Ramen, the London Trio - Tonkotsu, Bone Daddies and Shoryu

Before we start, I'm going to lay it out there, I am NOT a ramen expert just a man who has eaten and loved a lot of noodles in his life and can consider myself a noodle fan. Over the last 6 months, London has seen a sudden influx of ramen bars with a focus on the noodle soup, as opposed to relegating this to just another item on the menu. If you aren't acquainted, it is a combination of noodles, rich broth and an array of toppings normally and can be the most wonderful of dishes when executed perfectly. Here is my rundown of three of the Londons finest:

Bone Daddies Ramen Bar

I guess you can say that Bonedaddies isn't your average ramen bar. Pumping out rock and roll (at a very acceptable decible level), it's all high tables, stools and shared dining space. The menu itself consists of eight variations, with two core broth varieties, pork and chicken. I've gone through most of the menu here and I normally opt for the Soy Ramen with some add ons (the chashu pork is delicious, but two meat ramen is always better than one meat).

The noodles have bounce and are plentiful, swimming within a deep meaty broth. On top, a combination of pork or chicken as well as a variety of bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, corn, nori and mizuna. As you would expect from a chef who used to be head chef at one of the outlets of Nobu and Zuma, each bowl is beautifully presented and once you get into it, builds flavour with every mouthful. And the nitamago egg! Unlike the other ramen outlets, you get both halves of a wonderfully oozy soy infused egg. A joy.

Bone Daddies delivers the full package on flavour and satisfaction. Each bowl is packed to the brim with different flavours and textures, and with the different varieties available as well as the rotating specials, you're never going to get bored. And any write up won't be complete without a hat tip to their fried chicken, soft shell crab and their chilli oil which are all excellent.

Bone Daddies Ramen Bar - 31 Peter Street, London W1F 0AR, UK

Tonkotsu

Tonkotsu is an offshoot of the successful Tsuru Sushi restaurants which are based around the city. Normally peddling sushi, katsu curry and a new kara age chicken burger, I was pretty intrigued how their incarnation of ramen would fare.

If you're going to name your restaurant after a product, it puts quite a bit of pressure on the product nailing it. Thankfully, the Tonkotsu ramen is a decent incarnation and a very welcoming bowl of noodles. Although early visits were pretty disappointing (weak broth, terrible service, tasteless pork), they seemed to have turned this around as my last visit was pretty good. My preferred option is the plainer soy version, which is still rich and deep in flavour. The tonkotsu can be a little too porky for me and a bit heavy for lunch.

Tonkotsu is good but something seems to be lacking. The ramen is fine, with good broth and good noodles, I just found the toppings a little disappointing, with far less variety, content and ultimately, taste. The sides are also ok, but the chicken kara age is nothing to write home about. Maybe I'm missing something, but I am just not that into Tonkotsu.

Tonkotsu - 63 Dean Street, W1d 4QG

Shoryu Ramen

So, rounding off this soupy threesome is Shoryu. Arguably, Shoryu can claim to be the most authentic incarnation of a ramen house. Run by those folks across the road (Japan Center) and with a bona fide Japanese chef at the helm, I was fully expecting something great. Unlike the other ramen joints, the menu here is vast. Unlike Bone Daddies with their standard eight or so options, and Tonkotsu with a mere four varieties, Shoryu has more than both of the former combined, a monstrous 14 standard options. Not to mention the vast number of sides and starters too, you've got your work cut out deciding what you're going to have.

On my visit, the Hirata buns had to be tried. Much like ramen, these little steamed buns are making their presence felt on the London dining scene. As enjoyable as these were, these didn't quite stack up to the superior versions by street purveyors Yum Bun or Bao. For the novelty of it, we also ordered a side of Chikuwa fishcakes, an odd combination of battered fried fish and cheese. Strange but weirdly moreish.

For the main event, I went for the Yuzu Tonkotsu, a pork tonkotsu broth with the added citrusy zest of yuzu. Surprisingly, these were perfect bedfellows, cutting through the rich broth. The toppings were mostly great, with a soft nitamago egg (although only half), pieces of nori, beansprouts and kikurage mushrooms. Sadly, the meat was slightly lacking in flavour, although this was the only real weakpoint to a great bowl of noodles.

