Tora Ramen
99 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02111
857-233-4860
Last fall while in the pandemic, the team of Kenix Wong and Patrick Zhong who brought Tora Japanese Restaurant to Boston bravely opened their second Chinatown restaurant called Tora Ramen. This new hole in the wall ramen joint sits on the corner of Harrison Avenue and Kneeland Street. COVID-19 protocols were observed but there was limited dine in seating.
For starters we got the Tofu in Goma Shoyu $4 which is described as cold silken tofu served with a sesame soy sauce drizzled atop with a sprinkling of chopped scallions and fried Sakura shrimp. We quickly gobbled up this delicious tofu and enjoyed the balance of sesame and soy sauce flavors with the mild tofu with the toppings adding nice texture and flavor. Next came the Kani Croquette $6, an appetizer portion served two lovely and fried, crunchy Japanese panko crusted croquettes with a hint of crab with the creamy bechamel sauce. We knew we had to try the Cheesy Chashu Don (available in two sizes) and we got the mini for only $6. The combo of the torched cheesy and oozy delicious cheese matched perfectly with the Chashu over the lovely rice. Japanese Chashu is simmered or braised pork belly or shoulder and is very different from being inspired by the savory Cantonese BBQ style Char Siu. This simple bowl made us smile that we seriously did regret not getting the large portion.
We got the Shiro Ramen (original Pork flavor) for $14, a great rendition of the classic ramen with a broth cooked for about 18 hours. A lovely soft ajitama (soft boiled seasoned egg), sou vide pork belly, chopped scallions and kikurage (or also known in Chinese cuisine as Wood Ears Fungus). The Kuro Ramen $15 sounded interesting with black garlic along with the ajitama, torched pork belly with corn, nori sheets (seaweed), onions and kaiwari ( Daikon radish sprout) for garnishes. The noodles were wonderfully al dente and not mushy. The original tonkotsu broth flavor was sublime with the lean pork and luscious creamy yolk in the fantastic seasoned egg and wood ears for texture delivered simple and clean flavors. Next up was the Kuro ramen which had a rich, deep and flavorful broth boasted by the black garlic, fatty torched chashu did well plus the wonderful toppings made it a great bowl of ramen.
So happy to welcome Tora Ramen to the Boston Japanese ramen scene with their solid food, prompt and attentive service. Pro-tip to remember – they are cash only but there is an ATM conveniently at the entrance of the restaurant. Portions were average but the high quality ingredients and delicious food will keep us coming back for more.
