Ramen Manddang

Ramen Manddang

The cup-of-noodle is undoubtedly one of the greatest inventions of the last hundred years. When Momofuku Ando perfected the instant noodle, he made fast, hot and cheap meals available not only to the people of postwar Japan, but also to millions of picky children and broke college students across the world. Unfortunately for many people, the bottom of a cup of Shin Ramyeon is the furthest that they will dig into the world of ramen. While cup-of-noodles certainly have their place in the world, a hot bowl of fresh ramen achieves a rare kind of perfection unattainable by a packet of dehydrated vegetables and spices. Although good ramen can be hard to find in Gwangju, Ramen Manddang in Bongseong-dong proves to be worth the trip.

Atmosphere and Service

Ramen Manddang has a small dining room, with booths and tables that take up every available space. While the small booths make for a comfortable atmosphere, they may make seating difficult for groups of more than four people. The menu is all in Korean, but if you do not know your way around Hangeul or the various ramen styles of Japan, the owner is happy to explain everything in perfect English.

Food

Ramen is the kind of dish that can vary wildly depending on what region of Japan it comes from. Rather than focus on one specific kind of ramen, Ramen Manddang offers a variety of different styles. One of the trendier styles on the menu is tonkotsu ramen, which is based on a broth made by boiling pork bones for nearly sixteen hours. This long cooking time creates a thick, milky broth that is very heavy and incredibly satisfying. The tonkotsu here was nice and creamy, with little orbs of fat floating on the top, but the broth was perhaps a little lighter than a normal tonkotsu. That said, it was still a delicious take on the style. The noodles had a good texture and the chashu, the slice of roasted pork on top, was tender with a good char.

The miso ramen was another highlight. This broth gets most of its flavor from miso, a paste made from fermented soybeans that gives the broth a slightly funky, salty taste. The miso broth was lighter than the tonkotsu and topped with plenty of bean sprouts and cabbage, along with the usual chashu and green onions. A nice little touch was that the cabbage was roasted a little before going into the bowl, which gave it a much more interesting flavor than simply cooking it in the broth.

In addition to ramen, Ramen Manddang also serves plenty of other Japanese dishes, ranging from takoyaki, or octopus balls, to okonomiyaki, a sort of savory pancake topped with a barbecue-like sauce, a little mayonnaise and dried tuna flakes. While it would be hard to recommend any of these over the ramen, one dish that provides a welcome accompaniment to any meal is gyoza. These little dumplings are filled with pork and spices and then fried until brown and crunchy.

Prices for ramen range from 7,000 to 9,000 KRW per bowl, while dishes like takoyaki and okonomiyaki cost 10,000 to 15,000. Japanese sake is also available; starting at 8,000 won a glass.

Directions

Take a bus to Line Hyochin Apartments LIne. Exit the bus; go left to walk up the street; and turn right onto Yongdae Street.  Or Exit the bus; take a right back up the street; and turn right at Yondgdae Stree.  Walk about two blocks and Ramen Manddang is on the corner between a phone store and a Gwangju Bank.

Address: 광주광역시 납구 봉선2동 144-8/ 144-8 Bongseon 2-dong Nam-gu Gwangju

Tel: 062-430-7757

Hours: Daily 11:30 AM – 9:00 PM

Bus: 28, 37, 48, 50, 76 Hyochin Apartment Stop)