Gongti | Marukin Ramen

This little eatery whisked us right back to Tokyo with its low-key décor, efficient service and deliciously greasy tonkotsu ramen. The house ramen (Marukin ramen, ¥38) is served steaming hot, with the standard two sheets of quality seaweed stuck to the side of the bowl, two pork slices, bamboo shoots and half a boiled egg floating in the broth. The noodles are thick and soft. The soup, made from boiled pork bones, is almost creamy. Add a bottle of Asahi beer (¥20), and it’s as close to ramen heaven as you’ll get in Beijing.

Find it: 106, China View Bldg 4, 2 Gongti Donglu, 工体东路甲2号中国红街4号楼106, Tel: 8587-1331

Lido | Hi No De Ramen

Specializing in shoyu (soy sauce) ramen, this place gets high marks for a good bowl of noodles, but low marks for service. We hungrily slurped up the house recommendation (猪骨海鲜汤面, ¥30), paired with some mediocre gyoza dumplings (¥15) and a bottle of Asahi (¥20), served nice and cold. We left so stuffed we almost had to be rolled out of the place by the disinterested staff.

Find it: 3, 1/F, Bldg 5, Jiangtai Lu Shangye Jie, 将台路商业街5号楼1层3号, Tel: 6438-6892

Sanlitun | Gen Lai Ken

A bowl of ramen (¥30) at this tiny shop is more than passable, though the two pork slices were too fatty for our taste. Reminiscent of the fare in a standard, hole-in-the wall ramen shop in Japan, the noodles here are solid, but not spectacular. The best thing about this cozy restaurant (aside from the great service) is that you can suck up some men with a draft beer (¥10) while getting a good dose of Japanese television. Trust us—you don’t need to understand the language to enjoy it. Just order, eat and watch. Itadakimasu!

Find it: 8 Xinyuan Xili Zhongjie, 新源西里中街8号, Tel: 6468-5579

Laura Fitch