塩らー麺 本丸亭 横浜元町店 (Honmarutei Motomachi)

Motomachi-Chūkagai station is home not only to Yokohama's China Town, but also to an upscale shopping area called Motomachi Shopping Street. The street is lined with European, American, and Japanese designer shops, as well as adorable cafes. However if you decide to overlook the Tommy Hilfiger and take a turn, a few minutes away is Honmarutei of Motomachi:

This shop is the perfect blend of boutique and traditional because it offers a comfortable atmosphere, lovely interior and the most important part: delicious ramen! There is no machine inside, but they do supply a picture booklet of the menu options available. Amidst many cacti we sat on cushy stools to have our orders taken. I got the regular Shio (salt) and I added an egg. If you have been reading along so far you probably noticed that I love eggs almost as much as ramen and I couldn't resist the adorable sign. I also ordered the ミニマンマ丼 (Minimanma bowl) with my ramen because it was reviewed favorably on tabelog:

Noticeable right away was a chrysanthemum topping and a delicate shio base with minced negi. The pork was a thickly sliced rolled loin. This bowl is clean minimalism at its best. First I tried the Minimanma bowl, which I enjoyed because the kimichi was a nice level of spice and what I believed to be pork belly was a perfect bite of crispy rendered fat! Then I got into my bowl. The pork was almost perfect, but somehow not as good as the Minimanma bowl pork. A real standout was the chrysanthemum. It gave a unique, almost citrus taste to a  subdued shio base. I loved the texture of the noodles, which were thick and had a nice crinkle to them. I felt that the egg was a little overcooked. Because of this I give Honmarutei a 4/5, but it is definitely worth a visit. I suggest you also visit the coffee ice cream place a few doors down after you finish. Motomachi Shopping Street is a great place for a date or to bring an out of towner, and Honmarutei should be a stop on your itinerary. They also have locations near Yokohama station and Atsugi.

Links Links Links, tabelog, their site, and a map!

武蔵家 日吉店 (Musashiya Hiyoshi)

After being at a few upscale places I decided that I wanted to get back to the basics. When I moved to Hiyoshi a few months ago I scoped out many of the ramen shops, trying to see which were more popular than others based on the number of people patiently queuing outside. I decided on 武蔵家 日吉店 (Musashiya Hiyoshi) because it is ALWAYS crowded. Fortunately I went at a strange time and I got a seat right away, but after I sat down I noticed that their waiting area was quickly filling up. Musashiya is decorated with polaroids of many happy customers and has quite a comfortable atmosphere:

In fact the staff were some of the most friendly that I have ever met. I want to blame fatigue on not seeing the giant signs above the machine that explain you can pick the cook of your noodle and the type of soup (thin, regular, oliy & fatty, regular, thin) in English no less! But, I didn't see them and a friendly staff member helped guide me through the process. I chose noodles cooked regular, and regular for both options on the base. He also explained that I could get rice with my ramen and I noticed that the students next to me had rice and it was in never ending supply. I enjoy the idea of a never ending rice bowl!!

The ramen itself was super tasty, especially the egg, which was cooked at a perfect soft boil. Its pork was nicely cooked and very tender (I think I noticed them cutting it to order). I like it when spinach is a factor and the selection of condiments was really good. Never ending nori? Don't mind if I do! Garlic, ginger, hot pepper paste, sesame, check! The noodles were perfectly cooked and satisfied my predilection towards thickness. The base was good, but a little too salty. I think I want to go back and try the thin base to see if there is less salt, but the same amount of meaty flavor (EDIT, I totally just went back and ordered light and thin, which was less salty, but maintained flavor). I also liked that there was water available at a tap and of course had my fill of rice, though you don't really even need it! When in Rome, or this case Musashiya! When I finished, the same helpful staff member gave me a choice of lollipop, which was a nice touch but also made me feel like one of the students I was sitting next too. Overall, because I found the base too salty, Musashiya gets a 4/5 (though maybe a 5 if I had ordered thin and light base). However, I will return to try the thinner base because the customer service was really top notch as well as everything else.

Here is a link to the tabelog for the Hiyoshi location and of course a map!