REVIEW: Taro's Ramen

A pretty temporary looking sign...

Sometimes I surprise myself. Be it by what I say as I have no filter or perhaps it's by my conviction to a cause, usually ice cream. In this case, I surprised myself by never having ramen. Such a common and popular food, especially amongst those who have Instagram accounts. Why has it taken me this long? Well, I don't know. I love Japanese food. And I love soup. And noodles. Look, let's not dwell on the reasons lest we're here all night.

Last time my sister and her husband brought their gorgeous little peanut up to visit, we called in to Taro's Ramen on Edward Street. Taro's frequently appears on the Best Of lists for soup and is a Brisbane ramen institution. The restaurant used to have a more substantial restaurant up at the Koala Building (maybe not the real name but there is a koala statue on top) but the current address is said to be temporary and more of a café than restaurant.

Look at that bowl of yum.

Heeding the advice of my sister who has been to Japan about 354,126,462 times, we got the Tonkotsu Ramen ($14.50) with an extra bowl of noodles ($2.50) to share between two as well as a bowl of Fire Tonkotsu ($15.90). We also ordered some Kimchi ($4.80) and stocked up on the condiments, including a d-load of chilli.

Basically literally ate all that chilli.

Tonkotsu Ramen is made from pork bones, boiled basically forever, which breaks down the collagen, fats and marrow which flavours the creamy coloured soup. Since it was my first time, we went traditional. The serve was very generous and the noodles were delicious. I ended up adding a huge amount of chilli because I am me and I love chilli, so I might as well have ordered the Fire Ramen, and I certainly will next time.

Should have cut out the middle man and just ordered the Fire ramen. Note to self: always get the hottest dish available.

The Fire ramen was a party in the mouth and I was very jealous of my brother-in-law. Although he did struggle to finish the bowl on his own. The egg in the fire flavoured bowl seemed even more unctuous and moreish. Everything about ramen is amazing and what took me so long! I wonder why kimchi is served with a Japanese dish, since kimchi is Korean but why look a delicious preserved cabbage horse in the mouth.

This shot was taken by my drone cam.

Taro's Ramen was great and my experienced ramen eater guests agreed that is was a great introduction. I would love to visit the Ascot restaurant and dive deep into the different varieties. Can't wait to keep this ramen exploration going! 

Food: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Price: 4/5
Atmosphere: 3/5