Sanmamen is a regional style of ramen that originated in Yokohama's Chinatown and first gained local popularity throughout Yokohama in the 1940s. Also known as "bean-sprout ramen," it uses a salt- or soy-based soup as a base and features thinly sliced pork, Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, and wood-ear mushrooms in a gelatinous starchy sauce known as "an."

As you make your way through a bowl it really feels like you're getting an ample daily supply of vegetables and fiber. The thin noodles work efficiently to soak up the flavors of the soup, and the overall impression is a one of a mild, well-balanced bowl that's relatively unsalty. Of course you can make use of the collection of tabletop condiments to adjust the taste to your preference.

In addition to ramen, Gyokusentei serves a range of inexpensive Japanese-Chinese restaurant standards like fried rice, crabmeat omelets, mabo-dofu, and gyoza and shumai dumplings. A bowl of sanmamen is Y650. Located in Yokohama Porta mall, this is an easy-to-access, non-smoking branch of the shop where it was invented, and if sampling every regional style of ramen in Japan is a goal of yours, then this is a good place to try it out.