BASSANOVA

Shin-​Daita may not be the most exciting spot along the Inokashira Line, but it is home to one of its more creative Tokyo ramen offerings. Though now creating some buzz in NYC, Bassnova Ramen have their roots in Shin-​Daita, and ramen fans will want to mark it on their maps.
The recommended Tondaku Soba is a solid offering — a tonkotsu ramen with an impressive piece of barbecued «cha-​shu» pork, some nori, spring onions, and noodles prepared to your preference. The broth is well balanced — it’s not so salty that it overpowers the rest of the dish, but it’s addictive enough that you’ll seriously consider another helping of noodes (guilty. every. time.)
But the most popular item on the menu is easily the Green Curry Soba, an intercultural marriage of green curry and wadashi soup. According to
, perfecting the balance of this particular dish took a few years of experimentation, but the end result really works — the coconut-​milk base of the green curry complements the noodles with a good mixture of salty and spicy.
Bassanova has a kind of eat-​and-​go feel to it, so the place will often jump from packed to empty in a flash. As for ambience, the lighting is a bit on the moody and dark side, while the music is oftentimes a reflection of whoever happens to be on shift that night — my last visit was accompanied by a nostalgic sound track of Weezer, both old and new.
You may well have to go a bit out of your way to get there, but Bassnova is worth the effort — you won’t find anything else quite like it in Tokyo.
Trivia note — One thing Bassanova boasts on their ticket machine that no-​one else does — the «love» in every order is free. Check the bottom right of the ticket machine, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.