Time To Say Goodbye

After exactly four years and three hundred blog posts, I'm calling time on Eat Noodles Love Noodles. Giving up blogging hasn't been an easy decision to make. After all, it's a hobby that's given me great joy, and one through which I've met some great friends, online and off, along the way. Big thanks to you all, especially to those of you who took the trouble to comment on the blog along the way. {Update July 2015 - I've made a kind of a comeback on my other blog - click here.}

Why now? The truth is I've been thinking about jacking it all in for the past year or so. The only reason why I continued was the proliferation of ramen shops in London and my travels abroad. But there's only so much I can blog about ramen, and my mad run of travel this year has come to a halt.

If there's one aspect of blogging I'll miss, it will be writing about food on my travels. I doubt I would ever have started blogging if I didn’t have the kick-start from a trip to China in 2009. And to the end, it's these posts that have given me most pleasure to write.

I won't miss writing about London restaurants so much, though. Despite all the new openings, I've not really blogged about too many places in the capital this year. It's not that I don't take an interest in all the big name chefs and restaurateurs. I do, and I even sometimes eat in their fancy gastrodomes. It's just that I feel the London restaurant scene is a bit like English Premier League football: an exciting and cosmopolitan spectacle, but one where the actuality does not match the hype.

Now I don't want to end my blog on a negative note (although I have been known to shake my fist at crap restaurants, awful food TV and incorrect food grammar), as I've always been passionate about promoting the food I love the most. So with that in mind, I thought I'd end my last post with my fantasy last supper. I've bent the rules a bit in that I've somehow ended up with a ten-course Asian seafood banquet.

My Last Supper
Sashimi selection
I love sashimi and it's the perfect start to my banquet. Of course it's going to be weapons-grade raw fish, with the only stipulation being the platter must include some of my favourite hamachi (yellowtail).

Steamed scallops topped with garlic & glass noodles
This classic epitomises all that is great about Cantonese cuisine: fresh ingredients, simply cooked. This is also the first appearance of noodles in the banquet.

'Chao Tom' - Grilled prawn paste on sugar cane
In this Vietnamese dish the sugar cane acts as a skewer and the prawn paste is eaten by wrapping it with herbs in lettuce and rice paper before dipping in nuoc cham.

Under the Typhoon Shelter pissing prawns
After a relatively healthy opening three courses, the banquet get dirty in the form of fried 'pissing prawns' aka mantis shrimp tossed in a violent mix of fried chilli and garlic. ('Under the Typhoon Shelter' is the poetic Chinese name of this Hong Kong dish more commonly cooked with crab.)

Singapore chilli crab with fried mantou
Things get dirtier still with this Singapore classic where the crab is almost an afterthought. I can foresee much dipping of fried mantou (Chinese buns) into the flavoursome eggy, tomatoey chilli sauce.

Clams in fish soup with rice vermicelli
Asian food is all about balance, which is why this course is a bit cleansing. Having said that, a big glug of rice wine should go into the soup. (Noodlewatch: noodles make a second appearance in the banquet.)

Shanghai-style river shrimp stir-fried with Longjing tea
The comedown continues with a delicate dish of river shrimp, coated with egg white and cornstarch, stir-fried with Dragon's Well aka longjing tea leaves.

'Pla Neung Ma Nao' - Steamed grouper with lime, chilli, garlic, lemongrass & fish sauce
I have to have a Thai dish in my top ten, and this whole steamed grouper (sea bass would do at a push) sat in an aromatic 'soup' is my choice.

Pak choi stir-fried with garlic
Although my last supper is being served banquet style, this simple vegetable dish will be brought out just after the fish. And for those carb lovers, now might be a good time to ask for some rice. Mind you, not too much though…

Lobster fried with ginger & spring onion on a bed of e-fu noodles
So this is it, the coup de grâce. Of course it was going to be Cantonese, of course it was going to have noodles, and of course it was going to be lobster cooked with ginger and spring onion! My apologies to dessert fans, there's no proper pudding but there will be slices of watermelon.

