Tampopo Ramen

Tampopo Ramen is a small, bright strip-mall restaurant in Tempe that specializes in Hakata-style ramen, a regional variety that’s known for its tonkotsu pork broth and use of thin, straight noodles. The menu offers typical Japanese snacks like takoyaki, a type of round dumpling that’s stuffed with minced octopus and garnished with katsuobushi, also known as bonito fish flakes, which seem to move and “dance” upon contact with hot food. The restaurant’s signature ramen is tonkotsu, made with the rich, slightly salty house pork broth, and then topped with a slice of roasted pork, bean sprouts, a hard-boiled egg, wood ear mushrooms and the restaurant’s own freshly made noodles. For an extra buck, you can upgrade your ramen to the “rich soup,” a kind of concentrated broth that’s simmered for at least 12 hours to achieve extra depth and flavor.