If you ever find yourself strolling
through the area near to London’s main gay village of Old Compton Street and
you pass a black painted shop front with the words 'Bone Daddies' written discretely above the door; with the area’s
long established reputation for vice and the sex industry, you could be excused
for thinking that a ‘good time’ could be found within…
Well… it can! What is more, no
matter what your sexual orientation or proclivities are, you’ll probably not
find many other places that will leave you as satisfied… certainly not for
around a tenner!
(I’ll stop this now before I go on
to overuse crass puns and analogies about getting ‘a good stuffing’ and a
‘right old mouthful’.)
In case you haven’t cottoned on, the
‘Bone’ in Bone Daddies, refers to the pork bones that ex Nobu/Zuma Head Chef Ross
Shonhan and his team boil up for 20 plus hours to create their super rich,
collagen filled, creamy tonkotsu broth…
And ‘Daddies’, I’m guessing, in a
nod to ‘Who’s the Daddy?’ type boastery, as opposed to a bear like, handle bar moustached,
leather clad stereotype from a Village People video.
To start, a great selection of House Pickles and a Soft Shell Crab with Green Chilli and Ginger Sauce. The crab
was well cooked with a crispy better and the sauce was deliciously different...
but this was really just an appetiser for the main event – the ramen!
I opted for the signature Tonkotsu*, topped with deliciously fatty chashu pork, spring onion and perfectly
cooked eggs. The broth itself was an excellent example of its type (as good as
any I’ve eaten in New York or Asia). The crispy garlic and charred garlic oil
adding an extra oomph to the porky punch from the broth. Extra toppings, broth and fat are available –
next time, I’m down for more egg, bamboo and cock scratchings.
As well as being packed full of flavour, I found
the broth creamy, indulgent and, most importantly, not too oily. My one
criticism is that it got too cool, too quickly. I felt as through they should
either warm the bowls or serve the broth a little hotter - I am a quick eater
and my last few mouthfuls were tepid at best.
(*They also sell Ramen made with a Shōyu broth; Miso or the spicy Tantanmen
‘Dandan’ version.)
To symbolise my importance and their posterity
my Shimeharitsuru Junmai Ginjo Sake came served overflowing
into a hinoki wood
‘masu’.
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