The restaurant was buzzing, although there were a few core issues for me. I enjoyed the ramen, but all the tables and seats were ridiculously close to each other. But probably the biggest bug bear, that damn drum. Every time somebody paid their bill or got seen to their table, BOOM, there goes the drum. It was cute the first time, but after the tenth or so, it was extremely grating. Especially when you're trying to appreciate a perfectly good bowl of noodles.

Shoryu Ramen - 9 Regent St London SW1Y 4LR

VERDICT

So there you have it, three different ramen joints all with their own merits. It's clear that they won't appeal to everyone, with their bonging drums, dark interiors or rock and roll music, but considering where we were six months ago, we now have three ramen joints to choose from and slurp noodles at your convenience. Personally, after much research/slurping, I name Bone Daddies my favourite. I love the place, I love the ambience and most of all, I think their bowls of ramen are the most balanced with quality through toppings, broth and noodles. Well played.

The Mall Tavern: A quirky classic

The London restaurant scene is growing up at an alarming rate, but even with these new openings every week, I find it hard to be drawn in by many of them. You have the burgeoning junk food scene, for example. Let's not try to tart it up as anything else, it's simply delicious filthy food like burgers, hot dogs and fried chicken but not really something I can cope with eating every day. You have the new wave of brasseries, which have strangely ballooned over the last few months (do we really need more than a few brasserie places?). Sadly, I find these astonishingly dull in principle. You have the new wave, trying to put their own stamp on their food, but normally only either offering expensive tasting menus or bar food.

Deep down, what I really yearn for is somewhere I can sit down and relax, order a reasonably priced beverage and eat good food at my own leisure without feeling over serviced or rushed, which, even with all these new restaurants opening up, I'm finding don't really meet this criteria. Which was probably one of the reasons I was so bowled over by my visit to the Mall Tavern in Notting Hill.

Hidden just off the high street, the Mall Tavern is a gastro pub with a fully functioning utilitarian bar. This isn't a restaurant masquerading as a gastro pub, this is a pub which serves very good food. They have a variety of beers on draught and even stock proper crisps (for proper, read Monster Munch). Add a dart board and a fruit machine and I would happily settle in for a few hours.

Round the back of the bar is the restaurant area, and although the tables are more well dressed, the service is still casual yet attentive. Service with a more human touch, which sounds like a ridiculous thing to say in principle, but I still find myself enamoured by the less robotic approach, versus those who have a pre-prepared routine which has been drilled into them. The menu is a rarity, every item is something I would genuinely consider ordering. Sadly, with just two of us, that wasn't going to happen, so we had to settle for a beef tea, some deep fried camembert and popcorn chicken to start.

The Beef Tea was an outright winner, not just for being pure crazy, but it fully delivered on flavour too. Little scones came with a bovril butter with what I think was a bit of fat speckled on top. Add to that a cup of "beef tea" which was actually a consomme packing in the essence of cow. This was an assault on the eyes, the brain and all my senses. Rock and roll.

You can never go wrong with deep fried triangles of oozy cheese served with a sharp, tangy yet sweet cranberry sauce (never). Perfectly executed and greaseless. Popcorn chicken were moist morsels of chicken, battered and fried to a crunch, but still managing to retain moisture. I loved the peppery cress and the actual popcorn all thrown together. Witty, but mostly tasty.

The mains were an even more difficult decision. With my friend settling on the ever present house chicken kyiv (an all time favourite dish of mine) I plumped for the intriguing pork and pickles dish. After the highs of the starters, it would have been a shame had the mains not stacked up, but I needn't have worried. The pork loin was wonderfully cooked, and those mustard and paprika pickled vegetables cut through the rich pig perfectly. The little crubeen on the side (a little piggy croquette essentially) was packed with fatty pig meat which just coated your mouth in the best possible way. As much as I felt jealous of my friend, I had no arguments with my own dish.

