Recommended bowl: Extreme niboshi!

The niboshi soup at Ibuki is shoyu-based, thick and highly compelling. It's exploding with umami and bitterness from the niboshi. It almost tastes like a rich tonkotsu ramen but is made entirely with dried fish. The thin, straight noodles are a nice contrast to the complexity of the soup. The chashu is a hearty chunk of stewed pork belly. Topped with some diced onions, this bowl is unforgettable.

A popular way of eating this bowl involves ordering "aedama" (a refill of noodles served in a side dish with onion, minced pork and a little tare), before drinking the soup. Just say “aedama” when you’re ready for another serving of noodles. It will cost you 150 yen. Mix the noodles with the other ingredients in your refill bowl, and taste them as served. You can then eat them tsukemen style, by dipping the noodles in the remaining soup in your ramen bowl, or simply dump them into your ramen bowl in one go and eat them as a ramen noodle refill.

Ibuki was previously located in Oizumigakuen in Nerima, before its relocation to Shimura Sanchome in Itabashi-ku in January 2014. Note the Mexican flag hanging inside the shop – the shop's self-taught master, Mimura-san, is one-quarter Mexican. Known to close early when the soup runs out. Less