The Authentic Tonkotsu Ramen in London / 正宗的日本豚骨拉面

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This week, I had the pleasure of catching up with some good friends that I hadn’t seen for ages. It was one of those typical cold windy nights in good old London so we decided to go for some tasty Japanese Ramen soup to warm ourselves up!

We came to Shoryu in Regent Street where they have the most amazing ramen with many different types of varieties and flavours. Shoryu is a celebrated Japanese restaurant group, which is even recommended in the Michelin Guide. The Regent Street branch is actually it's first ever restaurant opened in London since 2012 and now there are about 10 restaurants within London in total.

This place specialises in Hakata tonkotsu ramen, which is a style of ramen made with a thick rich pork soup mixed with thin, straight ramen noodles. Both their executive chef Kanji Furukawa and restaurant owner Tak Tokumine being native Japanese, are very passionate about making the best possible quality dishes representing their hometown’s locale. That’s why the food in this place is so delicious!

The Regent Street branch is located just a quick five minutes walk from Piccadilly Circus Tube Station. Very central and convenient. The interior is quite small inside so be prepared for a small queue outside at peak times. So I would definitely recommend to book a table in advance.

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The whole frontage of the restaurant is made up of a glass window from floor to ceiling. Warm and inviting as it makes the place appear quite spacious. The brick wall layout and subtle contemporary setting offer a relaxed vibe and homely “feel”.

The staff were super helpful and upbeat. Especially our waitress who served us there was great at offering us both some great recommendations. We took her advice and ordered the Tiger Prawn Tempura and the Shoryu Buns.

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Starter

One of the key ingredients of having great tempura lies in the batter. The Tiger Prawn Tempura from this place is simply the best! The skin is so crunchy, light and non-greasy. The tiger prawn inside was fresh and packed with juicy flavours, so yummy!

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The Shoryu “Hirata Bun” was also to die for. They offer three types including pork belly, soy marinated chicken and grilled halloumi. We opted for the Pork Belly and Chicken. Oh my god, the buns are so fluffy and filled with succulent juicy pork! It actually reminded me of our Chinese Cha Sui Bun, lol. The waitress told us these homemade buns were made daily at their bakery all from natural ingredients. Hence why they are so incredibly tasty!

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Main

Our mains just had to be one of Shoryu’s signature ramen noodle dishes! It was a rich, thick tonkotsu broth that had been cooked for 12 hours. Topped with juicy pork belly and double nitamago egg.

I had been craving for this ever since I stepped foot in this restaurant, lol! Well, it certainly did not disappoint! The ramen noodles were silky smooth. Absolutely fantastic! I heard that the chef himself actually makes the noodles on-site. So that's why they tasted so fresh! It went perfectly well with the rich and flavoursome soup and the tender, scrumptous pork meat on top! This was exactly what I wanted. Real comfort food!

For the ramen soup, there are extra toppings that you can add to the dish, such as fried Tofu, Red Ginger or Bamboo Shoots.

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Dessert

For dessert, Shoryu offers some traditional sweets including mochi balls, Yuzu sorbet and cheesecakes. We opted for the matcha cheesecake and mochi ice cream for sharing.

The matcha cheesecake was so beautiful to look at and again, heavenly to indulge in! Very soft with an almost velvet texture and delicate flavour. Not too sweet but just right! For people who don’t already know, the matcha flavouring is extremely popular in Asian countries. This beautiful and distinct taste is essentially processed green tea leaves that have been made into a fine powder.

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The mochi ice cream came in three different flavours including green tea, yuzu and slated caramel. All being my favourites, lol. It's basically delicious ice cream wrapped in soft mochi and dusted off with rice flour. An instant lift for your taste buds. So good in fact that you simply cannot have enough!

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In addition, Shoryu also serves iced beer and Japanese whisky sake along with an extensive list of enticing house cocktails. We opted for a bottle of the Japanese plum wine and some matcha tea to maximize the full experience of enjoying an authentic Japanese meal, haha!

