Aoba 中華そば青葉

In search of ramen: 01 Aoba 中華そば青葉. This is a place not far from the monthly condo we are staying at. It was recommended by my grandson's girlfriend. I told her that we are looking for "regular" ramen. Not miso soup, not pork broth, but classic "ordinary" ramen--shoyu or salt base broth.
　We arrived at 3:15 and there were two other customers in a 14 seat counter. We ordered by purchasing a meal ticket 食券 from a machine in the corner. Much to M's dismay, they didn't serve beer. But the service was efficient; the counter and restaurant in general was clean. We ordered the regular--Chūka soba (Chinese noodles)--and it came in 6 minutes. (A) I instantly tasted the fish on the first sip of broth--Niboshi 煮干し is dried sardines and often used to make broth. While not over-powering, it was more than I expected. The broth was a bit fatty too, so I'm guessing that the broth is a mixture of the dried fish broth and some of the pork used to make chashu. (B/C)

The bowl came with a single slice of pork chashu and naruto (spiral-designed fish cake); the chashu was fatty and soft and very tasty; that naruto was... just naruto. (B) Non protein toppings were menma (bamboo shoots) and a small sheet of nori. (C) After the first couple of bites, the fish taste seemed to drift into the background. The noodles were of medium thickness--a tad narrower than linguine; they were al dente, chewy and tasted absolutely wonderful. (A) By the last sip of soup, I could barely taste the sardines.
　Aoba: 86% B.　　https://www.nakano-aoba.jp/