We were again patrolling in Soho and thank goodness, I knew exactly where to get him his ramen, at Tonkotsu Ramen Bar (骨). I like their slogan here - "If you don't make your own noodles, you're just a soup shop.". Sounds like they are pretty serious about their ramen.
Tonkotsu (£11.50) - Their original flavor. You can't go wrong with a namesake dish, right?
The pork broth was enriched with lardo and sea salt base so there's a bit of a mix between tonkotsu (pork bone based) and shoyu (salt based). I thought for a pork bone soup, it's more on the light side and it sure doesn't have the volume one normally sees from a tonkotsu soup.
The homemade thin-cut homemade noodles weren't bad though and they worked reasonably well with the roast pork belly, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, spring onions, burnt garlic oil and seasoned egg.
Tokyo (£11.00) - Chicken broth and soy sauce base. Classic homemade noodles topped with marinated braised pork belly, bamboo shoots, spring onions and seasoned egg. I thought the broth tasted a bit like lo shui (鹵水) and not surprisingly, no sign of the chicken broth at all.
If I have to pick just one bowl of ramen, I take Tonkotsu in a second.
Our ramen noodle experience in London didn't turn out as badly as I once feared. Yes, it's by no means a delicious experience but I was already very grateful that little nugget managed to find something so close to an authentic Japanese ramen.
Food Rating: 4/10
Price: £££
Address: 63 Dean Street, Soho, London, United Kingdom
Closest Tube Station: Leicester Square
Tel: +44 20 7437-0071
Website: www.tonkotsu.co.uk
Opening Hours: 11:30am - 10:30pm (Mon - Sat), 11:30am - 10:00pm (Sun)
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