★★★★ 麺場 七人の侍 (Seven Samurai) - Tokyo

Seven Samurai is a ramen shop that can be accessed with a 10 minute walk from Ikebukuro station. A fancy little store that has interior decor that resembles a high class bar rather than a ramen shop. On this trip I tried their 特中華そば (Chuka-soba special).

The Soup - is a double soup made from pork/chicken stock and dried bonito soup, with the aroma and flavor of the bonito dominating this ramen. The soup is very delicious without being too salty or oily, something you rarely see with recent ramen.

The Noodles - are medium thick straight noodles cooked regular firm. The texture of the noodles are just right with the flavor matching the Japanese style soup very well.

The Toppings - 3 slices of very, very thick cha-shu pork that is sliced and steamed right when you order, they are served very hot and tender without a lot of fat but still just melts in your mouth. The menma bamboo is lightly seasoned but crunchy and delicious. The boiled egg has little extra flavoring and wasn't anything special.

Overall - I absolutely loved this place! But it is very well hidden and quite far away from Ikebukuro station. If it wasn't for the strong aroma of the soup that you can smell when near the store I probably would've walked right by it. Make the trek to the store if you have a lot of spare time, otherwise I would recommend you visit 麺屋武蔵 二天 (Musashi Niten) and 瞠 (Miharu) instead which are both closer to their respective train station.

http://www.ramendb.com/shop.php?sid=212