Open every day for Lunch 11:30am–3pm, Dinner 5:30–9pm
Phone: (07) 3868 2833
http://www.taros.com.au
What better way to commence post matter on this blog than with what I consider to be the grand daddy of Brisbane Ramen- Taro's at Racecourse Road, Ascot. For two years I have been frequenting this Ramen-Ya and I don't think that I have ever been disappointed. This was the restaurant that essentially introduced me to a good Tonkatsu soup and is my benchmark for any restaurant attempting the style in Brisbane.
Main size selections are the Tonkatsu broth as standard, or with either a medium chilli paste or hot chilli paste added, a veg and chicken based broth with either shio, shoyu or miso seasoning, a single or double portion in tsukamen style, and a couple of vegetarian noodle dishes. Plenty of other sides are also available, including various gyoza, kaarage chicken, a couple of Japanese curry dishes, some tofu variations, takoyaki, various cold salads and a few other things. The drinks menu is extensive with a range of authentic imported bottle and can beers as well as a tapped Suntory number. There are also various sake and plum wine options and non alcoholic soft drinks. There's also a chilled water dispenser which is essential if you're not buying any drinks. No booze for me today though as I am on a lunch break from work.
With the aim to present as even an account of my visit as I can, today I opted to order the most basic option that they present- simple Tonkatsu Ramen with no additions, though I did change some aspects at no extra cost. I opted for 'harder' noodles (I like 'em chewy) and 'extra salt' (I like it salty). Anyone who has visited the Racecourse Road store should know that they offer a great range of optional soup extras at further cost including menma, extra egg, extra noodle in the bowl, larger overall portions, extra noodles on the side etc. I'd like to see the option of narutomaki (the only thing missing if you ask me). You can also opt for other things (at no cost) like softer noodles, harder cooked egg etc. Everything is ordered through iPad's that are available at each table that send the orders directly back to the kitchen. I popped in today for a quick lunch break and they weren't overly busy so the soup landed in front of me in timely manner (around 5 mins).
What is plopped down is an attractive little presentation. I can more or less see a part of everything that is in the bowl. Inclusions are broth, noodle, a lovely soft piece of rolled chashu pork shoulder, one half egg, blackened garlic oil, a good portion of sliced spring onion, a square of nori and toasted sesame.
What I love in a good bowl of Tonkatsu is a pale, milky smooth, thick, fatty broth. Another word I like to use in my head which may not translate well is 'clean'. To me Taro's broth is very clean in that it's a pure, smooth pork flavoured broth, seasoned liberally with just salt from what I can tell, and not a lot else. The soup is reduced to near perfection, it's sticky and it clings to the lips just like an accomplished broth should. Made in house on a daily basis, the noodles are immaculately chewy and springy, arguably the best in the city. The pork shoulder is of the very traditional style, a braised Japanese chashu rolled pork shoulder, sliced quite thinly, and most likely re heated in the broth itself as it doesn't show any signs of caramelisation that might happen when grilled or torched. If I were to complain about anything, it might be that the pork portion is a little bit lacking compared to other Ramen joints in Brisbane, but it's hardly an issue for me. Of note is the fact that they use Bagalow pork here, it's super soft and falls apart in the mouth with not a lot of work. Possibly the softest in Brisbane. The egg is cooked to the correct standard, hard white, liquid yolk. I'd love to see it marinated for a little longer perhaps, but it's on par with just about every high end Ramen shop that I have experienced. Also included is a pretty mild blackened garlic oil. Not every place includes this as standard but they do here. While it's very dark, the flavour is not over powering like I have experienced at other shops, the portion is appropriate and adds just that proper amount of bitterness. Every single bowl of Ramen should be garnished with sliced spring onion and there's more than enough included here, along with a sprinkle of whole toasted sesame seeds.
It's all served in a perfect noodle bowl that is very easily sipped from at the end of the meal. The chopsticks are the wooden disposable kind and work very well when attempting to pick up chunky portions of noodles. The soup spoon is a heavy, deep ceramic number. There's also an entire table inside devoted to various seasoning and condiments including chilli paste, sesame oil, mirin, soy etc, though it's hardly required with such a perfect soup.
I have read some people complain about the cost of this place, though today's bowl only cost me $15 which is on par with any other quality shop in Brisbane so I don't know where that's coming from. Maybe the issue lies in just how easy it is to make additions via the iPad which in turn is bound to blow out the cost. I have spent much more cash here before because of that alone. The base level bowl though has everything that you may get at any other shop, and the portion sizes are very comparable.
I have also read many people complain about the bad customer service here. Today was a quiet day so I can hardly complain about what service was offered during my stop. The meal arrived fast and was presented to me in a polite and cordial manner, the payment process was efficient and succinct. I have been here on insanely busy nights too, and I have no qualms with the service offered at those times (more or less the same as today). I think it's a bit rich to complain about these kinds of things when you're paying $15 for a bowl of noodles.
In terms of the overall vibe, I will say that this shop is just about the least atmospheric in all of Brisbane. It's a cold room with very little going on except for a wall of large sake bottles. Outside is no better, an alfresco setting, situated under an old weathered tarpaulin style cover, boxed in by retractable plastic wind shields. Again, hardly worth dwelling over when paying so little for a meal. I can't get a view of the kitchen from the dining room so I cannot comment on the cleanliness, but the the dining room seems very clean so I would hope the same of the back area. Parking is non existent so you may need to park around the block or down the street and walk up. Payment options include cash, card or pay pass via one of those Commonwealth bank tablets.
I don't think that I need to go into detail when summarising this place. Despite a few of it's negatives as listed previously, it's my favourite in Brisbane if you couldn't already tell. The soup is pure and clean, the noodles are ideal, the options are many and overall if all you want is a quick, affordable, hearty bowl of Ramen, this is the place to go.
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