How Jun Furukawa Developed Men-Eiji’s tare
Men-Eiji’s ramen is built around a broth that announces its richness: seafood and pork bones create a cloudy, aromatic gyokai-tonkotsu with substantial body. The tare, the concentrated seasoning added to that broth, gives the bowl its savoury centre. Jun Furukawa developed the recipe so the two would work together, rather than serving a heavy stock with a sauce that merely makes it saltier.
His route to that balance came through restaurant work, international pop-ups and collaborations, each exposing him to different kitchens and palates. The process was iterative: taste the broth, judge the seasoning at serving temperature and refine the result. For Australian diners familiar with Sydney’s Haymarket or Melbourne’s laneway dining, that patient approach offers a clear entry into Japanese noodle craft and the character of Men-Eiji’s Sapporo venues.
A rich broth needs a precise seasoning
For Furukawa, the central challenge was that a seafood-and-pork broth can be generous with flavour yet surprisingly difficult to season. Its fat, minerals and aroma can mute a delicate sauce. A tare added only for salt may disappear against the tonkotsu, while a forceful tare can overwhelm the noodles. The broth and seasoning therefore became a single design problem, with enough savoury structure to register and enough restraint for the seafood, pork and noodle texture to remain distinct.
A ramen tare commonly combines soy seasoning with stock-making ingredients such as kombu and dried bonito. Copying that ingredient list would not reproduce Men-Eiji’s result, because a formula and a working relationship are different things. Furukawa’s contribution was to find the relationship: how much salt the broth could carry, which aromas should remain distinct and where a touch of sweetness could round the finish without making the bowl taste dessert-like.
His tasting method therefore began with changes in the finished bowl. Warm broth dilutes and softens a concentrated sauce; fresh noodles alter its first impression; a mouthful taken near the end reveals a different finish. Furukawa’s development became a cycle of adding, tasting and adjusting. The measure of success was a broth that seemed longer and cleaner after the tare, with no single flavour pulling the experience apart.
The work of tasting and refinement
Refinement also required attention to concentration. A tare that tastes balanced alone can become assertive once diluted through a large ladle of broth, while restrained seasoning can vanish beneath the fat of a pork-heavy bowl. Furukawa’s repeated tastings allowed him to judge the sauce in context, following how its salt, aroma and lingering savouriness changed as the ramen cooled.
International work added fresh tests. Soy sauces available in another country may not match those used in Japan, local dashi traditions differ and diners at the counter often expect a different intensity. Through pop-ups and collaborations, Furukawa could meet those preferences without abandoning the defining character of his own broth. That balance matters to Australian diners, who may know a punchy shoyu from a Sydney counter but recognise the value of a more layered seasoning profile.
The lesson is not that every ramen maker should follow one tare formula. Other kitchens need different relationships between salt, sweetness and aroma. Reading a broader menu, such as Yamazaki Ramen’s menu, is useful because it places the seasoning within a complete set of broth, noodles and toppings. What carries across is Furukawa’s method: judge the sauce by what it does to the whole bowl.
Reading the balance across ramen styles
Reading the tare becomes easier once you separate broth intensity from seasoning intensity. Men-Eiji’s seafood-and-pork tonkotsu supplies body, fat and marine depth; the tare contributes a different kind of concentration. Salt gives definition, fermented soy supplies savoury depth, and aromatic stock components lift the nose. Those layers work together when the proportions and temperature support one another. Different ramen traditions place the seasoning in a different position.
| Broth style | Tare profile | Character of the finished bowl |
|---|---|---|
| Men-Eiji’s seafood-and-pork tonkotsu | Savoury, soy-led seasoning with layered aroma | A rounded, full-bodied bowl in which the tare completes rather than dominates |
| Shoyu-style | Soy-rich, often sharper and more aromatic | Clear umami, immediate savoury depth and a pronounced finish |
| Shio-style | Lightly salted and restrained | A delicate framework that lets subtle broth flavours lead |
| Miso-style | Fermented and rounded, sometimes paired with soy tare | Fuller body, gentle sweetness and deeper aromatic persistence |
These contrasts show why a tare cannot be judged alone. Shio seasoning that suits a delicate broth can overpower a full-bodied bowl, while a sweet, assertive sauce may make a lighter ramen taste flat. In Men-Eiji’s expression, the tare gives the gyokai-tonkotsu a savoury axis and a clean finish. The broth still provides the body; the seasoning makes each mouthful feel more deliberate.
The exact ratios and preparation method are not set out publicly, and aroma alone cannot reconstruct them. Staff guidance and the menu offer more reliable clues than a home shortcut. Furukawa’s achievement is therefore best judged at the counter: the bowl should stay balanced from the first sip to the last, with the tare revealing detail in the broth rather than covering it.
Men-Eiji beyond Hokkaido and in Australia
Recognition has followed that consistency. Furukawa’s career includes international pop-ups, culinary collaborations and a Michelin Bib Gourmand, an honour associated with good cooking and good value rather than novelty alone. Men-Eiji’s reputation rests on the same idea: a distinctive bowl prepared with enough care that the result remains approachable.
For Australians, premium ramen is easier to understand when translated into everyday choices. Melbourne’s laneway counters and Sydney’s Japanese dining precincts offer settings where a single bowl can be the whole meal, while weekend dinner bookings, GST-inclusive prices and optional tipping around 10 percent reflect how the local market works. In conversation, “savoury”, “meaty” and “clean” often say more than specialist broth vocabulary.
Dietary questions also deserve care. A meat-based broth may still contain bonito-based dashi, and a restaurant’s willingness to accommodate a request does not guarantee that a dish is suitable for every allergy. Online discovery has a similarly mixed quality: a page about Stellar Casino XLM is entertainment coverage, not culinary evidence, so check the subject and source before treating an online recommendation as dining advice.
Build your Sapporo ramen itinerary
Sapporo rewards a little planning, especially in winter, when a warm bowl becomes part of the city’s daily rhythm. MEN-EIJI Hiragishi BASE and Duck Ramen EIJI give visitors two addresses for exploring that rhythm. A Men-Eiji restaurant guide can help identify the right location, while direct confirmation of opening hours and seating is sensible for an international trip.
From Australia, bring specific questions rather than a demand for the secret formula. Ask which bowl expresses the house tare, whether the seasoning changes with the broth and how staff recommend approaching the menu. A translation app can help when menus are Japanese-only. Keep your expectations flexible: a restaurant’s signature is a complete bowl, not a sauce that can be judged outside its setting.
- Begin with the house gyokai-tonkotsu at MEN-EIJI Hiragishi BASE, since it most directly reveals the relationship between seafood-and-pork broth and Furukawa’s seasoning.
- Taste the broth before adding chilli oil or other condiments; extras can hide the tare’s aroma and obscure its original balance.
- Notice aroma, salt, sweetness and finish as the bowl cools, since heat and dilution change how a concentrated seasoning presents itself.
- Visit Duck Ramen EIJI for a different expression of Sapporo ramen instead of treating it as a repeat of the house bowl.
- If travelling from Australia, confirm opening hours, seating and dietary needs directly; bring a translation app for Japanese-only menu details.
Make Men-Eiji the anchor of your Sapporo ramen itinerary. Leave room to eat slowly, ask what makes the broth distinctive and let the tare settle on your palate before ordering another bowl. Follow the aroma, take the first sip and discover why Furukawa’s careful balance has carried a Sapporo name well beyond Hokkaido.