TOUHENBOKU RAMEN – YONGE ST

Touhenboku opened their second Toronto location near Yonge and Eglinton this summer. Tomo’s second home is similar in size to their Queen St. location with a dinner menu upgrade that includes izakaya dishes. My visit however, was during lunch and only their ramen menu was offered. Based on how well Tomo puts together a karaage don, a follow-up visit to try out their izakaya menu is much needed.

Atmosphere: The interior decor was heavy on weathered wood and exposed brick with crystal chandeliers that were a bit out of place. I felt like I was eating at a street booth with very expensive light fixtures. During lunch, the restaurant was filled with nearby office workers, myself included, grabbing a quick lunch. I could easily see a satisfying lunch taking only 30 minutes.

Service: Our server was shy, but friendly and super efficient. From being seated to getting our bill, my party could easily have wrapped up in half an hour if we didn’t linger over our bowls and dessert. As we ordered, the server prompted us through each option, customizing our ramen. The bowls of noodles arrived hot at the perfect temperature to slurp right away.

Food: Similar to the original location, the broth at Touhenboku’s Yonge St address is also chicken based. On my visit to Touhenboku’s first location, while I liked the karaage don, I didn’t love the black ramen I ordered that tasted bitter from the roasted garlic. This visit, I went with the red ramen, spicy broth, seasoned with sea salt, thin noodles and pork belly topping. I was much happier with this choice. My favourite part of the ramen this time was the broth, which was not too salty, rich and savoury. The thin slices of rolled pork belly were fatty and well seasoned. I would have loved just one more slice. Tomo’s marinated soft boiled egg was perfect and included as a default topping with seaweed and green onions. Based on this visit, Touhenboku will be moving up on my list of Top Ramen Shops in Toronto.

After we received our bill, the owner offered us a complimentary dessert. The three of us decided to split a slice of the house-made Mille Crepes. Each layer of crepe was thin, sweet and the whipping cream layers were light and airy. I would recommend saving some room for dessert.