Shinba

One of the pleasures of a bowl at Shinba is choosing whether to add garlic. A diner who tried the spicy miso said it was less hot than its red appearance might suggest, and that its rich broth went well with rice. Garlic was also praised as a good match, so you could start with the bowl as served and adjust to taste.

For a milder option, the menu also includes Special Miso Ramen and Special Sweet Miso Ramen. They offer a different take on miso from the spicier bowl. Shinba Ramen, meanwhile, is soy sauce-based; its menu description highlights a broth simmered for a long time with a secret sweet soy sauce stock. One diner found it rich with pork-bone flavour but not too heavy, and described the chashu as tender enough to fall apart. Another felt the chashu portion in the chashu ramen was substantially larger than in a regular bowl, so the standard ramen may suit those who want to focus on the noodles and broth.

To add rice to your noodles, Shinba-don, a chashu rice bowl, is available on its own for 450 yen or as a set with your chosen ramen for an extra 350 yen. A diner stopping by after work ordered Shinba-don and gyoza alongside a large tonkotsu soy sauce ramen, and noted that the tempura crumbs on the rice bowl added a pleasant accent. Choose ramen on its own when you want the noodles to take centre stage, or add Shinba-don, or rice and kimchi as a set, for a more substantial meal. Gyoza and fried chicken are also options, making the menu suitable for anything from lunch to a late-night meal.

The menu also features Spicy Miso Zaru Ramen: cold noodles served with a hot, rich, spicy broth. The regular portion comes with 1 portions of noodles, and the large with 2. It’s an option when you’d like to enjoy ramen in a different way.