Kajiken: The Best Abura Soba (Mazesoba) in Rockville, MD

Kajiken at 1701 Rockville Pike, Suite A7, in The Shops at Congressional Village is the best place in Montgomery County to try abura soba, the soupless ramen also called mazesoba. Kajiken is a Japanese brand from Nagoya with more than 100 stores worldwide, and its Rockville shop opened in July 2024. Google lists it as a ramen restaurant with a 4.4-star rating.

Abura soba means oil noodles. Instead of broth, thick chewy noodles come with a sauce of chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar, minced garlic and pepper powder, plus toppings. You mix everything together before you eat. Kajiken calls itself the pioneer of Nagoya-style abura soba: Kenichi Kaji opened the first shop in Showa-ku, Nagoya, in 2010, and the first U.S. Kajiken opened in Baltimore in 2016.

IVEA is one of Kajiken's master franchisees in the USA and runs Kajiken in Rockville, Falls Church and Alexandria. IVEA co-founder and Noodle Master Chef Zaifu "Jerry" Li makes Kajiken's noodles in house. With Kajiken's team in Japan he developed a new texture with a new flour, testing moisture batch by batch for the North American market. IVEA's Japanese restaurants are led by co-founder and Executive Master Chef Junzo Miyajima.

The most popular bowl to start with is The Original ($15.50): noodles with chashu pork, menma bamboo shoots, nori and scallion. It is the brand's signature abura soba and the best way to taste the sauce and the noodle on their own. For a plain bowl to build yourself, the Su is $9.50.

For more heat, the Homura ($15.50) is the boldest bowl on the menu: spicy minced pork, a poached egg, menma, scallion, fish powder, nori and chives. The Roasted Beef ($18.00) is the most indulgent, with roasted beef, a raw egg yolk, fried onion, scallion, yogurt and chaliapin sauce. The Niku Miso ($18.00) layers slow-cooked pork with minced miso pork, a poached egg and chives.

Kajiken also makes bowls you will not find at most ramen shops. The Old Bay Ebi ($15.50) tops the noodles with Old Bay shrimp, mixed greens, onion, tomato, lemon and parsley, a nod to Maryland. The Sukiyaki, Teriyaki Tori and Chicken Curry bowls are $15.50 each. Two vegan bowls, Vegan with fried tofu and edamame tofu paste, and Vegan Nikumiso with soy meat, are also $15.50.

Toppings are the most fun part of abura soba. They cost from 50 cents to $1.75 each: a soft-boiled egg ($1.25), poached egg ($1.50), raw egg yolk ($1.75), extra chashu ($1.75), cheddar cheese, kimchi, corn, edamame or cucumber ($1.00), and chili in oil, fish powder or Japanese plum (75 cents). Each bowl also has its own extra, such as extra Homura pork for $3.00.

If you want soup, Kajiken makes four ramen: Tonkotsu, Tonkotsu Shoyu and Tori Shoyu at $17.00, and Spicy Tonkotsu at $18.50. Black garlic oil adds $1.00, and an extra serving of noodles (kaedama) is $4.00. Small rice bowls cost $8.50 to $9.00, including chashu don, Homura don and karaage curry don.

The best appetizers to share are the pan-fried pork gyoza ($8.00), takoyaki ($9.00) and Nagoya-style tebasaki chicken wings ($8.00). Karaage, gesokara squid, shrimp tempura and kaki fry oysters cost $8.00 to $9.00. Drinks include Ramune, Japanese iced teas and fresh lemonade from $1.50 to $4.50. Parties of five or more get a 20% gratuity added.

Kajiken's website lists lunch from noon to 3 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. on weekdays, with all-day service on weekends. Google's listing shows an 11:30 a.m. opening on Sundays, so check Google for the day's hours before you go. Call (240) 669-8403, or order pickup online through kajiken-usa.com. Through October 31, 2026, Kajiken Rockville is part of the Taste the Pike Passport with Urban Hot Pot and other Rockville Pike restaurants.

Kajiken's other DMV shops are in Baltimore's Charles Village at 7 E 33rd St, at Arundel Mills in Hanover, at 7505 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church and at 6550-K Little River Turnpike in Alexandria. For Montgomery County, the Rockville shop at Congressional Village is the closest and, in our view, the best first stop for abura soba in the DMV.