Overall, my experience in Shoryu was the epitome of excellence. I recommend the place tenfold and will no doubt be visiting it again sometime very soon.

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这周我约了两位好久未见的朋友聚会。鉴于伦敦近期又冷又刮风的天气，大家都一致赞成去吃碗热腾腾的日本拉面来暖暖胃，呵呵！

我们来到摄政街的Shoryu日本料理。这是一家日本餐馆集团旗下的连锁餐厅，在伦敦总共有10家店。而摄政街这家则是伦敦的第一家分店，于2012年开业。Shoryu也是米其林指南推荐的日本料理哦，在伦敦很受欢迎！

这家店主打传统的豚骨拉面，以浓郁而纯白的猪骨汤搭配细长拉面而闻名。他们的老板和主厨都是地道的日本人，对美食不但热情也很执着。所以他们家的拉面的口味都相当正宗！

Shoryu摄政街店坐落在伦敦市中心，从Piccadilly Circus地铁站走过来仅5分钟的路程。在繁忙时间这里总是大排长龙，所以建议大家提前预订位置。

餐厅整个门面是大型的落地玻璃窗户，明亮简洁。砖墙装饰给人有种复古的感觉。餐厅虽然不大，却有家的温馨气氛.

用餐环境不错，服务也很到位。招待我们的侍应生很热情地为我们解释餐牌甚至推荐招牌菜，非常专业。
我们点了天妇罗大虾和肉馅包作前菜。

这里的天妇罗大虾还是炸得蛮有水平的，一口咬下去外壳薄而酥脆，里面的虾肉鲜嫩美味，不油不腻，好吃！

Shoryu的特色包子有三种陷儿，猪肉，鸡肉和适合素食者的烤halloumi芝士。我们选择了猪肚和鸡肉包。热气腾腾的肉包，鲜美的肉汁留了满口，蓬松的外皮包着咸香的肉馅儿，吃得我们都停不下口来，呵呵! 据说他们家的包子选用的都是上等食材，每天新鲜制作味道才会这么好。

我们的主菜当然是他们家的招牌豚骨拉面咯。这可是炖了12个小时的浓郁肉汤，再配上炖肉，流心蛋，木耳和紫菜这些配菜。

从我踏进这家餐厅，我就一直期待着这碗招牌拉面，它的确没有让我失望！汤头醇厚，炖肉入口即化，配菜也相当爽脆！据说这里的面可是厨师自己擀的哦，所以劲道十足，呵呵。店里每张桌子上还有一盘生蒜和夹蒜器，喜欢蒜味重的朋友可以自己动手。

在拉面汤里，你还可以按照自己口味加入一些额外的配料，如炸豆腐，红姜等等Shoryu家的传统日式甜品也相当不错。我们点了抹茶芝士蛋糕和糯米糍冰激凌。甜品都做得很精致且美美得颜值爆表！

芝士蛋糕味道浓郁，口感绵密。我尤其喜欢抹茶的味道和它恰到好处的甜度，作为饭后甜品特别适合。抹茶口味在亚洲国家非常流行，它其实是将绿茶叶子风干后制成的分装茶叶，细腻的甜味和风格十分诱人。

糯米糍冰淇淋有三种不同口味，包括绿茶，柚子和焦糖。都是我超喜欢的口味，呵呵。细腻柔软的糯米包裹着香甜冰激淋，这样的配搭让口感更绵滑，奶味浓郁！咬一口，软软的，凉凉的，好吃！

除了食物，这里的饮品选择也蛮多，包括冰镇啤酒，日本清酒和威士忌，还有一系列的鸡尾酒哦。日本梅酒是我最爱，还有这里用抹茶粉泡的绿茶，都值得推荐！

总的来说，我和朋友在Shoryu日料度过了一个愉快的夜晚。他们家的招牌豚骨拉面和甜点味道相当不错，服务也到位，是性价比蛮高的餐厅。喜欢日式料理的朋友不要错过哦！