Toshima City, Tokyo, Japan｜Shinagawa

Some of the best ramen I’ve ever had. The seating is very limited and if you go during a popular time or on a weekend, you can expect to wait an hour or more. I would not recommend trying to go in a group larger than three, as you will have to wait longer for more seats at the bar to clear out. Things to note for foreigners: - Staff doesn’t speak english - Menu only in Japanese Despite my very limited knowledge of Japanese, the staff were very polite and understanding and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

I tried the shoyu based bowl (chintan). The broth was mostly pork but with other deep flavour notes, of course perfectly cook noodles and egg. The bowl was very satisfying as is, no other toppings needed and also beautiful to look at.

Found this place from a gluttony TV show that rated this store as one of the top 5 ramen-ya around Ikebukuro precinct. Came here during dinner, I was kinda surprised that it didn't have a queue like other popular ramen-ya. I probably have passed by here a few times without noticing it. It's a self service ramen-ya using menu vending machine and pass the order ticket to the staff. Unlike other ramen-ya, this place had no gyoza, chahan or other extensive menu. I selected the tsukemen. While I was waiting for the food, the small counter began to be fully seated. Before trying it, I thought of the charsiu must be really good as a few people after me asked for extra charsiu or charsiu don when ordering. It didn't take too long when the food arrived. To begin with, the broth had a robust fish flavour and a bit salty (as most tsukemen does it on purpose to eat together with noodle served separately). The noodle was a bit firm and thicker, but it was just the way I like it. When I had a bite of charsiu, I immediately could relate why many customers asked for extra portion of it. It was soft, juicy and chunky. All the charsiu were grilled on the shichirin right before topping on the noodles, and this was probably why it was so yummy. With the broth this big flavour, I asked for soba-yu at the end to make it drinkable and enjoyed all the broth. Serious ramen-ya with no nonsense.