Late-Night Ramen for the First Time: Tonjin Ramen
Tonjin Ramen: location info and wait time
Hey everyone, meow! We’re back for more ramen. Tonight we headed to Tonjin Ramen, arriving at around 11:27 PM. This place runs its queue with a sign-up sheet, so you don’t have to stand around waiting the whole time — super considerate for a spot that usually has long lines. There were 9 customers ahead of us, and we ended up waiting a total of 32 minutes. Honestly, this was the first time I’d ever seen a ramen shop where you still have to wait half an hour at 11:30 at night. If any of you Mai-Mais are thinking of coming, take that into account. (Then again, I came in the middle of the night, so my experience might not be all that useful as a reference.)
Tonjin Ramen (Google Maps): https://goo.gl/maps/Hzz37CJYyBvy7qa96
(The Tonjin Ramen menu, via a photo posted on Google Maps by @小竹)
The broth
The shop has relatively few seats and the space isn’t big, but that takes nothing away from how delicious the broth is. Today I tried the Ultra-Rich Salt Tonkotsu and the Spicy Mala Tonkotsu, going with the stronger, more authentically Japanese version for both. The Spicy Mala Tonkotsu is exactly what it sounds like — numbing and spicy. For me it was still within the acceptable range, but if you’re not big on spicy food, I’d suggest steering clear. The broth uses one of the shop’s lighter tonkotsu bases, topped off with a big dollop of their house-made mala paste.
At the start I took a little sip of the broth — hmm, it didn’t seem all that spicy, and the base tasted fairly light, though there was at least some layered flavor to it. Even without the spice it’d still be tasty, but I’m the kind of person who can’t live without heat — if they’re selling a spicy version, how could I not order it?
As I slowly stirred the mala paste in, I noticed the numbing-spicy heat started to take over the original flavor. And because of the numbing tingle, my taste buds got a little less sensitive, which actually gave it a just-right kind of feel. Bamboo shoots plus a soft-boiled egg, along with seaweed and bean sprouts, rounded the whole bowl off perfectly. There were three slices of chashu, each a different size with its own character — some were all lean meat, while others were half-fat, half-lean. I have to give a special shout-out to their chashu: every slice was cooked to the point where it melted the instant it touched your lips. Really distinctive, and a great match for the whole bowl.
A small downside of the broth, for me
That said, I felt the spicy and numbing flavors in this bowl kept building up little by little — toward the end it started to feel heavy, and the saltiness did the same. There’s ice water to help cut through it, but I’m not a fan of constantly drinking ice water: first, you end up super full afterward, and second, it feels like getting your combo interrupted, which kind of breaks the flow. Still, I have to say, in terms of both quality and price, this bowl of ramen is pretty commendable.
Next up, the Ultra-Rich Salt. My first thought after the very first bite was — wait, the broth is sweet?! I had a few more spoonfuls to double-check… yep, it really is sweet! It was the first time I’d come across a sweet tonkotsu ramen, which was pretty unusual. That faint, peekaboo sweetness paired with the saltiness of the tonkotsu didn’t feel out of place at all — it actually became a memorable little signature. My guess is the sweetness comes from the mirin sitting on the shop’s shelf. I wonder if other shops add mirin to their ramen too.
Actually, the spicy bowl had a hint of sweetness too — it just got masked. Both bowls share the same tendency to get cloying, or maybe I should say all heavily flavored ramen is like that. If they could give the ramen a bit more layered complexity, it might be even better. Alright then, thanks for reading, everyone. I’m Mydondon — see you next time, bye bye~~
Written 2023/04/01 (By Mydondon)
First edit 2023/04/02 (By Mydondon)
Second edit 2023/04/03 (By ChatGPT, Mydondon)
Third edit 2023/04/03 (By Mydondon)