| rev:text
| - I got so excited when I saw there was a new ramen restaurant in Montreal as I'm a huge ramen-lover! After seeing a lot of pictures of this new ramen place in Montreal and really good reviews from my friends (one of them is a food blogger!), I decided to try it out with my friend.
We went there for a Saturday lunch and surprisingly there wasn't any lineup at 12:15 PM (there were still at least 10 seats available). Maybe it's because it's summer time and the weather is still nice (23 but feels like 30 degrees Celsius) so people are not craving for a boiling bowl of ramen yet? Nonetheless, it was a bit odd as other brunch places around the area (Lawrence, Sparrow, Faberge) were packed with people and there were lineups around the same time. And also, with the opening of new restaurants, there is usually more people who would want to try it out, right? (FYI, they opened on August 7, 2017)
Tsukuyomi's ordering system is like Yokato Yokabai: there is a sheet of paper that you can fill out your name and check what you would like to order. The menu is simple, they have 6 sides (edamame, salad, goma-ae, takowasa, mini chasu don, steamed rice) and 4 different ramen (veggie tonkotsu, chasu tonkotsu, chicken tonkotsu and vegan). You can customize the thickness of your ramen (thick or thin) and the saltiness of your broth (low, regular and high). You can also add extra soft boiled egg, chasu, chicken, nori and spinach.
I settled down for their chashu tonkotsu (pork bone broth + braised pork belly topping as described on their menu) and I added a soft boiled egg as I didn't know the ramen also comes with 1/2 of a soft boiled egg. To be honest, I think their menu is a bit misleading as it didn't include what exactly the ramen comes with. Usually, in other ramen places like Kinton, Misoya or Yokato Yokabai, it is clearly indicated what it comes with (1/2 or 1 egg, the number of chasu pieces, nori, etc.) so customers wouldn't have to wonder whether it comes with other toppings or not and whether they have to add extra toppings or not. In my knowledge, usually what is described under the name of the dish is usually what it comes with (ingredients/toppings), so I thought this ramen only comes with the braised pork belly. And yes, some ramen places in Asia like Ichiran would serve a bowl of ramen that comes with chasu (no other toppings unless you add them).
For the thickness and saltiness, I decided to go with their thick noodles and regular broth. When my ramen came, I was surprised to see so many soft boiled eggs! That was when both my friend and I said: "Oh! It comes with egg already?!" And veggie (spinach), nori, and bean sprouts!
Their noodles were really thick; the thickest ramen noodles I've ever had, very different from the other ramen houses! I don't know how thin their thin ramen noodles are but it might be better than the thick ones. Don't get me wrong, their thick noodles were really chewer, "stretchy" and firm (the way I like) but because it was so thick, it couldn't really absorb the broth, so almost every bite I took, I was only able to taste/eat the noodles that were a bit bland.
The regular broth was on a blander side as it was not salty at all but lacking a bit of flavor I feel. The broth was light and not greasy. I wished the broth could be thicker and creamier though. Maybe next time, if I decide to go back again, I will pick their thin noodles with high saltiness broth (trust me, I have never went for high saltiness because usually it would be too salty).
My piece of chasu was a disappointment. From the pictures and description of my food blogger friend, the chasu was a big as her hand but mine was barely 1/3 of hers (and half of my piece was just fat). The more I compare my bowl of ramen with hers, the more I feel cheated. I'm not sure if Tsukuyomi gave her a bigger piece with more veggies too because she is a food blogger and it would look nicer in her pictures but that would be a bit misleading and unfair for regular customers, right? (this is just my assumption though, no harsh feelings!) Their chasu was however very tender and flavorful!
Their soft-boiled egg was a bit disappointing as well. The yolk wasn't runny (it was a bit overcooked) but it was well-marinated and still tender. The amount of veggies I got wasn't as described by my food blogger friend either (I felt the need to add extra spinach). They also didn't have the black garlic oil as mentioned by my same friend... Our waitress told us they only had spicy oil. I think with garlic oil, the tonkotsu ramen would taste even better (definitely richer in texture). Overall, the bowl of ramen was pretty small for the price ($13).
I hope they will re-adjust their menu and make the size of the chasu piece more consistent. The staff were friendly but not very attentive as it took them a while to notice us when we asked for the black garlic oil. For now, I give them 2.5/5 as I think there is a lot of room for improvement.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)