Tonkotsu East

 

Last week I went for an early lunch at Tonkotsu East. I went to Tonkotsu Soho for lunch on my birthday and as a fan of Ramen was really impressed by the rich meaty flavoured ramen there.

This time we decided to try the East one to see how it compared. Located just by the canal in Haggerston, the interior of their East location is actually much nicer than the one in Soho. The ercol furniture – very East London chic. Also the open kitchen running along the side of the bar gives a nice busyness to the place (especially as we were first in at 12.20).

  

 

We started with some edamame and the fried softshell crab. Soft Shell crab as always isn’t a win for everyone – the idea of eating a crustacean whole does not delight all, but this one was very good with a light as anything tempura batter. The edamame – well obviously a classic but it was a nice big portion. Nothing annoys me more than paying a fiver for about 10 beans – unless they were going to grow me a bloody big stalk.

The main menu is short and sweet. 3 different ramens and their speciality which you can only get at the East branch – Tsukemen noodles. These are cold noodles serves with a separate bowl of warm broth so you eat it by dipping your noodles/ meat into the broth.

I went for the Tokyo Ramen - having not had breakfast I was in no mood to warm up my own noodles.The Tokyo Ramen has a soy sauce based broth with is slightly less rich and meaty than the Tonkotsu one but by no means less tasty. Big chunks of falling apart pork belly and the classic half egg. ~My only criticism is that a lot of my meat was just pork fat, but with pork belly you sort of expect it. Apart from that it is just what you need on a rainy February lunch time.

  

Amelia having already tried it previously, went for the house special again. As I slurped away she was dipping her noodles into the rich meaty broth. I did try some and have to say its also a winner.

  

And just so we had one of each, Tom went for the signature Tonkotsu Ramen. A meaty base with slightly leaner rolled pork pelly slices, (though he prefers the bigger thicker cut slices in the Tokyo one - classic man).

Tonkotsu East is going to be a firm favourite. Convenient East location, nice atmostphere and bowls full of warming ramen. What else do you need to get you through the last of the winter months?

Tonkotsu East

Arch 334, 1a Dunston Street

Haggerston

E8 4EB

0207 254 2478

 

Ivy's Mess Hall

I've been to Ivy's Mess Hall a few times over the past few months. The first time I stumbled upon it was at the end of September when there was a weirdly warm Friday evening and me and some friends perched on the outside tables to have a few gin and tonics before wandering down to Ridley Road Market Bar. 

The second time was for a few drinks with my sister pre my first Floyds visit on Shacklewell lane. But I like it there. They serve decent cocktails and the inside is comfortable and trendy without being painfully so. This visit was for a quick drink/ bite to eat before we went to see The Wolf of Wall Street at the Rio. If I was sitting through a 3 hour film I was going to need some food and had always been called in by the chalk board outside Ivy's declaring they had one of my favourite things ever - Burrata. 

We sat at our table with the super cute mismatched crockery, ordered an Aperol Spritz and looked through the menu of small plates. They have olives, bruschettas and sliders - oh my! In the end we ordered some bread, olives, burrata, plate of charcuterie and some sliders - (did I mention it was going to be a 3 hour film?). 

Sadly then the most upsetting thing happened - they had run out of burrata. Whilst I nursed my Aperol Spritz with tears in my eyes the daily special of spiced dhal. I got over it slightly when the food started to arrive. Everything is nicely presented and tasty.

The sliders were pulled pork and very cute. Probably they could have done with a bit of a flavour kick in the form of chilli or something but apart from that they hit the spot. The surprise star dish of the night was the daal which we were in too much of a rush for me to take a picture. It was served in a little earthenware pot and was deliciously spiced. 

My only problem with the charcuterie plate was despite being very pretty... there was fruit on it. Now I'm all for creativity but in no situation do I want to see strawberries and blueberries next to my salami! 

Ivy's is a perfect place if you want to have a drink with friends with a few nibbles as oppose to a big old meal. Definitely going to be a regular. 

Ivy's Mess Hall
129 Kingsland High Street
E8 2PB