saltiness and spiciness, which are toned down.


▲ Platinum Chicken Broth Flavored Egg Ramen


▲ Spicy Chicken Broth Flavored Egg Ramen

The ramen flavors at Taiwan’s Menya IROHA are mainly divided into black soy sauce ramen, platinum chicken broth ramen, and spicy chicken broth ramen. The black soy sauce ramen series is based on black soy sauce, with broths simmered using ingredients such as pork bones and seafood. The platinum chicken broth ramen series features broths made primarily from chicken bones, chicken feet, and kelp. As for the spicy chicken broth ramen series, it’s the platinum chicken broth with added spice.

Currently, Menya IROHA offers only three ramen flavors, but limited-edition flavors will be introduced from time to time in the future. President Kiwaki Kiyoshi also revealed that they are currently developing a new type of ramen centered around soy milk.

As for why the first store was opened in Zhubei? The manager of Taiwan’s Menya IROHA said it was based on considerations by I-Mei’s professional team, but from his observation, the area has high foot and vehicle traffic, and there has been a lot of inquiries in recent days, giving him confidence in the store’s operations after opening.

Address: No. 103, Ziqiang South Road, Zhubei City, Hsinchu County

▲ Very tender char siu (barbecued pork)


▲ Handmade pork and chive pan-fried dumplings


▲ Mini char siu<。


▲ Ramen menu


▲ One of the dining environments


▲ The storefront