Setagaya Chukasoba Soshigaya Nanachome Shokudo / 世田谷中華そば祖師谷七丁目食堂 - Soshigaya

Setagaya Chukasoba Soshigaya Nanachome Shokudo (世田谷中華そば祖師谷七丁目食堂) is a ramen shop in the Soshigaya neighborhood of the Setagaya ward, which lies within the West of Tokyo. The shop was opened in February of 2021 and traces its lineage back to the super famous ramen shop Shibasakitei, which is also a must try if you are a fan of good shoyu ramen. Similar to Shibasakitei, you will get and old school style of shoyu ramen made with high end ingredients, pushing the boundaries of what this style of ramen can be.

*Chicken based shoyu ramen soup at Shoshigaya Nanachome Shokudo*

After ordering from the machine, you will find a bowl with a dark and fragrant chicken based soy sauce seasoned soup in front of you with lots of chicken fat floating on the top.

*Slab of thick cut and grilled chashu, easy to spot the char marks.*

You will immediately notice the large piece of pork, which is cut quite thick, especially when compared to the chashu of other shops. Furthermore, it gets grilled for a short time before serving, so you can easily see and taste the char marks from the grill.

*Duck meat wantan dumplings - unique and very tasty, strong ginger flavor included.*

Next, you will surely notice the large amount of wantan dumplings, which easily cover 50% of the surface area of your bowl. These 4 dumplings are all filled with a good mouthful of duck meat that is strongly seasoned with ginger, which works really well with this kind of ramen.

Firm ramen noodles with great texture and bite.

The noodles of this bowl are also extraordinary, having a really good staying power while being quite thin. I was surprised how they held up and did not get soft and soggy, even closer to the end of the bowl.

*Vending machine at Soshigaya Nanachome Shokudo, look at those prices!*

To add to the wow factor, the whole bowl as you see it here, even including the wantan dumplings, only costs 950 Yen (~$9 USD), which is outrageously cheap. Most other shops in the ultra refined category like Soshigaya Nanachome Shokudo charge at least something between 1200 and 1500 for similar bowls these days. If you can live without the dumplings, the bowl only costs 650 Yen, which is mind-blowing.

*Front of Soshigaya Nanachome Shokudo, a stylish ramen shop in Soshigaya*

Overall, Soshigaya Nanachome Shokudo is an easy recommendation for all people who want to try some high end shoyu ramen. The duck meat wantan are some of the best dumplings I personally ever had. From what I have read, their shio ramen is also quite good, but probably not as good as their shoyu ramen, so go with the shoyu if it is your first visit there. Be aware, that the shop is only open for lunch from 11am to 3pm. Apparently their specials are also worth looking out for, which you can find on their Twitter account.