胡心房（こしんぼう） (Koshinbu Machida)

The first year I lived in Japan, I lived in what the Japanese might call inaka, meaning countryside. However I lived close enough to a mini city on the outskirts of Tokyo called Machida. I went there often to go shopping, have a good burger, and to eat ramen. I remember it fondly. One of my favorite memories is when I ate a bowl at Koshinbu. It was before I had developed any kinds of thoughts on what a bowl of ramen should have and it was delicious. Will Koshinbu stand the tests of time? Open since 1998, it better. Located so close to the station that you can see the tracks from their window, Koshinbu has one table, but mostly counter seating with a view of the kitchen.

As usual I ordered ramen with an egg and decided on extra greens for a topping.

If I were to order again I would order the extra chashu and skip the greens. If you want a salad on your ramen go for the greens, but for me the champions of Koshinbu are the base and the chashu. Cut to deli meat thinness, their chashu is off the wall tender and scrumptious. Crack open the egg and mix the soft yolk to make a perfectly creamy bowl of soy milk ramen.

With a grind of pepper you are on your way to a luscious ramen experience. Basic noodles in an otherwise fantastic bowl give Koshinbu a 4.5/5, but it is definitely worth a go!

Links to tabelog, twitter and a map :)

ラーメン星印 (Ramen Stars Tammachi)

Luck is not always on my side as I have discovered with certain ramen shops. Twice in the past month I have had to adjust my plans and go to other shops because I did not arrive before their soup ran out. This happened to me in Tammachi recently when I was trying to go to SHIN. Alas, I had to walk down the street to my 2nd option ラーメン星印 (Ramen Stars). I entered to an interior completely covered in Eikichi Yazawa memorabilia. I was informed that he is the "Bruce Springsteen" of Japan:

While being serenaded I chose the Shio (salt flavor) from the menu on the counter and added an egg. From my vantage point I could watch the chef in action:

A minimal bowl topped with chashu, menma, thinly sliced negi, and a tastless green sprig (probably parsley). As you can see, for a shio it is quite oily. The stars of Ramen Stars were the chashu, which was a perfect soft fatty bite, and their noodles:

The egg, though warm, was slightly undercooked and for a shio it was far too oily. 3/5 Next time I return to Tammachi I am determined to try SHIN. So far this area’s true star is Ramen Dream!!

Tabelog, twitter, and a map!

もりの中華そば (Morinosoba Tsunashima)

This past week was Golden Week. For my friends unfamiliar with Japan, this is a few days in the beginning of May where everyone has off. Well, not quite everyone...hello ramen shops! This gave me a perfect opportunity to check out a place that is only open during lunch hours or until the soup runs out. Sure, I could go on the weekend, but the line was bad enough on a Thursday afternoon during Golden Week:

I had a lot of time to think about what to order, but decided on the 中華そば with an egg. This is just their special bowl of "Chinese Soba".

Pictured after I had taken a few tastes and opened the egg, this is Morinosoba's bowl of shoyu ramen. Topped with egg, negi, chashu, naruto, menma, and nori. Their highlight: the noodles which were the perfect balance between hard and soft while being wonderfully wavy. Morinodoba's chashu is fatty and tender and the egg was almost perfect, but nothing special. Their base is light, but also complex. I finished it all! This is a really nice bowl, but average. 4/5

Links to tabelog and their official site as well as the maaaaap!