Shio ramen

Photo: Talia Simhi

If you’re a ramen novice (see Raging bowls), Setagaya’s peculiar charms may be lost in translation. This slim, unadorned outpost of a Japanese chain, with decor limited to a flat-screen TV, features essentially one dish—noodle soup. The rest of the menu is devoted to mix-in sides, like a bowl of warm bamboo shoots slicked with sesame oil, or a “salt-taste” egg with a bright, custardy yolk. The ramen is prepared with reverence by a pair of sober cooks, draining noodles and ladling out broth in a glass-enclosed kitchen. The basic salt, or shio, ramen—a meal in a bowl—features clear broth made with chicken and pork bones (note to purists: The former are nontraditional for shio), and a mix of dried scallops, mushrooms, anchovies, garlic, ginger and cabbage. The aromatic liquid is spooned into a bowl filled with thin, slippery wheat noodles, then topped with a few slices of pork belly, julienned scallions, a fishy brown powder of ground scallops, a pinch of seaweed and half an egg. The fatty pork, seared over a charcoal grill, loses its seductive smoky char as it seeps into the broth—a better bet is to order it as a side. If you prefer your noodles divorced from your soup, select one of three tsuke-men—or dipping noodle—options. The “deluxe” version, with a heap of thick noodles, features a darker, saucelike broth with a heavy dose of garlic and chopped hunks of briny dried scallop. The rich, delicious—and steamy—brew needs only one thing: a cold winter’s day.