For a while now Tsuru have been holding pop-ups at their Bishopsgate restaurant, which is usually closed at weekends. The aim, as far as I can tell, is to test out dishes for their (?) upcoming Soho based ramen shop, which is going to open in June or July. I assume it's an execution test rather than recipe test as no feedback was solicited. Today was the last one and saw the debut of a new ramen and the announcement of the restaurant's address: 63 Dean Street, Soho.
The pop up was fun, if a little tricky to find, located in a quadrant surrounded by offices near Liverpool Street. We had tickets for the 3pm sitting (two tables of an earlier sitting, 1pm, were still clearing as we arrived.) The smallish restaurant was fully booked and there was a bit of randomness to service (we were missed and got our noodles long after people who'd arrived much later). Everyone got a bowl of the restaurant's signature 'London Ramen' and an Asahi beer or half a flask of warm sake.
The idea behind the London Ramen sounds sort of like the legendary bacon dashi developed at David Chang's Momofuko. I have no idea how close they are in execution though, having not been lucky enough to get to New York to try Chang's noodles.
They say that London Ramen is a salt base ramen and the soup stock is somewhere between rich tonkotsu and light shoyu ramen. This is topped with flame-charred slabs of smoked bacon (thanks to the Japanese lady next to me who decided she didn't need the bacon and gave Cliff and I her's), egg, mushrooms and most importantly, fresh noodles. The leaflet we were handed today said "it's British breakfast on ramen and we're chuffed to bits with the result". The smoked bacon is cooked in the soup stock first which gives the soup a smokey flavour.
The result was fun and a ramen I'd certainly have again when the restaurant in Dean Street opens. The broth was flavoursome and the bacon a distinctive touch. The Japanese mushrooms (shimeji and shiitake) complement the bacon and the tea egg was perfectly done, with soft golden yoke oozing. The yellow noodles were perfect for me, chewy and not too alkaline. No nori, which was an interesting call.
We also tried the handmade gyoza and chicken Kara-age too (lucky enough to get the last portion of Kare-age). Both were tasty and well executed.
Tickets for the event were £10, which included ramen and a drink. We spent about another £20 on extra drinks and side dishes.
I wish I'd been around for some of the other pop ups (a waitress told me today's was the fifth) so I could give a clearer picture of what Tonkotsu will bring to the London scene. I nearly wrote London ramen scene, but lets face it: there isn't one. From that point of view Tonkotsu can't go far wrong and today showed a lot of promise. Roll on summer!
(Props by the way to The Liberty of Norton Folgate for providing a coffee chosen to go after the ramen, Finca La Illusion from El Salvador).
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