Now I know some of you may be surprised at my choices. For instance, neither dim sum nor Cantonese BBQ makes an appearance. But that's OK, as I had both at my penultimate meal at lunchtime. Being a critic of the concept of pan-Asian restaurants, some may be surprised the feast contains a mix of different cuisines. However, I don't think it's an issue, as all of the dishes are bona fide classics and they will be served 'banquet-style' rather than in a blurry family-style free-for-all. And being a bit of an obsessive, I've also given a lot of thought to the sequence in which the courses will be served.

So that's it. I am now a former blogger, although I will continue to post food photos on Instagram. Thanks again for reading.

PS: Thanks for the good wishes and messages on Twitter - I'm very touched. For clarification, I will be keeping the blog alive but there won't be any new posts. And I'll still be on Twitter.

New York City Eats

I really enjoyed my week's holiday in New York, and as one might expect the food played a large part in that. Rather than do loads of blog posts (I really can't be arsed nowadays) here's a round-up of some of my favourite eats in the Big Apple.

The dimly-lit dining room at Minetta Tavern, while terrible for food photography, is one of the most buzzy, atmospheric ones I've eaten in. And I've eaten in a lot. I kicked off with a generous portion of roasted bone marrow served with shallot confit and baguette soldiers while my friend went with roast baby beets. Both got the thumbs up. For mains, we both ordered the legendary Black Label burger. Made with prime cuts of dry-aged beef, topped with caramelized onions and served in a sesame-topped brioche bun, this was without doubt the best burger I've ever eaten. Oh, and the big mountain of fries were bloody amazing, too. Overall, Minetta Tavern was probably my favourite out of all the restaurants I visited in New York. This begs the question whether Keith McNally opened the wrong restaurant in London.



Minetta Tavern, 113 MacDougal St (btwn Bleecker & 3rd St), Greenwich Village, New York, NY 10012
(Tel: +1-212-475-3850)

Kesté Pizza & Vino serves pizza the Neapolitan way with a wood-fired brick oven taking pride of place at the back of the shop. My diavola pizza was pretty much perfect with its blistered chewy crust and quality toppings of homemade mozzarella, spicy soppressata and fresh basil. My friend enjoyed his pistacchio a salsiccia pizza with its subtle pistachio pesto topping and moreish sausage meat. As the name of the restaurant suggests wine is of equal importance to the pizza and this is reflected by the excellent wine list. Along with Biang! and the Minetta Tavern, this small pizzeria is on my A-list of New York eateries.



Kesté Pizza & Vino, 271 Bleecker St (btwn Cornelia & Jones St), West Village, New York, NY 10014
(Tel: +1-212-243-1500)

Choosing where to eat in Manhattan's Chinatown is a risky business. One false move and you could end up in a tourist trap. So I was thankful that I had some local knowledge to fall back on in the form of coolcookstyle's recommendation of Shanghai Café Deluxe. Being a caff specialising in Shanghainese food, both 小籠包 xiao long bao (soup-filled pork dumplings) as well as the less well known 生煎包 sheng jian bao (pan-fried soup-filled pork buns) were ordered. Of the two I preferred the latter; I think this might be to do with the fact that sheng jian bao, with their juicy pork filling and crispy bottoms, are nigh on impossible to find in London. Incidentally, these two dishes are listed on the English language-menu as steamed tiny buns with pork and fried tiny buns with pork.



Shanghai Café Deluxe, 100 Mott St (btwn Canal & Hester St), Chinatown, New York, NY 10013
(Tel: +1-212-966-3988)

Fette Sau may not be the best barbecue joint in New York (the twitterverse told me as much) but it is ideally located to kick off an afternoon out in Williamsburg. I know sod-all about proper American barbecue and have precious little experience of it. So for what it's worth, I thought the pulled pork shoulder, beef short rib and beef brisket were decent enough but that the pork ribs and pork sausages were better. I liked the casual fun vibe of this converted auto repair shop so it was a shame that our lunch was slightly spoiled by rude and inattentive bar service (by the way, the food counter service was just fine).



