THIS IS A LATERPOST :D nyehehe Totto was too good not to write a post about. Tina and I went to the original store on W52nd. As some of you know, a new one opened on W51st but the ambiance is not quite like the first store. Touting an open kitchen with high seating right next to it, Totto gives off a traditional Japanese ramen stand feel. The seating is tight so you probably won't want to come here if you're claustrophobic (or on a time crunch actually). If you're neither, I find that these elements add to Totto's charm. While you wait, you get to see the hustling and bustling in the kitchen and people slurping away at their bowls. It makes you anxious for your own taste. When we were finally seated, we got to ordering right away cause we were starving.
Tina ordered the TOTTO SPICY RAMEN 鳥人辛ラーメン and I ordered the TOTTO MISO RAMEN 鳥人味噌ラーメン. The spicy ramen came with their original paitan soup topped with charsiu pork, scallion, bean sprouts and a nori. The miso ramen was the same soup base but it was topped with a scoop of miso mixed pork, more charsiu pork (yay), a hardboiled egg, scallions and bean sprout. Let me tell you now, the soup base was amazing....It was extremely rich and flavorful. I was legit in food heaven. It is so true to say that quality of the ramen is based on the quality of their soup. The longer the soup has been boiling, the richer it tastes. Some traditional ramen places in Japan have boiled their soups for decades. Okay, this might sound a bit strange to you at first but what they do is, they add more ingredients to it constantly. This adds more flavor and depth to their soup that makes you wonder why you ever ate that bag ramen with their packets of MSG in the first place.
Okay that was quite a tangent haha but back to Totto. The ramen noodles were a perfect width and went well with the soup base. The charsiu pork was fried perfectly and really didn't need any seasoning at all. The whole bowl came together beautifully and our meal came to less than $30. That is an amazing price for the best ramen in NYC. No wonder people would willingly wait 2 hours for a bowl of this (thank God we went at an awkward time, 4:30, and only had to wait 15 minutes).
Tina ordered the TOTTO SPICY RAMEN 鳥人辛ラーメン and I ordered the TOTTO MISO RAMEN 鳥人味噌ラーメン. The spicy ramen came with their original paitan soup topped with charsiu pork, scallion, bean sprouts and a nori. The miso ramen was the same soup base but it was topped with a scoop of miso mixed pork, more charsiu pork (yay), a hardboiled egg, scallions and bean sprout. Let me tell you now, the soup base was amazing....It was extremely rich and flavorful. I was legit in food heaven. It is so true to say that quality of the ramen is based on the quality of their soup. The longer the soup has been boiling, the richer it tastes. Some traditional ramen places in Japan have boiled their soups for decades. Okay, this might sound a bit strange to you at first but what they do is, they add more ingredients to it constantly. This adds more flavor and depth to their soup that makes you wonder why you ever ate that bag ramen with their packets of MSG in the first place.
Okay that was quite a tangent haha but back to Totto. The ramen noodles were a perfect width and went well with the soup base. The charsiu pork was fried perfectly and really didn't need any seasoning at all. The whole bowl came together beautifully and our meal came to less than $30. That is an amazing price for the best ramen in NYC. No wonder people would willingly wait 2 hours for a bowl of this (thank God we went at an awkward time, 4:30, and only had to wait 15 minutes).