Jikasei Chuka Soba Toshioka (自家製中華そば としおか): Apprentice beats the Master?, Waseda, Tokyo

In my opinion, one of the most underrated ramen story lines is the drama surrounding Benten and Jiaksei Chuka Soba Toshioka. Benten was actually a long running ramen shop near Waseda University serving up an incredibly unique (at the time) soup consisting of a pork bone and chicken feet broth. Benten drew customers from the nearby University as well as part time employees working nearby. As their popularity grew, the graduates of Waseda University started coming on weekends and the shop became more and more popular. Known for their stubborn owner and monstrous proportions, Benten was a favorite among both ramen enthusiasts as well as curious wanderers. However, sometime in 2014, the owner of Benten decided to close up shop after the better half of a few decades with this restaurant Jikasei Chuka Soba Toshioka openly eerily nearby the old Benten less than a year later. What makes this story interesting, however, is that a year after Toshioka opened, Benten reopened under the old master’s sons guidance operating in Narimasu. Fans had previously thought that Toshioka had the blessing of the old Benten owners to open near Waseda, but as it turns out, it looks like he did so on his own. The consensus among ramen enthusiasts is 50/50 for Toshioka as a Benten inspired shop while the other consider it to be a copycat shop. I’ll leave that designation to you as I don’t have a strong preference either way, but I do recommend trying them both out at least once.

Much like the shop at Benten, Toshioka is incredibly popular for their Shio Ramen, but they also serve a tsukemen and Shoyu Ramen as well. When you arrive, you need to line up in front of the store, but once you step inside, purchase your ticket at the ticket machine right next to the entrance. The red buttons up top are the Shoyu Ramen options starting with the regular ramen (choose between small and medium noodle amount at the counter), Shoyu Ramen with egg, Shoyu Ramen with extra menma bamboo shoots, Shoyu Ramen with extra char siu, Shoyu Ramen with extra Char Siu and Menma Bamboo Shoots, and a small Shoyu Ramen. The light blue below indicate the Tsukemen option and has the same topping options. The yellow buttons are the Shio Ramen, again, with the corresponding topping options as the Tsukemen and Shoyu Ramen. The green buttons are even more toppings starting with marinated soft boil egg, dried seaweed, raw egg, menma bamboo shoots, roast pork char siu, menma bamboo/pork char siu combination, and finally small in both the menma and char siu on the row below. The black button with red is a side of fried chili powder, dark blue button is a bottle of beer, with the white buttons corresponding to large and extra large noodle options. I opted for the Shio Ramen with extra bamboo shoots with a side of the fried chili powder which according to most reviews of the shop, is the most popular option. The Tsukemen is also incredibly popular during the summer for when you want to beat the summer heat so I would suggest one of those two options. One suggestion however is to definitely not order the large and extra large portion noodles. You’ll see on the following photo, but I barely finished my medium portion ramen as its incredibly voluminous.

The chef here at Toshioka prepares all the ramen by himself, so it takes a while for you to get your ramen, so sit back and enjoy the show for a bit as you wait for your bowl. From the time I sat down to when I received my bowl was roughly ten minutes, so don’t feel like they forgot your bowl, it really does take a while. From the picture above you may have already guessed, I was pretty surprised with my portion size. Not often do I order extra menma bamboo shoots and I get literally a handful of bamboo shoots, but this menma is one of their most popular topping items so I had to get extra. Of course I was surprised with the amount of bamboo shoots, but I was also surprised with the amount of noodles as well. I opted for the medium noodle amount and it was literally overflowing out of the bowl. In addition to the menma bamboo shoots, the bowl comes adorned with a slice of dried seaweed, and a couple slices of their pork char siu. On the side was my order of the fried chili powder which I can use throughout the meal as a flavor change.

First off, the soup. In comparison to Benten I would say the broth here is a bit lighter. Not to say it’s not delicious because it really is amazing, but the flavors are definitely not as defined as the original at Benten. The Shio seasoning tare is really amazing though as it helps accentuate the individual flavor dynamics of the broth. You get a ton of the collagen creaminess from the chicken feet as well as a well seasoned pork flavor for the pork bones. A bit of sweetness comes out at the end which I assume is from a combination of carrots and green leek. The distinguishing detail which separates Benten and Toshioka’s ramen from other tonkotsu style ramen is how light and thin the soup is compared to a more dense and creamy soup of maybe a Hakata style that you would see at Ichiran or Ippudo. Don’t let the light, airiness fool you however as you’ll see from the photo that a nice fat layer of oil float above the surface trapping in all the heat below making for a fantastically heartwarming bowl.

Next off is the plentiful menma bamboo shoots. One bite and I can understand why this is such a popular topping option. The crunchiness and bold flavors is unlike any menma I’ve ever had. If I were to make my perfect ramen combining the best of all shops, I am definitely taking the menma bamboo shoots from Toshioka. Based on the structure of the bamboo shoots, you can definitely tell its bought from a manufacturing store which cuts and soaks the bamboo shoots for consumption. There are a few places that will prepare bamboo shoots themselves, but its quite a troublesome and time consuming process so it makes sense to buy it already cooked. What differentiates it from the rest is how Toshioka flavors the bamboo shoots. I was able to make out a strong sesame seed oil flavor with a bit of chili peppers and soy sauce to give the menma a spicy flavor kick. It’s cooked perfectly in order to leave the crunchy texture while allowing them to simmer enough for the flavors to soak through the entire piece. I looked around and saw that the beer, which comes with an appetizer, is accompanied by a small plate of these so if you plan on grabbing a drink, skip out on it as a ramen topping. If you’re only here for the ramen however, I definitely recommend getting some extra for your bowl, especially if you’re getting medium size noodle portion. The pork char siu was cooked old fashioned in a boil/simmer which I can tell by its white/brown color gradation. A ton of ramen places have began cooking their pork sous vide, but I love this old fashioned preparation style. It’s not going to be as tender as a sous vide slice, but it packs way more flavor and can get soft granted the chef prepares it correctly.

Finally, the noodles. I was surprised with the noodles as this place serves noodles almost exactly, to a tee, like the ones at Benten. I’m curious to see how they were able to make the noodles so similarly, but its fantastic. They are rounded which are quite rare nowadays and have a slippery texture. Even when the chef strains the noodles, you can see how gently he does so in order to keep the slippery texture in tact. The small attention to details really do make a difference and I appreciate the time he spent to ensure each bowl was perfect. It makes the long wait for my bowl all the more worthwhile. The fried chili peppers were great as a mid bowl flavor change. I’m not even gonna sugarcoat it, the noodle portion were way too big and if I didn’t have the chili peppers as a way to change up the flavors, I would have grown tired of the bowl. The spiciness really ups the flavor of the bowl, but not so that its unbearable. Since they are fried a bit beforehand, the bitterness and spiciness are toned down and blends well with the soup.

Overall, its hard to make a decision between Benten and Toshioka. One point that might be of note is that the line over at Benten, despite being a good thirty minutes from central Tokyo, is way longer than the one here at Toshioka. I arrived at Toshioka about thirty minutes from opening and was about 15th in line. Over at Benten I must have been behind at least 35 people and I waited 2.5 hours after arriving an hour before opening. Regardless, I would suggest trying both shops to figure out which one your favorite is. Definitely a must try ramen style on your visit to Tokyo.