As you can probably imagine, we were stuffed by now, but couldn't leave without having a taste of the house arctic rolls. These may seem like an ordinary retro dessert to you, but at the Mall Tavern, they introduce five or six different choices every evening. On this occasion, we settled for one original, one slice of the black stuff and one red bull. The first was jam, sponge and vanilla ice cream, exactly what you would expect and perfectly nice. The second ramps up the crazy a notch and combined a dark malty sponge with Guinness ice cream, which was by far and away the winner. The red bull had to be ordered for the pure novelty, and although it didn't really taste of red bull (it tasted more like bubblegum), it was pretty decent and a great way to end the meal.

Yes, as you can tell, I love the Mall Tavern. But why not? The food doesn't take itself too seriously and doesn't stick to retro or modern, it just sticks to "being great". I loved the inventive little touches to the dishes we tried, and as intimated at the beginning, I think I could have closed my eyes and stuck a pin into each section and still come away with a fantastic meal. I can't recommend it highly enough.

The Mall Tavern - 71-73 Palace Gardens Terrace, Notting Hill Gate, London, W8 4RU

The American Invasion continues: The Electric Diner, Portobello

It seems there is no stopping the American invasion. It's been a juggernaut since last year where parts of the London restaurant scene are starting to resemble New York, from Wolfgang Puck (Cut) and Serge Becker (La Bodega Negra) who opened last year to Keith McNally (Balthazar) and Brendan Sodikoff of the Electric Diner who have been more recent additions. Whisper it, we still have David Meyer and his Shake Shack looming over Covent Garden in the very near future.

The Electric "Complex" (let's call it) comprises of the cinema, the diner, the members bar and the little doughnut shop which sits in the cinema lobby. Affected by a fire in June 2012, it took another six months before it was restored and revamped. The Diner itself, with Sodikoff brought in to consult, started to serve tarted up American Diner food. Think sandwiches (which basically covers everything which involves bread), things served with eggs and a variety of other things cooked on their grill.

We ordered a lot, which seems to be the case whenever I am involved. From the 'sandwiches' section, the bologna sandwich, a towering testament to slices of meat on bread. It came highly recommended and whilst enjoyable, I couldn't help but think that I would have rather tried one of their signature single/double burgers.

Much better was the duck hash from the 'egg' side of the menu. Crispy potato hash topped with shredded duck confit and a sunny side up fried duck egg. With the Americanised 'gravy' on top (more of a ducky bechamel), the whole ensemble is extremely rich but just drags you back.

The dishes from the grill were kind of ridiculous. Best of all was the flat iron chicken, a huge hunk of flattened out chicken cooked on the smoking hot flat iron. Cooked perfectly even throughout and lubricated with garlic jus, this was one of the most addictive pieces of chicken I have ever eaten.

I mean, just look at it. I wish I had something to sit alongside it to show quite how large it was. The flavour of the pork was spot on, the slow roasted apples the perfect accompaniment, although my only qualm was how tough the overall turned out. It's not easy cooking a piece of meat like that to order, and the outcome was a slightly chewy piece of meat. Still, no major complaints, it was another enjoyable dish.

Despite ordering a few other dishes (a salad and a side of crisp bacon), we tried a few desserts too. A chocolate pie was nice enough, but the coconut pie was just fantastic. A berry compote with lemon curd was enjoyable, a classic combination of sweet and sour, and I can't resist ordering a root beer float if it's on the menu, even if it was listed as a dessert and not just a drink (there was a lot of ice cream).

Sadly, there were none of their well praised doughnuts available, but at this stage, even the faint whisper of any food turned my stomach. We were shown around the rest of the complex, from a glimpse of the bar to the impressive Electric cinema. The Electric Diner is far from perfect, but theres's no denying that it's a good eat and you're not going to leave hungry. I for one salute the American influx. London was slightly lacking in these middle of the road places to eat, and places like the Electric Diner fit into that middle space nicely with cocktails and good comfort food. Well worth a visit, and why don't you catch a film in probably the most beautiful cinema I have seen for afters.

