Recommended bowl: Tasty wontonmen

Ishihara is a discrete little hole-in-the-wall shop in Nishi-Ogikubo serving shoyu wontonmen in the old-school Tokyo style. Master Ishihara-san founded Hamadayama's legendary Tantantei, one of Tokyo's finest wontonmen shops. Ishihara-san does all the cooking solo, while his wife handles the cash and the prep.

Ishihara's soup is light, simple and satisfying – the kind of bowl you could casually crush on a weekly basis. The noodles are supplied by Obata Seimen. Both pork and shrimp wontons are available. The shrimp wontons are particularly enjoyable – light and slightly sweet. Order the "mixed wonton" option if you'd like to try both. The bowl comes with a small slice of chashu, which has a hint of the tangy sweetness of Chinese cured pork.

The shop also serves various snacks and drinks, and seems to be a hangout of sorts for some locals. An interesting little neighborhood spot.