Recommended bowl: Maternal love

Ushio is just below street level, down a short staircase. Kind of slick and metallic-looking inside, and if you look around there are some signs on the wall signed by various celebrities who have paid a visit. Master Tsuchiya-san is from Sendai and previously worked at five different restaurants there. He went to ramen school there and makes all the noodles by hand. There are two main menu options: black (shoyu) or white (toripaitan). Both are solid but the recommended dish is the black, otherwise known as ‘Nihon-ichi shoyu soba.’ Seven different ingredients from the sea are used to make the soup stock, and the shoyu tare consists of four different types of soy sauce. The toppings include mitsuba and myouga (Japanese greens). The most popular added topping is the extra chashu option — thin-sliced, marinated and roasted pork and duck, served alongside some veggies and an egg.