*I was invited along to the Electric Diner and had dinner with their PR as well as a few others*

The Electric Diner - 191 Portobello Road, London, W11 2ED

Old School Chinatown - HK Diner

Chinatown holds a lot of fond memories for me. When I first moved to London, I remember the Sunday trips my family and I used to make. Dim Sum at New World and the weekly shop for ingredients at either New Loon Moon or Loon Fung supermarkets (both institutions in their own right), with a special treat of haw flakes or boxes of weird biscuits containing mini robots if we behaved ourselves. For an 8 year old child, weekends built up to these days.

As an adult, I wrote my dissertation on Chinatown, documenting the shift from being a cultural center for the London Chinese to a tourist center for the London tourists. I even worked on Wardour st to fund  my university days, popping into Wong Kei for cheeky roast meats on rice. You could say I'm quite connected. Over the years, Chinatown has changed a lot, with premises seemingly changing names  as often and inevitable as the seasons. One of the few constants has been HK Diner, an institution on Wardour Street, packed equally with local young Chinese students and the older generation alike.

Serving strictly Cantonese food, I hurtled in with a few of my friends and was lucky enough to stroll straight to a table. Navigating the menu in any Cantonese restaurant can often be a minefield, faced with a myriad of choices all sounding a little like the last. Playing it safe, I palmed off ordering duties to my friend who is a little more versed in Cantonese food than I am and awaited the impending feast.

There must be some sort of unwritten three point code of conduct within the restaurants of Chinatown:

1. Surly staff
2. All the food will turn up when it's ready
3. It's not going to break the bank

'Tick" point one. Although the staff weren't rude unlike some of it's neighbours, they took our order without so much as an upward glance. Rushing about the tables, there is an air of efficiency with a whiff of sterility. This is not a place where you are expected to hang around. All being said, the food arrived quickly and certainly lived up to it's reputation.

First up was some jellyfish. Most people who have never eaten jellyfish may balk at the idea of chowing down on jellyfish but it's really more of a texture than a flavour. Think a soft rubber band often doused in sesame oil. Still probably not sounding that appealing, but I am rather fond of it, it's well worth a try and the version at HK Diner had a hint of sweet chilli to it which wasn't displeasing.

Hot on the heels of the jellyfish came the beef ho fun. Flat noodles, slices of beef and bean sprouts cooked in a really hot wok. Simplicity itself, but it's the heat of the industrial wok which seems to reach ridiculous temperatures and impart that deep smoky flavour which really makes the dish.

I'm not really all that fond of tofu. It's bland and the texture is so soft that I rarely see the addition of tofu adding anything to most dishes. On the other hand, stuff it with mince pork and then frying it just about makes it palatable. Dousing it in a garlic and oyster heavy sauce and it becomes a joy.

I find it hard to resist ordering some roast meats the second I venture into the borders of Chinatown, so an obligatory portion of roast duck was up next. Roast Duck, roast pork and rice was my go to comfort food when I started writing this blog and it's been a while since I rated a new contender. This one was pretty decent and served without bones if requested, something I am fond of.

Pea shoots are probably the most expensive of the veggies available, but there's something about that tender stem vegetable stir fried in a little garlic which I just can't resist. I do get horrified at the cost of vegetables in Chinese restaurants (this one weighed in at about £7 a portion) but it's well worth an order for it's delicate flavour and texture.

Pork belly and preserved cabbage is one of those more traditional Cantonese dishes and is packed with flavour. This generous portion is packed with sauce you just want to smother all over your rice, the preserved cabbage adding a pleasing sourness which helps cut through the rich pork fat of the belly. Moreish.

Last but not least, a wobbly comforting steamed egg. Combining standard eggs, century eggs (which are dark in colour and add a slightly chalkier texture) and salted egg yolks, this is simply steamed and served with a bit of soy. The subtle contrast in textures of the egg, combined with the bursts of flavour from the salted egg yolks combine to form an incredibly satisfying and comforting dish.

HK Diner is one of the few restaurants which seems to have stood the test of time. It isn't going to win any awards for it's food, but it's decent and enjoyable and for around £20 a head, you can eat enough food to fill you beyond capacity (tick list point 3).

