One of my most favourite cuisines is Japanese. I used to think it is limited to sushi and sashimi, and I thought after stopping seafood I might as well have struck Japanese food off my list. But two trips to Japan later, on a vegetarian diet – wow! The variety! The flavours! Back on my list 🙂 Ramen took off in London a good few years ago, but it was always off limits as they were – and still are – pork based soups on the menu. Until Shoryu came along – and introduced a soy milk ramen, the ‘White Natural’.
Not meat or fish based, but a stock made with soy milk, miso, konbu and shitake. Whooo! This ramen bowl was full of tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and seaweed. We also got to choose the firmness of the noodles – from standard (my choice) to extra firm (no thank you).
Stunningly good, full of flavour and texture. The noodles had the perfect bite and this bowl was the perfect dish – I loved it. I also ordered a side to share – mainly because it sounded very intriguing on the menu – “Black sesame tofu with sweet miso sauce and tenderstem broccoli”. I love black sesame – both in sweet and savoury dishes and definitely wanted to give this a try.
What arrived was a jet black block of tofu with a single, sorry excuse of broccoli – would make sense to leave it out! This was so utterly delicious – the texture was more of a set pudding than tofu, with a hint of tofu, a hint of black sesame and that thick, rich miso sauce.
Since we had room for dessert (isn’t there always room for dessert) we decided to browse the dessert menu. There was only one dairy free dessert – sorbet, but this time I was excited. The flavours – umeshu (plum wine), yuzu (my favourite flavour in the world) and chocolate and wasabi. I went for the first two, accompanied with a cup of oolong tea.
This was turning to be the perfect meal. I got a cup with two giant balls of sorbet – both white.
Both flavours – the umeshu and yuzu were utterly delicious, but I did hit my limit once I finished. My friend enjoyed her dessert as much as I enjoyed mine – she ordered the yuzu cheesecake and a matcha tea.
I absolutely loved Shoryu – I have never had a bad experience here – neither with the food or with the service. And even though my options here are limited – well, there is only 1 main – it is consistently good, and I will keep going back!
PB Eats, PB Travels 