Fette Sau, 354 Metropolitan Ave (btwn Havemeyer & Roebling), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
(Tel: +1-718-963-3404)

I'm pleased to report that there were no such service fails at the excellent Black Brick. Some haters may dwell on the overtly hipster interior design, but quite frankly who cares when the coffee is so damn good. The barista's attention-to-detail was a sight to behold and he also found time to have a friendly chat whilst making my brew. This coffee shop is an ideal pit-stop when strolling along Bedford Avenue, the main drag in Williamsburg. All power to hipsters!



Black Brick, 300 Bedford Ave (btwn Grand & S 1st St), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
(Tel: +1-718-384-0075)

Tribeca Grill may no longer be the place to be seen, but I enjoyed my Sunday brunch at this glamorous restaurant famous for being part-owned by Robert De Niro (I had a good look around but Bobby was nowhere to be seen). I adored my jumbo lump crab cake, which as promised had jumbo lumps of sweet white crabmeat. This was perfectly paired with chipotle roasted corn and cilantro avocado mousse. My mate enjoyed his scrambled eggs, country gravy & buttermilk biscuit so much, he didn't offer me any. And do remember to order the basket of bread & pastries if only for the amazing banana bread. This was a fine last meal before heading off to the airport.



Tribeca Grill, 375 Greenwich St (btwn Franklin & North Moore St), Tribeca, New York, NY 10013
(Tel: +1-212-941-3900)

To conclude my round-up, here are a few places where I enjoyed drinks and snacks. Eataly, Mario Batali's gastro-shrine to all things Italian, has no less than seven restaurants. Being a sunny day I popped up to the rooftop beer garden, Birreria, and enjoyed a fine platter of salumi. To top-up my Britisher points I spent an enjoyable Friday night at April Bloomfield's gastropub, The Spotted Pig. Next time I'll save some space to eat more than just my share of pork rillette and some shoestring fries. Happy Hour is a great time of the day to take a breather from sightseeing whilst plotting where to go out at night. I found this was best done over drinks, some truffle fries and half a dozen littleneck clams from the raw bar at McCoy in Greenwich Village.



Birreria @ Eataly, 200 5th Ave (btwn 23rd & 24th St), Flatiron District, New York, NY 10010
(Tel: +1-212-937-8910)



The Spotted Pig, 314 W 11th St (at Greenwich St), West Village, New York, NY 10014
(Tel: +1-212-620-0393)



McCoy, 89 MacDougal St (at Bleecker St), Greenwich Village, New York, NY 10012
(Tel: +1-212-460-0900)

[NYC Postscript – updated August 2013] After having a great holiday in New York in May, it was a pleasant surprise to return so soon after for a business trip. This, of course, meant more eats and here's a quick round-up of some more places worth checking out.

There are two very good reasons to visit the Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking district even if you're not a guest: the Standard Biergarten and the Standard Grill. Enjoy German beer in the former before going to the latter to tuck into seafood from the raw bar followed by treats such as seared scallops. A short distance from the Standard Hotel is Fatty Crab in the West Village. I'm not entirely sure what my Malaysian friends might think about this take on their cuisine, but I was a big fan of the signature chilli crab as well as snacks such as coconutty chicken wings and seasonal salad.

Taiwanese-style gua bao seem to be taking over the world at the moment and New York is no exception. Of the bao I tried I liked the belly pork-filled Chairman Bao at Baohaus but preferred the pork buns over at Momofuku Noodle Bar, although they were so amply-filled with pork belly it left little room for the slightly-lacklustre Momofuku ramen. My last tip is an example of what the Big Apple does best: ambience. I have no doubt there is better Japanese food in New York but for a good time vibe, there's no beating the Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya.

Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum

Despite being Japan's second largest city, Yokohama isn't high-up on most tourist itineraries. This is probably due to it being perceived as a suburb of Tokyo as well as lacking traditional tourist attractions. That said, if you're staying in Tokyo then I reckon it's well worth making the short trip to Yokohama. But I would say that, as Yokohama is home to the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum!

This homage to ramen opened in 1994 and is spread over three levels. The ground floor is taken up mostly by a gift shop (more on that later) but the main part of the museum consists of a recreation of a 1958 Tokyo street scene spread over two subterranean levels. It's all a bit kitsch but I don't really care, as there are no less than nine ramen shops - all outlets of famous ones from all across Japan - to check out.

After a quick scout around the various joints, I decided to visit Ganja to check out their dipping ramen. Ordering is by machine and with some help from a waitress I selected one of the taster portions (these smaller portions are available to enable punters to sample more than one shop). To be honest, this wasn't really my cup of tea. I didn't mind the noodles being cold, but I would've preferred the dipping tonkotsu-shoyu broth to be hot, not lukewarm (by the way I have no idea what the 'correct' way should be). On the plus side the toppings, especially the belly pork, were top notch and the broth was packed full of flavour. It's just that the overall combo would have been better served all in one bowl.

By the time I left Ganja, the museum was starting to get busy and queues were forming at some of the shops. Taking a punt on the wisdom of crowds I joined the longish queue for Kamome-Syokudo, which I thought was a tonkotsu joint but in fact served shio ramen (this just goes to show that I can't read Japanese, especially when hungover). This time I went for a normal size portion and while the toppings were abundant and of good quality, being a shio-based broth it wasn't really what I was after. That and the fact the broth was far too salty for my liking. I may have chosen badly, but neither ramen shop I went to in the museum was as good as those I'd visited in Tokyo. Mind you, there were seven ramen shops at the museum I didn't try.

Feeling quite full I left the year 1958 behind me and popped upstairs to the gift shop. I went over to the design-your-own-ramen section where you can pick out your choice of soup, tare (seasonings) and noodles to take home in a souvenir box. I plumped for a mixed broth consisting of a sachet of tonkotsu (pork bone broth) and a sachet of rich chicken stock. For the tare I went for shoyu (soy sauce) with a pack of shrimp oil for good measure. And last but not least, I chose some thin ramen noodles to complete my ensemble. I then had to suffer the humiliation of having my photo taken that was then stuck on the top of the box. The end product tasted better than anything out of a packet had any right to, although it is clear that my egg boiling skills need honing.

If you do decide to go to the ramen museum then I also recommend you visit Yokohama's Chinatown (Japan's and some say Asia's largest Chinatown). Save for a cheeky skewer of siu mai, I didn't eat there but from what I could see the eateries serve a wide range of food from authentic dim sum to Japan-ified Chinese dishes. However, Yokohama's Chinatown is more about walking around and savouring the atmosphere than the food. That and, if you're of Chinese-descent, topping up the Chineser points. I enjoyed my day trip to Yokohama and with its ramen museum and Chinatown it can boast two attractions that Tokyo can only envy. In other words: Yokohama 2 Tokyo 0.

#Tokyoagram

To be honest I have very little clue where and what I ate when in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago. The thing is I'm no expert in Japanese food. Combine that with jetlag and being a bit pissed most evenings means that this isn't going to be one of those blog posts that people will be referring to when planning a trip to Tokyo.

Having said that I do know a little about noodles, and as I ate these for lunch it also meant I wasn't inebriated. Of the noodles I sampled, by far the best was a quite amazing mutant-tonkotsu ramen (photo, below left) from a place called Kiwamiya, where the broth was made with not only pork but also chicken, beef, seafood and vegetables with a shot of shoyu (soy sauce) for good measure. This rich, viscous broth was packed full of flavour and was augmented with top quality pork and egg. The only slight negative was that the ramen noodle used was a bit too thick; I really shouldn't gone with kaedama (refill of noodles), as it left me in a noodle coma all afternoon. I can still scarcely believe that lunch here cost Yen 880 (less than the equivalent of £6).

