Joka

At Joka, it’s worth looking beyond the ramen with soup to the thick-noodle mazesoba. One visitor especially liked the noodles’ thickness and texture, and the way the egg yolk came together with the broth. They were also tempted by the option of adding rice to the remaining sauce at the end. It sounds like a satisfying choice when you’re in the mood for a hearty meal.

For a change of flavour, try the Taiwan-style mazesoba or curry mazesoba. One diner who had ordered the Taiwan-style version several times found it fairly mild, and added some heat with the shichimi chilli pepper on the table. Someone who tried the curry mazesoba, meanwhile, singled out the firm texture of the medium-thick noodles, best eaten well mixed, and the diced, seared chashu pork. Even within the mazesoba selection, there’s a choice between Taiwan-style and curry flavours.

For a bowl with soup, the options include soy-sauce chuka soba and chicken paitan ramen. The chuka soba comes with rare-cooked chashu pork, bamboo shoots, nori and white spring onion; the special version also includes wontons. The chicken paitan has a similar combination of toppings. Diners have described its thin noodles as easy to eat, and its rich soup as memorable. Prefer a cleaner soy-sauce broth, or chicken paitan? Start by choosing the soup that suits you.

If you’d like extra toppings, consider the special chuka soba with three wontons, or the meat chuka soba, which combines rare-cooked chashu with pork belly chashu. Sides include gyoza, a chashu pork rice bowl and a Taiwan-style minced-meat rice bowl. One diner poured ramen soup over the Taiwan-style minced-meat bowl, too—a small rice bowl can be a nice addition after the noodles.

Counter seating makes Joka an option for a solo meal, and it serves both lunch and dinner. The listed payment method is cash only, so it’s worth bringing some along.