*This post was sponsored by Cox and Kings as part of their Chinatown review challenge. Check them out, they put together some pretty great holidays to China amongst other places*

HK Diner - 22 Wardour Street, London W1D 6QQ

"What I Ate Weekly" 3/4 - Illness, Chinese New Year and a truly Quality Chop House

Being sick doesn't half know how to put a dampener on things. Snivelling, coughing, sneezing, complaining that my throat hurts ALL the time. But these are not the worst thing about being ill, not even close. It's the lack of appetite, an idea so alien to me that it took a virus to remind me how utterly depressing not wanting to eat is.

So that is why there is no week 3, it was pretty much a write off with one highlight, a dinner at the Old Quality Chop House. After a few drinks at the new Four Roses popup bar under the Zetter Townhouse (up there with my favourite bars in London), I headed with the venerable Gin Monkey for some food to mop up the bourbon.

I wasn't really sure what to expect, its previous incarnation was a restaurant selling meatballs which I previously hadn't heard particular great things about. This version seems to have strong British and Italian influences. Sharing a plate of charcuterie to start set the whole meal off on a good footing. Delicious cured meats, but hardly genius cooking. Morcilla and apple sauce may not have been the prettiest thing to look at but was also extremely moreish, with the apple compote not too sweet and breaking up the richness of that blood sausage perfectly.

Where the Quality Chop house really came into it's element was the meat. The longhorn fillet may not have been cheap, but was cooked to medium rare perfection. Served with watercress, nuggets of bone marrow and a pickled walnut, each mouthful was a joy. Even the nuggets of bone marrow that I have never been that fond of injected that little depth of beefy flavour. The Quality Chop house is a great place, and even though we only ate in the bar area, I look forward to going back to try out their ever changing set menu in the dining room.

The Quality Chop House - 94 Farringdon Rd, London, Greater London EC1R 3EA

So, the on-set of sickness hit and I managed to miss two eagerly anticipated meals. One was a leaving party at the institution that is Tayyabs (if you ever need some fantastic curries and grilled meats, this is the place) and the launch of Melba (a new platform to find and eat at some of Londons supperclubs). Thankfully come Sunday, I had managed to get take a break from generally feeling crap to spend Chinese New Year with my family.

Every year, we end up at the same restaurant, Mandarin Kitchen in Bayswater. Our family have been coming here regularly over the last 20 years and I think you would struggle to find a better version of lobster noodles or aromatic duck in London. Some of the other things it does well here are their deep fried baby squid (packed with chilli and garlic, and one of my favourite things in London), their dry fried chicken, chilli and onion dish, and maybe best of all, their off the menu truffle, mushroom and tofu special, which is indeed very special. Rounding off all the food, the traditional Yee Sang, a raw salmon and jellyfish salad with all sorts of other bits and pieces, flung into the air by all at the table and cheered with gusto to see in the year of the Black Water Snake.

Mandarin Kitchen - 4-16 Queensway, Paddington, London W2 3RX

One of the best burgers you're going to find in London can be found at Lucky Chip, a successful convert from mobile burger shack to bricks and mortar. From Netil Market to a semi-perm residency at the Sebright Arms in Hackney, you can gorge on fries in many guises (truffle oil, cheese, chilli, all of the above, not forgetting the wasabi and ginger mayo version) and burgers named after movie stars. The special on the night, a Danny Trejo, was a punchy mix of jalapeno, bacon and sour cream amongst other things, and will set you back just under a tenner. I would go as far to say as Lucky Chip are currently best in class and unmissable if you love burgers.

Carrying on the Chinese New Year celebrations, a feast at Goldmine with friends. Located in the heart of Londons 2nd Chinatown (the Bayswater/Queensway area is awash with great Chinese restaurants), we feasted on all sorts of great Cantonese fare. Steamed egg three ways was a new dish on me, and a perfect banqueting dish. Best of all is their roast duck, a "signature" dish of so many Cantonese restaurants. Here, the meat is moist, tender and roasted to perfection. Rumour has it that students heading back to the East come here to take some duck home then, vac packed on site. If that isn't endorsement enough, I'm not sure what is.

Goldmine - 102 Queensway, Paddington, London W2 3RR



So there it is, a fortnight punctuated by illness but book ended by good eats. Hope you enjoyed.

