Sometimes there are those days wherein you have a dire need to rant and it is always good that I have a good friend who I know who would listen. Wednesday was such a day. Both my friend Jojo and I have things to unload of stresses from work and from our day-to-day. We were supposed to meetup to go to a food event. But because Jojo had a late afternoon of troubleshooting, we opted to find comfort food instead. What would be more comforting on a cold day than a bowl of ramen? It always gives me that warmth and pleasure each time I finish a bowl. Another new one has recently opened up at Queen St. West so that night we tried out Touhenboku Ramen.
When we arrived, there was already a queue and it was a 20 minute wait. I was not doing too much time-watching as Jojo and I had a lot to talk and rant about. When we finally got our table, it didn’t take me too long to think about what I would order. I went for the Original Touhenboko Ramen (White Ramen) and Jojo went for the Black Ramen. The two have a common base of ingredients. Both bowls of ramen would have thick noodles, rich chicken-based broth, shoyu, chashu, seaweed, a soft-boiled egg, kikurage mushrooms and green onion. The difference of the two was that Jojo’s Black ramen had another layer of flavor coming from garlic oil. I think I would have liked the Black Ramen too but I opted for what seems to be the most popular in their menu. I was curious about their appetizer Korokke, a crunchy potato patty but they were already out of it for the night. We then opted for Karaage (breaded chicken) instead.
The service was decent and we had our steaming bowls in a short time. After sampling both ramens, I believe I’d stick with my own. I was happy with my White Ramen how it soothes my hunger pangs and getting that satisfying fullness on my belly. Jojo had a different opinion than me as he preferred his Black Ramen, loving the garlicky notes to its already rich broth. We certainly both got what we needed for the moment. That feeling of comfort that a good meal would always give. A full comforting meal can always change my mood no matter how dire a situation might be.
The night ended with me feeling lighter with my burden of worries and rants. It was a special treat to eat a meal with Jojo. He always has his ways of getting me back to my usual self. The bowl of ramen was the plus of the night.
Food Trippin' 
mamacormier
December 8, 2013
Thanks again. I love to try new places. Maybe my daughters will go with me. My son warned me about noodle places because of the high salt content. Any idea if the food here is a concern for people on low salt diets (my husband not me)?
anngagno
December 8, 2013
Most ramen broth does taste intense in flavor. I usually have low tolerance for salty foods (with the exception of bacon, teeheehee…)…the one that I had, White Ramen, was not salty to me. It could be rich though, depending on the meat option that you choose. I recommend you try/split it with someone and see if you like it.
mamacormier
December 8, 2013
Thanks for replying. It does sound like a place my daughters would like. I’ll check it out.