Of the other noodles I tried, I liked the classic Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen (photo, above right) from a place called HRC. Less viscous than the broth at Kiwamiya, it still packed a porky punch. London's tonkotsu contenders could learn a thing or two from this broth although its oily nature may scare off some punters. Oh, and rather bizarrely, this bowl of ramen came with a free bowl of rice. All this for the equivalent of a fiver – who said Japan was expensive?

A concept in some Japanese restaurants is the set menu with a 'drink-all-you-can' element comprising of an unlimited pour of local beers, sake and shochu (sadly, there's no premium booze on the list). I'm pretty sure that if anyone offered free booze with meals in Britain, they'd be bankrupt within a week. Of the couple of places with this concept I went to, I really enjoyed the barbecue at Namiu – the scallops were amazing. As was the whole spread that kicked off with various cold dishes including sashimi and ended with a bowl of cold soba noodles.

The other place I went to has no English name nor website and all I can remember was that it served food from the southern island of Kyushu. The surroundings were more casual than Namiu but the sashimi (photo, top right) was just as good, if not better.

Course after course came, as did the booze. Dishes were either served as a platter to share or on individual plates. I was taken aback by one of the courses, which consisted of a fried chicken wing with a slice of lemon. It was nice chicken, but somehow it felt wrong in the middle of a banquet that otherwise did a fine job in showcasing the regional cuisine of Kyushu. In terms of atmosphere, this was my favourite despite walking into the toilet when a salaryman was having a dump (in my defence he hadn't locked the toilet door).

The other evening meals were a bit more casual with a fantastic sushi / sashimi dinner one night and chicken skewers at a yakitoria (is that a real word?) on the other. Despite not being 'drink-all-you-can', I enjoyed both with the yakitoria edging it on ambience. Of the food, my favourite dish was the tsukune (chicken meatballs) and extra portions were ordered. I would love to tell you more about these places but neither joint has a website and both are tucked away in impossible-to-find alleys.

Last but not least, Tokyo's late night snacks are pretty tasty, too. The gyoza was a bargain at Yen 250 (less than £2) for half a dozen. These were made using a special gyoza cooker consisting of a hotplate with a hinged lid that steamed as well as grilled the dumplings. I also enjoyed some takoyaki (octopus balls) smothered with what tasted like a thickened Worcestershire sauce. These were damn tasty and with a cheeky beer, I recall getting change from a 1000 Yen note – another bargain!

All told, I enjoyed eating in Tokyo and for that I must thank my colleagues N and S who both looked after me superbly. I was particularly touched that they remembered how much I adore ramen from my previous visit.

Ippudo - The Weight of Expectations

To those of you who aren't noodle geeks, Ippudo (一風堂) is a Japanese restaurant group famed for its ramen, in particular its tonkotsu ramen. In recent years it has expanded from its original Fukuoka base to other parts of Japan and beyond. In fact I first heard about Ippudo from rave reviews of its New York outlet. So when I found out there was a branch in Singapore plans were made to go there during my recent trip to the island state. But the thing with renowned restaurants is the weight of expectations. Would Ippudo come up to scratch?

I went for the Shiromaru Special (S$23) – a classic Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen featuring cha shu pork, braised pork belly (kakuni), cabbage, spring onions, egg (tamago), and bamboo shoots (menma). First impressions were good; I was asked how I wanted my noodles done (medium) and they did have a nice bite to them. And as is customary, they were the thin noodles that should be served with tonkotsu. The toppings were by and large of decent quality – in particular the pork belly. However, there wasn't much of the cha shu and the egg (oddly served whole) was decidedly weird with the white not entirely cooked through in some places despite the yolk not being runny.

