If you haven't been to Austin, Texas, you definitely should one of these days. Not only that it is one of the funnest Texas cities to spend your time at, but it's also home to hundreds of independently owned restaurants that fuels the city's economic stream.
One of the most known restaurants from Austin is none other than Ramen Tatsuya. A local Japanese ramen joint with a Texas twist of flavors is a staple; especially those mornings after a night long visit on 6th Street.
Below are pictures from my last visit to Tatsuya and I can certainly say that it still remains one of my favorite ramen places out of all the places I've ever tried.
Tonkotsu Ramen
- Traditional pork based ramen bowl originating from the Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan. This bowl of ramen was originally created to be a fast food for laborers in the fish market. These days, it is a staple to many Japanese restaurants all over the world
- The Tatsuya twist on this bowl is the masterful way of using a charcoal grilled piece of chashu (pork) to give the ramen a strong, distinctive smoky aroma to properly represent the Texas BBQ culture and taste that's prevalent all around the Lone Star State itself.
Tatsuya's Tsukemen (dipped ramen)
- Originating all the way back to 1961, dip ramen has become an every day staple to the Japanese ramen culinary world. This ramen is very different from traditional ramen bowls that many people are used to as it is not contain a pork broth inside the bowl itself but instead, it comes with a very concentrated side bowl of pork broth that you could dip the ramen in to so that you have full control over how much broth you'd want to have in each bite.
- This bowl here is one of the most flavorful bowl of ramen I've ever had. The piece of lemon that Tatsuya provides with it to be squeezed over the noodles itself gives the perfect amount of acidity it needs to put this delicious bowl of ramen over the top. Dip ramen fans should definitely try this dish out when in town as it is not readily available at many other places around the country.
Chashu-don
- The most comforting thing to ever eat as a Vietnamese kid when I got home from grade school was the Vietnamese rendition of this famous, cost-effective, but tasteful Japanese dish called the Chashu-don.
- Ramen Tatsuya does not disappoint even when it comes to this simple but amazing appetizer, served Japanese style. Topped off by just the right amount of scallions and pickled ginger over a bed of a healthy portion of steaming rice and delicious BBQ porked, diced in perfect bite portions. Every bite gets you craving for more and before you know it, the bowl is gone and before you lies a hot and steamy bowl of ramen, ready to take you on another blast of flavor adventure.
