After countless bowls of ramen before I ever sip a cup of joe, I can confidently say I feel infinitely better letting the sodium and protein of a well-made dashi stock flow through my veins.

This is Mensouan Sunada 麺創庵 砂田 in Sugamo, Tokyo. They’ve been a top 100 ramen shop for quite a number of years. The wontons are unreal, and they open at 8am five days a week.

I used to be addicted to caffeine. Now I’m addicted to ramen.