Maru Chuka Soba: Old-School Miso Ramen in Oimachi
Maru Chuka Soba (丸 中華そば) in Oimachi, Tokyo is the kind of neighborhood ramen shop that's easy to walk past if you don't know about it. It sits on a quiet side street about a six-minute walk from Oimachi Station, and there's often a line outside.
It's a small room with a counter and a few two-seat tables, and the bowls come out quickly, so the line moves faster than it looks.
Shoyu, Shio, or Miso?
The menu is short. You pick from three bases, shoyu (soy sauce), shio (salt), or miso, and then choose your noodles. I went back and forth between the miso and the shio at the ticket machine before going with the miso.
It turned out to be a milder miso ramen than the heavy, punchy style a lot of people picture. The base tastes like a sweeter white miso, and the whole bowl has an old-school, shitamachi feel. Like a lot of Sapporo-style miso bowls, it comes with a small mound of grated ginger on top. Stirring it in brightens the soup and cuts through the miso's sweetness. It's an easy bowl to finish.
The Toppings & Noodles
The bowl comes with bean sprouts, spring onions, and menma (bamboo shoots). Many miso shops stir-fry their vegetables in a wok, which gives the soup a smoky edge (the "wok hei" you can usually hear from the kitchen). I didn't hear the wok going and didn't pick up any smokiness from the sprouts, so I don't think Maru does it that way. That fits the gentler profile of the soup.
The egg was well done, with a jammy yolk. I got just one slice of chashu, an old-school fatty cut that melts more than it chews. If you want more meat, the Niku Chuka Soba stacks several thick slices of chashu on top.
You can choose thin or medium-thick noodles. I went with the medium-thick, which are wavy and chewy and hold onto the miso well. If you're getting the miso, I'd do the same.
Maru Chuka Soba in Oimachi: Final Thoughts
Maru Chuka Soba in Oimachi isn't trying to reinvent anything. It's a well-made, old-school bowl in a quiet part of Oimachi, and I can see why the locals line up.
The shoyu seems to be the house favorite. Japanese reviewers point to its dark, sharp soup and say it's lighter than it looks. That's what I'm ordering next tie!
If you like finding neighborhood shops like this one, my Tokyo Ramen Guidebook covers more bowls worth traveling for across the city.
