Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Tonkatsu Tonkotsu Ramen at Ichiban Tei

Tonkatsu Tonkotsu Ramen

Just the other day, there was a discussion about the difference between tonkatsu and tonkotsu, and I wondered to myself if anyone had actually tried creating tonkatsu ramen instead. Well, whaddya know...the special menu at Ichiban Tei tonight featured tonkatsu tonkotsu ramen, thus bringing both into one bowl. It pretty much tasted exactly like one would imagine it to be: a deep fried piece of tonkatsu pork cutlet sitting on top of a bowl of tonkotsu pork bone broth noodles, with the pork all the while getting soggier the longer it sat in the bowl. The broth here, while still tastily rich, was thinner than Hakata's and thus a tad less favorable in my opinion (I guess there's the answer to the shootout suggested between Hakata and Ichiban Tei then).

Daikon SaradaThe daikon sarada here was also a bit of a letdown, with the daikon cut almost as thick as McDonald's French Fries (ironically enough, this thing featured shoestring potatoes on top) and with a dressing that paled with others. Oh well. It was interesting to see tonkatsu ramen anyway.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hello, My current ranking for tonkotsu ramen: 1.Miharu, 2. IchibanTei 3. Hakata. Hakata is normal wholesome goodness but I thought Ichibantei has more "edge" the last time I tried. Miharu still beats everybody though. Will have to try your farvouite Noodle Shop Ken soon :)

d

anytoe said...

hi all jap noodles lover,

Ever tried Ken noodles. it's by a Jap chef called Ken who has worked at many top notch Jap restaurants in hotels.

There stewed egg noodles .. Tamago noodles i think is really worth the $12. The egg is still soft & yellow when u bite it in.
But just a word of caution, i find the soup a tad too salty. There is a low salt version though. The cold noodles is very refreshing too with cucumbers & bamboo shoots & wasabi by the side!!!

Food on foot

Yuujirou said...

wherever you're centrally located,
if you are ever in the area of houston, texas, look up this small restaurant called "teppay"
it's one of those "hole in the wall" places at the corner of voss/hilcroft and westheimer. of all of houston, it is my humble opinion that teppay is the only, and if not the best, traditional japanese restaurant in the greater houston area. btw, the broth for our tonkatsu ramen is stewed for 2 days, so it's quite creamy, and it's also a house favorite.