Classic white pork (Original King) noodles. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In Japan, where there are estimated to be more than 80,000 ramen shops, the noodle scene is much more competitive. But Nobuhiro and Ikuta Satoshi, the restaurant's founder, have managed to survive and stand out.

In 2013, seven years after they started their hole-in-the-wall noodle business, Nagi was voted best ramen and champion for Tokyo Ramen of the Year Award, against some 30,000 competitors.

"The trick never lies in the bowl," says Nobuhiro.

"When Ikuta first started the business, the noodles weren't really good. But Ikuta listens and improves every day," says Nobuhiro, recalling the days when the two were boiling noodles at a traditional shop in their 20s and "the kitchen was so small that you either befriend your colleagues or go mad".

During the early years in Tokyo, before business picked up, the founding team challenged themselves to create one new type of ramen every single day for a whole year. Creative, if not crazy, they came up with variations including the ramen surf and turf－dried baby sardine-infused tonkotsu broth and condensed tonkotsu broth, using three times the amount of pork bones to simmer the broth with one-third of the water of the standard.