Going Out-Out: Tonkotsu Walthamstow
Going Out-Out is a series on Pasghetti & Momatoes dedicated to the joy of actually going out to eat in restaurants. Hopefully that’ll start being a normal thing again very soon, but just let me get my emotions out in the meantime, thanks.
It’s not been a great week. I’ve pulled a muscle in my neck, the cat has a cold and Christmas shopping appears to have generated a black hole inside my bank account. Oh, and more than half of the country’s hospitality businesses are now shut, thanks to Tier 3 regulations putting unwarranted and catastrophic emphasis on the need to close restaurants, bars and pubs as a method of combating the spread of the c-word. Perfect.
For now, let’s rewind to that halcyon fortnight prior, when the capital hit the (extremely relative) sweet spot between lockdown and, err, lockdown-but-with-shops. I managed to squeeze in a few restaurant meals in that time, but not as many as I would, of course, have liked.
One meal, however, was an inevitability. In the interests of full disclosure, I was invited to try out the new Tonkotsu location in Walthamstow, but I would have gone to one of their restaurants anyway. I am what one might term a “fan girl”, rushing the stage at Tonkotsu’s 12-date London tour (with a surprise gig in Selfridges Birmingham) whenever I can.
It doesn’t matter to me that there is now quite a lot of them. With chains, at least you know what you’re getting. In the case of Tonkotsu, if I can make even the most loosely justified detour to be near one, I know I’m getting exactly what I need.
Much-missed: A meal in an actual restaurant, in this case Tonkotsu Walthamstow
I love ramen and this is my favourite ramen place in town – oh to hell with it, I’m pretty sure Tonkotsu is home to my favourite “meal I can actually afford” in the whole city. After a month of lockdown, I knew what I was ordering before I’d even made the booking. That was – and forever will be in times of need – my beloved chilli chicken ramen.
The namesake pork broth ramen is superb: so rich and creamy that I swear you can feel that fatty, warming soup infiltrating your bloodstream before you’ve even left the restaurant. The sleepy glow it induces in me is practically anaesthetic, and that’s why I can’t have it every time I visit.
What I can, however, eat with alarming consistency is its chilli chicken ramen. It is a bowl that costs exactly £10, is an entire and generously portioned meal – and I know that because every time I indulge in extra sides of their excellent chicken karaage, chilli chicken wings or gyoza, I roll out of the restaurant like a plump tea-stained egg.
Most importantly, this bountiful bowl is filled with all you need to feel better about pretty much anything. Had a stinking cold on my birthday? Ordered chilli chicken ramen. Got broken up with (again)? Ordered chilli chicken ramen. Fed up with a pandemic ruining literally any plan I’ve made in the last 300 days? Reader, I ordered it.
Starters, always: Chicken wings rolled in Tonkotsu’s Eat The Bits chilli oil
Crystal clear chicken bone broth crams flavour into its invisible annals, enlightened by just the right amount of sea salt. Homemade noodles (“If you don’t make your own noodles, you’re just a soup shop”, is the motto) are supposedly cooked for 32 seconds on the dot. I have never set my timer while I watch from the counter, but the result is always a perfect medium bite, resistant enough for a satisfying chew, but never unwieldy.
Pulled chicken is flavoured with the aforementioned own-brand chilli oil – a saline, sesame-riddled, umami-rich concoction available to buy in jars at the restaurants. Thank god. Jay Rayner once suggested putting in everything from bacon to apple pie, and I eat it by the teaspoon. Its impact in this particular ramen dish is more for flavour than heat. They have an Extra Hot oil too, which I cannot recommend enough ladling into your ramen with abandon (seriously, ask for a tablespoon).
Setting everything off is an impeccable chorus of creamy seasoned egg, broth-soaked bamboo shoots, a zingy handful of chopped spring onion, and precisely three mange-touts so you can tell yourself it’s healthy.
The first, the last, my everything: Tonkotsu’s chilli chicken ramen
There are probably technically better, and certainly more complex noodle-soup dishes in London. I mean, I’m sure I’ve had them. But on cold, wet or just sad days, I yearn for this one. I know what I’m getting, and I really, really like it.
Comfort is in short supply in the restaurant world right now. Diners can only get food if they take it away and eat it elsewhere, meaning that yesterday I enjoyed a chicken katsu curry perched on a bike rack. And far from receiving adequate support from the government, the hospitality sector has been consistently scapegoated as a major factor in the spread of the virus and its business owners unduly punished, despite their best efforts to jump through relentless regulatory hoops, and active willingness to ensure a safe environment for their customers.
There are many ways diners can support restaurants, namely swapping reservations that cannot be for the purchasing of takeaways, meal kits, merchandise, gift vouchers and more. But what is really needed is fundamental appreciation from the top down of what the industry means to so many in this country – financially, culturally and emotionally.
After the Seat At The Table campaign’s petition surpassed 100,000 signatures, it has been confirmed that its calls to instate a Minister for Hospitality will be debated in Parliament on January 11.
Today, I just want to thank restaurants for every time they’ve made me feel comforted when I’ve needed it.
This meal was supplied as a complimentary press sample. Tonkotsu Walthamstow and most other locations are still open for delivery and click-and-collect.
For more information, visit tonkotsu.co.uk