Vigo, where it's all about the fish...(Day 1)

At the end of last year, I got an email asking me if I wanted to go to Spain and learn a bit more about Galicia. Initial reaction, was this a joke? Secondary reaction, where the hell was Vigo? I'm a Geography graduate, so that last point was pretty embarrassing  but once I realised this wasn't some sort of elaborate wind up, I keenly said yes. This was after all, my first invite abroad. And I was pretty damn excited by it.

Vigo (as Google Maps swiftly revealed) is located just north of Portugal, deep in the heart of Galicia, and as it turns out, one of of the biggest fishing ports in the whole of Europe. I was slightly worried about the itinerary, containing an assortment of seafood related activities including fish markets and an outing on a fishing boat. It was Winter and I am hesitant about seafood at the best of times. But what's the point of writing this blog if it wasn't about learning?

Staying in the heart of "new" Vigo, we were put up in the Gran Hotel Nagari, five star accommodation. The hotel is home to a rooftop spa boasting a grand view if Vigo. Or so it claimed. Sadly, I wasn't allowed up there so I can't really comment on how bad or good it was. My room, on the other hand was lovely, as were the staff and the location is pretty close to the old town and Maruja Limon, the solitary Michelin starred restaurant in Vigo, and incidentally, the destination for the first night in Vigo.

To start, a little about the wine of the region. Throughout the meal, we were served one white and one red, but played a few tasting games including being blindfolded and tasting at different temperatures to pick up the subtle nuances of each. The white, an Albarino which is a grape common to the region, was the star of the show and as the focus of this meal was around the seafood of the area, matched well with many of the dishes we ate throughout the evening.

The first bite of marinated tuna-esque fish set the tone, a light and fresh mouthful, swiftly followed by a delicate veal carpaccio with parmesan. Each subtle mouthful, heightened by little accents like the mustard in the carpaccio and the diced tomato with the tuna. 

I'm not going to lie, I don't remember what was in every dish I ate. I have pictures, but with the limited Spanish I know, most of my memories are just that, just supported by a liberal use of Google translate. An unknown fish started the banquet in earnest, dusted with a liberal shaving of macadamia nuts. Next, a mullet dish with lightly pickled vegetables. Simple, elegant but just what the fish needed to shine. I've never really understood the fuss around fish before, as often found it bland and dull, but these dishes let the fish speak for each itself, and when it's as fresh as this, it's hard not to enjoy.

The best dish of the night came next, a truffle and savoury egg custard with nuggets of bacon and mushrooms. We were urged to dig deep into our little bowls, and with each spoonful, a different balance of flavours revealed itself. A wonderful dish that left us licking our bowls.

Back to another fish, this time with an artichoke and seaweed sauce. I don't remember ever having enjoyed such a fish based meal, but I guess that I have never eaten fresher, which clearly makes the difference. After the fish, was our final savoury course, an odd combination of sweetbreads and grapes in a cheese sauce. Put simply, I have never enjoyed sweetbreads. I put them up their in the league of the devil alongside anchovies. The texture, the fattiness and the aftertaste are all too challenging for me and this dish sadly did nothing to change my mind.

The desserts were extraordinary. A sorbet of green apple had such surprising clarity of flavour, and paired with celery, pineapple and tangerine in a juice with a slight savoury tang left me yearning more. A final dessert of "False truffle" arrived looking like a rather large summer truffle. Inside, a chocolate truffle, completing the witty play on on words. A joke doesn't really work if it doesn't eat well, but there was nothing funny about this. This was a serious dessert.

On reflection, the whole meal at Maruja Limon was extraordinary. I learnt a little about the wine of Galicia and it's subtle nuances, I learnt a little about the different types of fish and its individual flavours, I even got to try a sip of the first Galician gin, but most of all, I learnt that there is nothing quite like a fresh fish supper. 

So day 1 was a great introduction to Vigo. A wonderful meal and a wonderful hotel. According to my agenda, day 2 was going to teach me all about the fishing trade that manifests itself everywhere in Vigo. I couldn't wait.

Maruja Limon - Restaurante Maruja Limón, Victoria, 4 (Plaza Compostela), 36201 Vigo

Hotel Gran Nagari - Plaza Compostela, 21, 36201 Vigo