Tonkotsu translate to pork bones. And pork bone
soup base is one of the most popular ramen soup bases around. Generally people see ramen as the
yellowy eggy noodles in soy / chicken broth with dumplings or Japanese char-siu
or whatnots, which are mostly Tokyo style ramen. But ramen varies by regions, and
my personal favourite is undoubtedly the miso-rich Sapporo ramen.
Judging from the success of Burger & Lobster,
small menus are in fashion at the moment. The menu here couldn’t be simpler: 3
ramen choices: pork, spicy pork or vegetarian. 3 gyoza (dumpling) choices:
pork, prawns, or vegetarian. And a couple of sides.
Tofu
Hiya Yakko
The
block of cold tofu was surprisingly generous. I drizzled the wobbly block with
some soy sauce to give it a bit of colour.
Silken
and delicate textures akin to creme caramel; subtle soy flavours, brought out
by crunchy spring onions and bonito flakes. Clean and refreshing.
Tonkotsu
Tonkotsu
serves Hakata ramen originated from Kyushu prefecture. The broth, made from extensive boiling of pork bones, pooling in the
goodness of fat, collagen and cartilage to give a thick, creamy texture. The
soup base here also mixed in some chicken stock. The contrasting dots of
aromatic black sesame oil floated on top of the milky broth, along with
the glowing yolk of the soft boiled egg - it was picture perfect.
I
started with a ladle of soup - beautifully seasoned with sea-salt, packed with
piggy goodness and finished with a glutinous stickiness. Gorgeous. Unlike the
eggy Tokyo ramen, the Hakata soba noodles are straight and thin, which allow
the rich soup to 'cling' better, and so brings more flavours in every mouthful
and slurp. The noodles were cooked perfectly, bouncy with a chewy centre. And I
wouldn't expect less as I sat at the bar, I could hear the regular beeping of
chef's timer.
The
pork belly was probably too fatty, even by my standard; a couple of slices were
60% lard. I had to go easy on my arteries. The soft-boiled egg, on the other
hand, was spot on; not dissimilar to the Chinese tea leaf egg, seasoned
with five spices, together with a glorious gooey yolk. It was on par with the
legendary onsen egg.
Compared to Koya, I prefer Tonkotsu. Partly
because I prefer ramen to udon, but also I felt this meal was more accomplished
and satisfying. Definitely a personal preference as opposed to quality
discrepancies. They encourage slurping here, like the authentic noodle bars in
Japan where men makes ridiculously noises sucking up the ramen. I couldn't
quite bring myself to do it. But it's a nice effort to introduce some
authenticity to the restaurant.
63 Dean Street
Soho
London
Tel: 0207 437 0071
We visitied on the 1st week of opening and it was delicious! We had the pork ramen - I much prefered them to Ittenbari down the road, and the chicken karage and veg gyozas were perfect. We also ended up ordering the pork gyozas being the piggies we are, but they were a let down.
ReplyDeleteHmm not sure if this place beats Koya though, I think fresh udon wins over fresh ramen for me =D
It's interesting. Another friend said he preferred Ittenbari... it's the egginess in the noodles you see:)
DeleteAhh, I prefer my ramen with less egg taste and that's why I preferred Tonkotsu, but my other half preferred Ittenbari... battle of the noodles huh =D
Delete