I could forgive all of the above shortcomings if the tonkotsu broth was top class. It wasn't. Being in Asia, I expected the proper primeval, slightly disturbing whiff of molten collagen in a milky white broth. So I was disappointed when that wasn't the case. It was far from being a bad broth; it just wasn't as good as I thought it should be.

Onto the sides and I went for a pork bun and a shrimp bun. The actual steamed buns were of the finest quality, but the bun-to-filling ratio was all wrong. The respective fillings consisted of a tiny slice of pork belly and a solo breaded shrimp reminiscent of something found in a supermarket freezer cabinet. My overriding memory was just how much bloody lettuce there was in each bun. I guess I can't grumble too much, as the buns cost a mere S$3 each, but I will.

To be fair to Ipuddo, perhaps I was all-noodled out following the noodle crawl I had embarked on earlier that day. Or maybe I ordered the wrong things. Some mentioned on twitter that I should have ordered the Akamaru, which comes with a miso paste-bomb and black sesame oil. That's all well and good, but the underlying tonkotsu soup base would have been the same as the Shiromaru I ordered.

I had hoped Ippudo would be to ramen what Din Tai Fung is to xiao long bao (I wished I had gone to Din Tai Fung, as there were a couple of branches nearby). It wasn't. There wasn't that much wrong with my food, it's just that Ippudo promised so much more. That's the problem with expectations.

Ippudo, Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Rd, Singapore 238897
(Tel: +65-6235-2797) Nearest MRT: Somerset

Off The Blog 7 - Eating In Soho

It's been a hell of a long time since I last did an 'Off The Blog' summary. 15 months to be precise. Well, better late than never, here are three places in Soho to get your chopsticks into.

One of my favourite Vietnamese dishes is bánh cuốn, a rice noodle roll that shares some similarities with Cantonese cheung fun. Although there are many Vietnamese restaurants in London, few sell this superior dish. Café East in Surrey Quays does, but its version doesn't come anywhere close to the bánh cuốn at Cây Tre Soho. Filled with ground pork, wood ear and shitake mushrooms, a large portion makes an ideal light lunch. Recommended.

For a previous review of this restaurant, click here.



Cây Tre, 42-43 Dean Street, London W1D 4QD (Tel: 020-7317-9118)
Nearest tube: Leicester Square, Tottenham Court Road

Following a long forgotten incident involving Pa Noodles getting the hump about some over-battered fried squid, I hadn't been to Golden Dragon in a long, long time. In the intervening years this Chinatown veteran has barely changed. As far as the food goes, there were some moments of class such as the chive dumplings in the photo and the beef satay fried ho fun noodles. Less successful was a dish of over-greasy fried dough stick cheung fun and some lacklustre xiao long bao. That said, I enjoyed my lunch in this buzzy atmospheric Cantonese restaurant. And while there is superior dim sum to be had in the capital, Golden Dragon is one of the better choices in Chinatown.

For a guide to my favourite London dim sum restaurants, click here.



Golden Dragon, 28-29 Gerrard St, London, W1D 6JW (Tel: 020-7734-1073)
Nearest tube: Leicester Square

Soho Ramen is the latest offering from Tonkotsu Bar and Ramen, which sees own-made ramen noodles paired with shio-based pork and chicken broth topped off with smoked haddock, a bit of caviar, pak choi, half an egg, menma and spring onion. The clear, mellow soup (a lighter style compared to this restaurant's signature tonkotsu broth) is an ideal match for the toppings, as it allows the flavour of the smoked haddock to shine through. But the real star of the show is the own-made ramen; these springy alkali noodles are arguably the best of their kind in the capital. I previously had Shoryu and Bone Daddies ahead of Tonkotsu in my London ramen rankings, but on this showing I may just have to reappraise my opinion.

