ほうきぼし+ Houkiboshi+: not your little girl ramen

Houkibosh's biggest claim to fame is its master, a 22-year-old lady master who started the shop with her parents four years ago. The original honten shop is located way out in Akabane, but the sister shop, Houkiboshi+, is more centrally located.

Both shops specialize in a soupless tantanmen that resembles in some ways the Nagoya-based Taiwan mazesoba that was the biggest ramen fad in Tokyo last year. Houkiboshi's thick noodles are topped with bean sprouts, mustard greens, garlic chips, crushed peanuts, another helping of fried noodles, and a generous dollop of spicy minced meat, miso, and sansho numbing pepper.

Soupless Tantanmen (850yen)

Mix it all up and this bowl packs some serious heat. Not the sort of creation you would expect from a shop run by a cute little girl. A bowl laden with oil and spice, a crunchy and chewy mess of fat, carbs, and calories.

The bowl additionally provides a nice break from the procession of numbing pepper - a light soup made from chicken stock. Definitely welcome in between loud and large slurps.

Houkiboshi+ also changes things up on Sunday with a shop based on a totally different theme. Last year, the Sunday Shop was called Inagaki and served a thick tori paitan.

The soup was too oily for me, but the noodles were imminently slurpable.

The toppings were also excellent, with the large chicken meatball in place of the usual chashu serving as the highlight.

Inagaki's been replaced by Houkiboshi Beans, a health-conscious ramen shop that serves up bowls like a soy milk and vegetable ramen, and what might even be the only vegan ramen in Tokyo. This will require a return trip very soon.

Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku, Kanda 3-19-9
Closest stn: Kanda

Open from 11am-3pm and 530pm-Midnight

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