Yokohamaiekei Kandaya, Kanda (横浜家系 神田屋)

[Jan 2011: I've learned a lot about ramen in the 373 days since my first visit and my second, today. And now I can say with a touch more authority that this is damn good ramen. Get shoyu, add garlic, love it. This must have opened soon before I visited, because as I look now there are tons of blog posts about it.]

Hmmm, what ramen has to do with the family tree (iekei?) I may never know. But this was a very enjoyable ramen. Nothing outstanding except possibly the soup, but all elements working at a high standard. This is a good'n, I think, and I'd be interested to hear what experts think of it. I see now that Yokohama Iekei may be a style of ramen. That's new to me. [1/16/10: Sure is, and here's everything you want to know about it. I definitely like this style; with the relatively high concentration of veg, it's like something I'd make at home if I was going to boil pork bones for a day. Disappointed that my internally-developed rating system is so miserable as to misidentify the noodles as curly when the guide clearly says they're straight. Well, they're curlier than Hakata-style noodles at least.]

The Y900 special soy sauce ramen has a bit of everything, but not too much. Oh, and supersizing is free (I declined, thank you).
- Soup: Very rich and porky, in an almost overbearing way at first, but this moderated down to delicious as the bowl progressed, as opposed to a lot of weaker soups that seem boring by the end.  [Jan 2011: It's just a very good shoyu tonkotsu, as you can tell from the smell when you walk in. I really feel that a spoon of garlic halfway through puts this over the top and into amazing.]
- Noodles: Fresh, slightly curly, medium-thick, flat...not much to say, actually. Probably the weakest element now that I think of it. [Jan 2011: I was an idiot. These are good noodles, and you can choose your toughness.]
- Chashu: 3 thin slices, quite sufficient. Very marbled, which would be a problem if it wasn't cooked well or sliced thinly. Smart thinking. Good.
- Nori: I like nori topping, and I really liked getting 5 whole squares instead of 1 strip.
- Spinach: There was spinach. That's always good! And more importantly, a solid helping, not just a sprig for decoration.
- Egg: Very good. The slight under-done-ness of the yolk means it's not perfect, but easily a top-quartile egg.
- Menma: Absent! My favorite kind.
- Condiments: Pureed garlic, ginger and hot sauce in bins at every seat. I think I overdid the garlic, but boy was it tasty. That's what it's there for, to be overdone.

Try this one! Not easy to find, unfortunately. Check the map carefully before you go.
No phone.