For a previous review of this restaurant, click here. And for more on ramen, click here.



Tonkotsu Bar and Ramen, 63 Dean Street, London W1D 4QG (Tel: 020-7437-0071)
Nearest Tube: Leicester Square, Tottenham Court Road

World of Noodles 9: A Quick Guide to Ramen

I'm not really sure that the opening of a handful of ramen joints in London last year really constitutes a trend. Mind you, there's been a lot of hype about these Japanese noodles as of late. That's no bad thing, but what if you don't know your ramen from your udon? Or your tonkotsu from your tonkatsu? Well fear not, help is at hand.

No 1 Special Ramen @ Kudan Ikaruga, Tokyo

What is ramen?
Like so many great things ramen has its roots in China, and it was immigrants from that country which introduced this soup noodle dish to Japan in the 19th century. In its simplest form, ramen dishes consist of noodles served in broth with toppings. The toppings vary depending on the style of ramen, but pork, egg, menma (fermented bamboo shoots), spring onions and different types of seaweed are most common. However, there's a fair bit of experimentation, and toppings such as sweetcorn and butter sometimes make an appearance. Ramen noodles are wheat-based, and although they vary in shape and size, have a common characteristic of being springy (from the alkali water used in the noodle dough) in contrast to udon, a thicker chewier noodle. But for all that, the most important aspect of ramen is, undoubtedly, the broth.

What are the different broths?
The broths served with ramen are based on a stock made from either pork, chicken, seafood, veggies or a blend of some or all of the aforementioned. The style of broth can be characterised by its tare or flavour base. For example, shio (literally, salt) is based on a tare made from a reduction of dried seafood and seaweed that imparts salty and umami flavours. Other tare include shoyu (soy sauce) and miso. These categories are quite broad, and there's no set way of preparing the different styles, as chefs like to put their own signature on their creations. There is, however, one style of broth I have yet to mention: the legendary tonkotsu (not to be confused with tonkatsu, a breaded pork chop), and it is this milky-white porky broth that is at the forefront of the ramen renaissance in London.

Tonkotsu stock @ Bone Daddies, London

So what's the big deal about tonkotsu?
Tonkotsu (originally from Hakata in southern Japan) differs from other types of broth in that the flavour comes mainly from the stock itself rather than from the tare. To make tonkotsu broth, pork bones are boiled for ages so that they break down and release collagen into the stock. The end-product can be a bit too thick and porky, though, and therefore it's usually blended and thinned out by mixing with a lighter chicken, fish or veggie stock. Such is the richness of tonkotsu broth, the noodles served with it should be thinner and straighter than those served with lighter soups.

Where's best to go in London?
Ramen isn't all that new to London. After all, Wagamama (and a whole host of noodle bars inspired by this chain) first popularised ramen way back in the 1990s. However, like the London burger explosion, a number of restaurants are attempting to take things to the next level. In the past year, Ittenbari, Tonkotsu Bar & Ramen, and most recently, Shoryu and Bone Daddies have all set up shop in the capital. The latter two are my current favourites.

However, let's not discount the likes of more traditional Japanese restaurants such as Nagomi and Cocoro, which have been quietly serving ramen (including the prized tonkotsu) for a number of years. I've also noticed that sushi chains such as YO! Sushi and Feng Sushi have recently jumped on the ramen bandwagon. Although I've not tried the offerings at these places, it's unlikely that they’re much cop (yes I know, I'm such a noodle snob).

The London ramen scene is exciting but there isn't, in my opinion, a killer ramen shop just yet. Having said that, the recent spate of openings can only be a good thing for the capital's noodle fans. I have only really skimmed the surface when it comes to ramen, and for further reading I can point you to Kavey who identifies some of the different regional styles in this post. And for those of you that really want to geek-up on the subject then check out Rameniac whose interactive map is a work of art.

