Mugi To Olive

Sometimes eating like a local means queuing like a local. Thankfully, at Mugi to Olive in Ginza, the lines don’t last long — which is a boon when you want some good shoyu ramen.

[Chicken soba with a marinated egg. - image © Florentyna Leow]

I don’t love queuing on the best of days, but it’s an occupational hazard when eating out in Tokyo. The key is picking your battles — when to stand in line, what for, and how long. Mugi to Olive is a ramen shop which I think is worth waiting in line for. Not too long. About 10 - 15 minutes is just right.

[The line just before noon. - image © Florentyna Leow]

Thankfully, the turnover at ramen shops is usually quick. This small ramen shop just behind the swanky GINZA SIX shopping complex has been featured multiple times in Michelin’s Bib Gourmand Guide. The lines are still shorter than what you’d expect from a noodle shop of this calibre, and that’s just fine by me.

[The line at half past twelve — if you can call it a line. - image © Florentyna Leow]

Like the best ramen shops, Mugi to Olive has a small handful of options — most of which are variations on one style or broth — and they do it well. They have three variations on their shoyu broth: one with chicken, one with niboshi (dried sardines), and one with hamaguri clams. At this point, I can only speak for the chicken - which was pretty great - but I have it on good authority that the version with clams is sublime.

[Decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse… - image © Florentyna Leow]

Sipping the shoyu-chicken broth is a real pleasure. There’s many layers of flavour to tease out here — the soy sauce (from an old brewery in Kagawa) with its almost malty notes, the chicken fat in the broth, the mitsuba (trefoil) and fried scallions adding a vegetal, herbal complexity reminiscent of bak kut teh. (The latter is a pork bone-based herbal soup common to Malaysia and Singapore.)

[Close-up of noodles and a twist of fried fishcake. - image © Florentyna Leow]

The noodles? Almost reminiscent of buckwheat noodles, and most importantly, they held their texture throughout my meal. I’m a slow eater, and noodles that go soggy too fast do not have my vote. It was good. I found out later that 20 types of wheat go into making these noodles. It’s an impressive number, but what it says is that Mugi to Olive really cares about each component in their ramen.

With toppings: the sous-vide chicken and pork slices are okay, but not much to write home about. The sheet of nori was surprisingly memorable, especially soaked in broth. And the nagaimo (mountain yam) batons and fishcake twist, both fried in olive oil, are unorthodox ramen toppings that just work very well here.

[No ramen bowl is complete without an egg. - image © Florentyna Leow]

But most importantly, don’t forget to make sure you have the ajitsuke tamago, or marinated egg. It has a golden, half-liquid yolk that’s close to perfect in my book.

You should also try splashing in some olive oil from the bottle on the counter halfway through your meal, which will give your ramen another flavor dimension. It will be, at the very least, quite interesting. (There’s also Tabasco sauce!)

[Everything you need for a TKG. - image © Florentyna Leow]

Mugi to Olive is also not a bad place to initiate yourself into the art of TKG. That’s tamagokake gohan, or raw egg on rice, usually drizzled with soy sauce. TKG at its most basic has so very few ingredients that it’s easy to distinguish the good from the great. Mugi to Olive’s TKG is not the absolute best, but it’s pretty good, mostly because of the quality of the egg. I like the strips of salted kelp throughout, and it’s especially good when you pour leftover ramen broth into the remainder of your rice.

[Cracked. - image © Florentyna Leow]

The DIY component of TKG is quite fun. First, you gotta crack your egg into the hot rice. If you want it pretty, make a little hollow indent in the rice. But who has time for that?

[Broken. - image © Florentyna Leow]

Pour on a little soy sauce. The TKG sauce is a small step up from regular soy sauce - it’s been blended specifically for pouring on TKG. It’s a little bit sweeter, has a little more bonito flavour. It’s not bad.

[Creamy, golden, eggy rice. - image © Florentyna Leow]

Then, stir with your chopsticks. Make sure each grain of rice is coated with egg. Let it get a little foamy. Adjust to taste. Alternate with sips of ramen broth, or just pour it in.

The great thing about ramen is its cost-performance, i.e. just how much care and thought goes into a noodle bowl that costs less than $10. I could go on and on about the attention to detail at Mugi to Olive, but at the end of the day, it’s a $10 bowl of ramen that happens to be really good.

If you’re here during summer, hot, soupy ramen isn’t a great idea. Instead, try the mazemen, which is basically a dry ramen (no broth). Mix your noodles with the egg yolk and slurp. Add an extra slug of olive oil like you’re saucing your pasta. Your body will (probably) thank you for it.

For more Tokyo ramen restaurant choices, see our Best Ramen In Tokyo page.

Name:
Mugi to Olive

Name in Japanese:
むぎとオリーブ 銀座本店

English address:
6-12-12, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0061

Japanese address:
〒104-0061 東京都中央区銀座6-12-12 銀座テラスビル1F

Opening hours:
Monday - Friday 11:30am - 10:00pm (L.O 9:45pm)
Saturday & Holiday 11:30am - 9:00pm (L.O. 8:45pm)
Closed Sundays

Smoking environment:
No

Nearest station:
Subway: 5-minute walk from Exit A5 of Ginza Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza, Marunouchi, or Hibiya line.

Reservations:
No

Outdoor seating:
No

Telephone:
+81-3-3571-2123

Website:
N/A

Customer Reviews:
Read customer reviews of Mugi to Olive on TripAdvisor

Eat Like A Local In Tokyo
See all recommended places to eat in Tokyo where you can mingle with the locals.

Near To Here:
Mugi to Olive is located in Tokyo’s Ginza district. See our complete list of things to do in Ginza, including places to eat, nightlife and places to stay.

More Tokyo Restaurant Recommendations:
See all ramen restaurants we recommend on our Best Ramen in Tokyo page and get the complete list for all cuisines on our Best Tokyo Restaurants page.

Where Is This Place Located?

• Open the Tokyo map
• You will see the list of places on the left hand side. (Click the 3-line icon in the top left corner if not). Scroll down or use the map search (the magnifying glass icon) to find the place you want.
• Click the name of the place in the list. Its location pin will be highlighted on the map.
• Map pins are color coded - BLUE: Hotels / Ryokan / Guesthouses | VIOLET: Ryokan | PINK: Places to Eat | GREEN: Shops | YELLOW: Things to See and Do
• If you’re using the map on your phone, open the map and then search for the name of the place. The map will then zoom in on its location.

---