Ramen Nishino

I really enjoyed the Chuka soba noodle soup. The broth was clear, rich and had a light flavor, yet still allowed the subtle spices of the dashi to shine through. We tried both shrimp and meat wontons. The shrimp wontons were a highlight! Full of flavor, paired nicely with the broth and very juicy. Highly recommend. The meat wontons, on the other hand, were underwhelming in comparison. I loved the way the Chinese flavors of the wontons blended with the dashi broth. A satisfying and well-balanced bowl overall!

Dined on a weekday evening. I ordered chuukasoba and mayo-chashu rice. Thin straight noodles, naruto, chashu, in delightfully delicate broth. Seemingly undecorated in appearance, scrumptiously effective in taste. The mayo chashu rice was nice to finish with. Mayo and sauce, chilled chashu, green onions, and nori on top of rice. I can see why this place is popular. I came at the beginning of dinner service and the place filled up quickly. I had help from pictures on the web to find this place, it was easy to miss. Now that I know where it is, I will be coming back. Thank you for the meal.

Another famous ramen shop from my beloved Koike group. Located in a small, dark alley in the quiet neighborhood of Hongo Sanchome, the shop can be a bit hard to find if you do not pay close attention to the small light sign in front of the shop. Like most shops from the Koike group, the noodles here are arranged elegantly and the light soya-niboshi soup serves as a more refined take on the traditional chuuka soba. The slow-cooked charsiu is also executed perfectly, which seems to be a signature of the Koike group. (For more, see Instagram: Gaga.bichon)

Expectacular food and service. They specialize in lighter broth and smaller noodles. You can pay a bit extra to get their wotons, which are highly recommended. They also offer chachu meat with mayo on top of rice as separate item and it is also highly recommended. Be aware that the menu and service are only in Japanese. It is also a small restaurant, so expect line at busy times. Service moves very quickly, so the line is expected to move quickly.

Superb wantan, especially the shrimp. Delicate soup; good ramen. A great bowl. I miss the egg and a change of taste in the middle (sansho that is offered separate) would be nice but it's great as it is

Delicious! The chukasoba had a light and tasty broth, thin and tender noodles, and delicious lightly grilled meat. The real highlight is the pork wonton though, these were a new level of excellent. I could have a whole bowl of just those! Be sure to expect a queue, we arrived at 1pm ourselves and had to wait 30-40 minutes in line. Well worth the wait even on an empty stomach.

Surprisingly no queue on a rainy Sunday at 10:55. The staff let me entered immediately. The service is simple, yet the popular bowl of shio ramen was amazing. The grilled pork (“chashu”) was particularly flavorful. No doubt this is a phenomenal place for 1000¥.

Small hole in the wall, delicious food, kind staff. Only pork and shrimp option. Expect wait time standing in line. They only have like 12 chairs, bar style.

Located in Bunkyo ward and not far from Tokyo Dome is a 2019 Michelin Star rated ramen restaurant, Chukasoba Nishino. Let me first say that this restaurant was on my bucket list, after reading so much about it. Chuka Soba Nishino is the second brand of the famous Ramen Koike in Kamikitazawa, Setagaya (also, Michelin Star rated) but are very much different from each other. Once you get inside, go ahead and pay via the machine. It's important to note that there are no English instructions. But I will do my best to explain things to you. The sign on top is their popular side dishes, the Mayo Chashu (grilled/fried pork meat) for Y200 and their Wonton. On the first row, Chuka Soba (Chinese-style noodles) is Y800, the next two is if you want a bit more (if you are hungry) and the next after that is adding the shrimp wonton and the last is Chukasoba with their Mayo Chashu. On the second row , is Sansho Soba (made of buckwheat, broth has sansho oil and also has a pepper-taste to the broth) and similar to Chuka Soba, you can get more or add wonton and if you want the mayo chasu at the end. Both are very different from each other and you'll find people saying one is better than the other. The third row is if you want to order wonton separately (or if you forgot to get it the first time). I ordered the Chuka Soba and Mayo Chashu. If you are thirsty, there is self-serve water behind your seat near the counter but the machine allows one to order beer if you want. The wait is not long to get your food. If anything, I was just excited to finally eat at the restaurant. The mayo chashu was absolutely delicious. While it's a small bowl, it's a worth side dish to eat before or after your ramen. And as for the delicious Chuka Soba, they utilized a fish-based, bonito broth with a hint of niboshi and shoyu. Included with the normal Chuka Soba is their pork char siu, a naruto fish cake and komatsuna mustard leaves. The Chuka Soba was delicious but it's the flavor of the broth that inspires this dish. Personally, I found the Chuka Soba to be absolutely delicious and I know, I will definitely need to return back to Chukasoba Nishino primarily for the Sansho Soba. So, if you happen to be near Tokyo Dome or Tokyo University and in the Bunkyo ward area and are a ramenhead, then definitely give Chukasoba Nishino a try! It's highly recommended!