Kauboi Ramen is an eatery seemingly custom-made to muddy the argumentative waters swirling around authenticity. Set inside the compact bar area for Texas Joe’s, Kauboi Ramen serves up Japanese-style ramen noodle soups – but with Texan-style barbecued meats instead of the usual chashu pork. Continue reading
Japanese pork bone broth noodle soup in the capital gets better. And worse. Although the deluge of ramen restaurant openings in London has lessened since its peak a couple of years ago, a bowl of warm, rich and comforting tonkotsu ramen is still rarely far from my mind. Not only because it’s the perfect dish … Continue reading
This Japan-focussed article is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage For a country on the far side of the world with a reputation for being expensive and inscrutable, Japan holds an outsized place in our collective culinary consciousness. Its quixotic and singular culture might be one reason, becoming the archetype of the … Continue reading
Showing Ippudo and Shoryu how it’s done I’ve always considered ramen to be a cold-weather dish, as it’s so hearty and warming, so it was therefore a surprise to discover ramen restaurant Muga opening during the height of balmy June. This minimalist restaurant is spread over two floors in an unassuming premises on Panton Street and was … Continue reading
Barbecue, banh mi, fine dining and even more barbecue The start of 2015 means a customary look back over 2014 – and what a year it was. This seasonal retrospective is a little later than usual this year as I’ve been busy cranking out new reviews. As with previous retrospectives, I’m not going to recycle already-published reviews by spewing … Continue reading
Not all of London’s Japanese pork bone broth noodle soups are created equal Londoners are experiencing a ramen revolution. This soothing noodle soup, once a hasty add-on buried in the extensive menus of some Japanese restaurants, now has several restaurants dedicated to it. Although there’s lot of joy to be had from shio and shoyu ramen, … Continue reading
I really dislike the end-of-year roundups found on most websites. Ensuring that loyal readers have something to read over the quiet Christmas/New Year’s/Winterval period is admirable; cynically regurgitating old content and presenting it as new is not. I’m particularly against concocting a dull list of my ‘favourite’ restaurants of the past year – if you … Continue reading
Ramen-ya or Ramen nah? Update 20/10/14 – for the latest tonkotsu ramen coverage check out my group test Ramen restaurants are like buses – you wait ages for one, then three come along all at once. I’ve visited Tonkotsu before, but that little Soho gem has now been joined by Bone Daddies and Shoryu and … Continue reading
Piccadilly Japanese is just going through the motions There’s a curious glut of Japanese restaurants on Lower Regent Street, a short walk away from Piccadilly Circus. If you have a lot of money, the hilariously small branch of Japanese department store chain Mitsukoshi has its own high-priced restaurant. If you’re on a budget, then the … Continue reading
Noodle kaboodle Thanks to the instant noodle convenience food that shares its name, ramen isn’t the most glamorous of dishes, but it can be surprisingly difficult to get right. The imaginatively named Tonkotsu on Dean Street is a new restaurant that eschews sushi and katsu curries, concentrating solely on this underappreciated noodle soup dish. Tonkotsu … Continue reading
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