Noodles on the table, all the way from 1950s Tokyo

In the Japanese restaurant scene in Beijing, ramen shops have become highly familiar. Now another kind of Japanese noodle shop, aburasoba, literally meaning oil noodles, has made its way to the capital. In fact they are far less oily and greasy than the classic fatty tonkatsu ramen.

When it comes to ramen, the main element is the tasty broth, which gives the noodles their flavor, but sometimes the broth is high in purine and salt. Aburasoba comes without soup. Try it and you may well feel that it is one of the most delicious and healthy noodles you have ever eaten.

Sitting on tables at Imulakain, the name of the aburasoba shop I visited, is an instruction card about how to eat aburasoba. Basically you mix the noodles with what is billed as a secret shoyu soy sauce in the bowl, together with the toppings, which usually include green onion, boiled bamboo shoot, raw egg, chashu pork or other vegetables according to one's taste. Then add vinegar and house-made Japanese non-spicy chili oil offered at the table and mix again.