Ramen TOBE

With pork-bone broth layered with garlic, even deciding how to balance noodle thickness and toppings can whet the appetite. The shop’s familiar staples, 藤平スペシャル and 藤平らー麺, feature gently rich tonkotsu broth and tender chashu pork. There are ways to vary the intensity while keeping the same broth base: 藤平贅沢盛り adds aromatic black garlic oil, garlic chips and thick-cut meat, while 赤藤平 brings a spicy kick.

Exclusive noodles and homestyle Chinese-style set meals

Look further down the menu and Nishikoyama-exclusive dishes come into view. The noodle selection has the approachable breadth of a neighbourhood Chinese-style diner: Nishikoyama Tanmen topped with eight kinds of vegetables, tomato-based sour-and-spicy soup noodles, noodles with handmade wontons, and noodles topped with mapo tofu. For a more substantial meal, set options include chashu fried rice, kimchi fried rice, fried chicken and grilled gyoza. Rice dishes such as the chashu-and-mayonnaise rice bowl can also be added to a noodle order.

At lunchtime, a free extra-large noodle portion or small serving of rice is available, making the offer well suited to a filling, straightforward lunch. In the evening, beer and snacks make it an option for a relaxed, izakaya-style stop, with ramen to finish.