Recommended bowl: Tanmen & Shumai

Located in super central Tokyo, an area mostly devoid of quality ramen shops, Taihou has been around since 1958. It's more of a Chinese restaurant than a pure ramen shop, offering up various bowls of old school Chinese-style noodles. The shop is open a mere four hours per day (two hours for lunch, and two hours at dinner), and patrons should note that opening and closing times can vary day-to-day depending on how the master is feeling. The master used to work as a chef at Maxim's de Paris. The shop's most famous item is tanmen, which most customers seem to order. Wok-fried veggies, such as bean sprouts and cabbage, are mixed with pork and a salty soup. The fried rice (yaki-meshi) and gyoza are also popular and delicious.