Tonchin Ramen; An Authentic Delight

In my opinion, a quintessential part of any diet is ramen. Most of the ramen you'll experience in Thailand falls under the tonkotsu (pork bone) or the shoyu (soy) soup base, with some variations, such as with miso. Ramen usually has lots of toppings such as Chashu, Egg, Nori, or Menma.

Tonchin Ramen, Mercury Ville Branch

Tonchin Ramen was founded in 1992 in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan, and since then, it has expanded across many different countries. The Tonchin Ramen in NYC has a Michelin Bib. I have tried two of their branches in Bangkok (Siam Paragon and Mercury Ville), both of which were consistently good.

Tonchin Classic Tokyo Tonkotsu Ramen

For the price of 290 baht +, it's definitely worth it. As someone who's tried to make tonkotsu at home (it took more than 8 hours, not including the overnight marinating of chashu and eggs), I can understand the difficulty of perfecting a tonkotsu broth. I find Tonchin’s broth a great stepping stone to more complex styles. It's far from generic; however, it does not have the highest level of flavour and richness I've experienced. I would say it has a mellow but powerful taste. The noodles are handmade and thick; however, they could be a bit more al dente for my liking. The toppings are delicious, and I enjoy the philosophy of not overly marinating toppings, which allows them to acquire the broth's flavour rather than affecting it. Tonchin Ramen is definitely the gold standard of ramen in Bangkok, and I am always satisfied when I go there.

Special Noko Ebi Tsukemen

They serve two types of Tsukemen, which are both limited-serving per day. Tsukemen is a dipping style of ramen, where the noodles and toppings are served separately from the broth; I have a stronger affinity for this style of ramen, but I think that whereas their tonkatsu is gold, the broth for their Tsukemen is undoubtedly platinum quality. The noodles are cooked perfectly, and with their special noko variant, the fish eggs give the broth another dimension; the normally fishy flavour is masked nicely by the strength of the broth. Once again, the toppings are not heavily flavoured or marinated, which gives you a canvas to be enhanced by the dipping broth. I understand that Tsukemen is not for everyone, but if you want to try something a little bit different, I highly recommend this ramen.

Kaarage

Their karaage was juicy and had a crispy coating. I love that they use chicken thighs, but I think the pieces are too big; a portion of five smaller pieces would be easier to eat and share. There could have a more interesting sauce to go with the karaage, but the marinate is good; it's definitely one of the better karaage I've eaten. Their gyoza are solid, but I wasn't particularly impressed by them. It could have had more filling and been a little more crispy.

All their ramen is presented nicely, with a touch of colour from the half-cut egg and the nori. I love the detail of stamping the whole egg on their Tsukemen; it gives it real character. Free refills of green tea help you quench your thirst and refresh your taste buds between each ramen bite. The prices of all the ramen are reasonable, and even the more expensive Tsukemen is totally worth it. Typically, you pay about 400 baht per person, including tax and service charges. I've tried a lot of the ramen on their menu, and they all taste good. I'm not a big fan of putting truffles in ramen, but their shoyu truffle is an acceptable flavour combination. The Siam Paragon branch has a unique ramen to them, which I found to be too fatty but still enjoyable. Tonchin is truly the gold standard for what ramen should be in Bangkok. With the constant rise of more and more Japanese food experiences, you have to be picky; there's no way you can eat it all. If you want ramen, you won't be disappointed by eating here, and there is more than enough variety with simple but delicious toppings; Tonchin is somewhere you need to check out.

TLDR: Fast, High quality, Affordable, Flavourful and Satisfying