Shoryu Ramen - The Listening Restaurant

In a world where some in the restaurant industry use social media really badly, it's refreshing to see Shoryu Ramen use it so effectively. For instance, when some old grumpy-bollocks (that's me by the way) had a whinge on twitter about the thick noodles Shoryu used during the soft opening, not only did they introduce a new, thinner noodle but I also received a tweet from @shoryuramen to let me know about it. Other punters lamented the nitamago egg had to be ordered separately. Again, Shoryu listened, and half an egg was introduced as standard in the noodle bowls. I know listening to feedback is the whole point of a soft opening, but it doesn't always pan out that way.

Thick noodles aside, I enjoyed my bowl of yuzu tonkotsu ramen, but as a rule I don't judge anywhere solely on a soft opening, so I made plans to return when the food was being sold at full price. It seemed I wasn't the only one with that idea, as the restaurant was nearly full at 11.45am the Saturday morning I went.

I ordered the basic Hakata tonkotsu ramen (£8) to see how it stacked-up against rival tonkotsu. The first thing that struck me was the broth; it was milky white, there was lots of it and it was steaming hot - all good. It was thinner than the tonkotsu broth found at some rival London joints, but it retained sufficient porkiness and also had a pleasing smoky quality about it. On the minus side, the chashu bbq pork and the half a nitamago egg were somewhat pedestrian. I liked the other toppings of red ginger, kikurage (wood ear fungus), nori, beansprouts, spring onion and sesame, but it would've been good to see some menma (fermented bamboo shoots) in the bowl.

The thinner hosomen ramen noodles are an improvement on those used during the soft opening. These had a nice 'bite' to them, and I ordered an extra portion (£1.50) to soak up the broth. I was pretty full after this and got me thinking that Shoryu probably offers the best value tonkotsu ramen in London.

Shoryu also probably offers the most options for tonkotsu ramen in London, with no less than seven different tonkotsu-based dishes including the likes of wasabi and piri-piri (incidentally, non-tonkotsu fans can plump for miso and shoyu-based soup noodles). On my most recent visit, I went for the top-of-the-range yuzu tonkotsu ramen (£10.40) - a bowl of the Hakata tonkotsu ramen topped with a dollop of yuzu jam and some chilli. I was glad that, with the exception of the thinner noodles, it hadn't changed since the soft opening. I like this particular combo, as the tart citrusy notes of the yuzu jam and the spiciness of the chilli lift the smoky porky tonkotsu soup-base, without overpowering it.

I also ordered some gyoza (6pcs/£5); these were OK without being outstanding. Perhaps these humble pork dumplings should be the next dish to get some love and attention in London. After all, when was the last time you could say you had really top class gyoza in the capital? Having said that, I'm probably being a bit harsh; these dumplings were better than say those at Tonkotsu or Ittenbari. On the non-food front, the service is good although the dining room is a bit clinical for my liking.

So what's the overall verdict? I like Shoryu a lot, but it isn't quite the definitive ramen bar that London is screaming out for. For instance, both Bone Daddies and Tonkotsu serve better quality pork and egg in their dishes. However, I prefer the way the broth is served at Shoryu i.e. plenty of it, steaming hot. In terms of a favourite, I can't really split Shoryu and Bone Daddies; I like them in different ways with the former being more traditional, the latter more radical.

There is, however, one winner: London. There is now a genuine ramen rivalry in the capital, not only between my current favourites but also with other 2012 openings such as Tonkotsu and Ittenbari as well as old stagers like Cocoro and Nagomi. I'm hoping that this competition, with maybe some more contenders in 2013, will further raise standards.

One last thing! Shoryu sell fresh hosomen ramen noodles (£1.50 for 125g) to take home. These are pretty good, but if you do buy them I recommend an extra step in the cooking instructions: rinse after cooking before adding to the soup. This is to remove the alkali soapy taste from the noodles.



Shoryu Ramen, 9 Regent St, London SW1Y 4LR
Nearest tube: Piccadilly Circus