Falaiken: The Kagurazaka Soupless Ramen with Carnitas in It
One of the ramen at Falaiken in Kagurazaka has carnitas in it! That sounds random until you know who's cooking. The owner has worked in Chinese kitchens, Mexican kitchens and at one of Tokyo's best-known ramen groups (Mensho), and all three show up in the two bowls I tried.
Falaiken (發来軒) opened in July 2026 and specializes in banmen, or soupless ramen. It's a fun new addition to one of my favorite neighborhoods in Tokyo.
Falaiken Kagurazaka - The Chef Behind the Bowls
Owner Eiki Sunanaga has cooked at a Bib Gourmand Chinese restaurant, run a Mexican kitchen and led product development at Mensho. You can see the Mensho training in how carefully everything is put together. But the flavors come from everywhere he's cooked.
After about ten years living in Kagurazaka, he opened Falaiken just off the main street near the top of the hill. The name plays on fa cai, a Chinese phrase wishing someone prosperity, with a nod to reggae's "Rastafari" thrown in.
What is Banmen?
Banmen (拌麺) is a soupless noodle dish that's an everyday staple in China. Instead of sitting in broth, the noodles come with a sauce and toppings at the bottom of the bowl, and you mix everything together before eating.
If you've had abura soba or soupless tantanmen in Japan, you already know the idea. Falaiken makes everything without added MSG and keeps the menu to two main bowls, one Japanese style and one Sichuan style.
Nisshiki Banmen: the Japanese style
The nisshiki banmen (日式拌麺) is Falaiken's take on abura soba, Japan's own version of banmen. It's built on tori paitan, a rich chicken base, but it eats lighter than you'd expect. The house soy sauce tare uses bonito and mackerel flakes, so it has a deep, savory dashi character, and yuzu juice from Kochi keeps it bright.
Then there's the carnitas: pork braised until it falls apart, then shredded. It sounds like it wouldn't belong in a Japanese-style bowl, but it fits right in with the fish and citrus. It's finished with an extra-rich egg yolk, nori, red onions, green onions, mitsuba, stir-fried menma and fine threads of katsuobushi.
Give it a gentle mix before you dig in. The whole bowl is mild in the best way possible, with thick noodles that match it well.
Mala Banmen: the Sichuan style
If you want heat, get the mala banmen (麻辣拌麺). It's the same idea, fully Sichuan. The seasoned pork is close to what you'd find in mapo tofu: domestic pork shoulder and minced pork, stir-fried with house-fermented chilies, doubanjiang, fermented black beans and bamboo shoots.
On top of that you get house-made chili oil and Hanyuan Sichuan pepper, which brings a strong numbing tingle. Sesame paste and peanuts round it out, and it's topped with cilantro and finely shredded leek. Seasonal vegetables change through the year. When I went, it was fried eggplant and komatsuna.
The thick, chewy noodles from Yamaguchiya Seimen pick up all of it. You can choose your spice level from 0 to 5, and even level 2 is seriously hot. I honestly don't know who's ordering level 5...
After Dark
At lunch, Falaiken is a noodle shop. In the evening it turns into a small Chinese-style bar with sides like Falai chicken, fried with mala spice, and house-made boiled gyoza.
To drink, there's Tsingtao IPA and a "bai ball," a highball made with baijiu, soda and yuzu. It's a good option if you want more than a quick bowl.
A Fun Addition to Kagurazaka
Kagurazaka is one of my favorite parts of Tokyo. Its narrow stone-paved alleys and old geisha district history give it a different feel from most of the city, and it's always been a great food neighborhood.
Falaiken fits right in. It's small, personal, a little unexpected, and you can taste the chef's whole career in two bowls.
