{"id":980,"date":"2020-02-25T13:57:48","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T13:57:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willchews.com\/?p=980"},"modified":"2020-02-26T03:17:39","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T03:17:39","slug":"ramen167","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/ramen167\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramen No. 167: Momonoki | Tonkotsu (-Gyokai) Tsukemen"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"980\" class=\"elementor elementor-980\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0b8709a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0b8709a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-d406a0f\" data-id=\"d406a0f\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4c40652 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4c40652\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li>For my first visit to Momonoki and my review of their Tonkotsu(-Gyokai) Ramen (No. 149), click <a href=\"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/ramen149\/\">here<\/a>.<\/li><li>For my second visit to Momonoki and my review of their Yuzu Shoyu Ramen (No. 163), it&#8217;s coming soon.<\/li><\/ul><div>\u00a0<\/div><div>My previous reviews expressed my admiration for Momonoki as the best ramen shop in Atlanta and for its notable achievement for being able to make very good ramen <i>and<\/i> excellent interpretations of Japanese B-kyu cuisine <i>and<\/i> a terrific bakery.\u00a0 But this <a href=\"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/resources-guides\/ramen-glossary\/#tsukemen\">tsukemen<\/a> was a disappointment given the expectations that Momonoki has established.<\/div><div>\u00a0<\/div><div>The sole caveat-free positive of this bowl was the tonkotsu (-gyokai) tsukemen concentrated dipping broth.\u00a0 Momonoki apparently is loathe to label this broth as a &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/resources-guides\/ramen-glossary\/#tonkotsu-gyokai\">tonkotsu-gyokai<\/a>,&#8221; but this broth features prominent seafood flavors in conjunction with pork broth, in part due to the presence of <i>gyofun<\/i> (\u9b5a\u7c89, &#8220;fish powder&#8221;).\u00a0 The gyofun doesn&#8217;t appear to be in Momonoki&#8217;s tonkotsu-gyokai ramen, so I suspect it&#8217;s used in the tsukemen to provide a more concentrated kick.\u00a0 In any case, the dipping broth was quite good, though it could&#8217;ve been a bit thicker\/more concentrated to as to better cling to the noodle.<\/div><div>\u00a0<\/div><div>That&#8217;s it for the positives.\u00a0 The most disappointing and perplexing part of this tsukemen was the inclusion of cabbage with the noodles.\u00a0 Cabbage does not appear in ramen&#8211;the only case I can think of is ramen from the &#8220;Unnamed&#8221; shop, <a href=\"https:\/\/ramendb.supleks.jp\/s\/64501.html\">&#8220;Mumei&#8221; (\u300c\u300d(\u7121\u540d)<\/a> in the Kanda neighborhood of Tokyo&#8211;in part because the thickness and bitterness of cabbage just doesn&#8217;t really work with ramen broths.\u00a0 It&#8217;s the exact same reason why I&#8217;ve never quite understood the appeal of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/life\/2019\/01\/19\/food\/ginza-kagari-honten-tori-paitan-classic-reborn\/\">Ginza Kagari<\/a> (review of the original to be posted in the future), where the texture of the vegetables in the broth is disruptive rather than offering complementary contrast.\u00a0 In Momonoki&#8217;s case, the cabbage was only very lightly blanched, and the bitter notes from the cabbage were off-putting when dipped into the broth.\u00a0 I asked my server as to what was the rationale behind adding cabbage to the tonkotsu-gyokai tsukemen, and it appears that its only functional purpose was to add <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">filler<\/span> volume to the bowl.<\/div><div>\u00a0<\/div><div>The rest of the bowl was disappointing as well, if only to a slightly lesser extent.\u00a0 The pork belly chashu, which normally works well in the regular ramen broth, appeared to have been sliced and then braised\/soaked in a shoyu-based mixture for far too long, then left out in the open afterwards, making for a dry piece of meat that was overly soaked with shoyu and salt notes, obscuring the flavor and texture of the meat itself.\u00a0 I&#8217;m not sure if this is the same chashu preparation method used for the ramen, but it definitely did not work here.\u00a0 The noodles were wide, but flat rather than thick: it reminded me of Chinese\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seriouseats.com\/2014\/08\/asian-noodle-shopping-guide.html#yakamien\">yaka mien<\/a>\u00a0rather than tsuskemen noodles.\u00a0 They were cooked almost too al dente, and something about the noodle composition differed from regular tsukemen, which meant that they clumped together after a few minutes, which shouldn&#8217;t have happened.\u00a0 According to the menu, this tsukemen does not come with <a href=\"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/resources-guides\/ramen-glossary\/#menma\">menma<\/a>\u00a0for some inexplicable reason.\u00a0 Finally, the ajitama was comically mis-peeled during the shelling process (post-boil, pre-marination).\u00a0 As evident form the photo, a good quarter portion of the ajitama was missing and it should have never been served in that state.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1234ad1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"1234ad1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/willchews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/20200223-DSC04974-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-986\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/willchews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/20200223-DSC04974-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/willchews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/20200223-DSC04974-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/willchews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/20200223-DSC04974-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/willchews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/20200223-DSC04974-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/willchews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/20200223-DSC04974-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Momonoki | Avocado Shiitake Rice<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4d2c447 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4d2c447\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div>Other items we ordered, such as as the karaage and the avocado-shiitake rice bowl were fine, though I thought the karaage was a bit scrawny and not as juicy as past iterations.\u00a0 This visit to Momonoki was very disappointing; perhaps it was because we came in at 7:00pm on a Sunday night,\u00a0 or perhaps it was just an accidental slip in performance from the restaurant&#8217;s past high standards.\u00a0 Regardless, the conception behind the tonkotsu-gyokai tsukemen is extremely flawed and not at all recommended.<\/div><div>\u00a0<\/div><div><b><a href=\"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/resources-guides\/ramen-tiers-guide\/\">Tier 4<\/a><\/b><\/div><div>Q(ueue) Factor: None, though ordering through the app&#8211;necessary to get the rewards dollar for every $100 spent&#8211;was a massive pain as usual<\/div><div>Sense: Plenty of light even in evening dinning hours.\u00a0 A sense that the whole restaurant was just off its game a little bit.<\/div><div>Price: Tonkotsu (-Gyokai) Tsukemen ($14) + Tax\/Tip<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fa31f23 elementor-widget elementor-widget-google_maps\" data-id=\"fa31f23\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"google_maps.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-custom-embed\">\n\t\t\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\"\n\t\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/maps.google.com\/maps?q=Momonoki%20atlanta&#038;t=m&#038;z=16&#038;output=embed&#038;iwloc=near\"\n\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"Momonoki atlanta\"\n\t\t\t\t\taria-label=\"Momonoki atlanta\"\n\t\t\t><\/iframe>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For my first visit to Momonoki and my review of their Tonkotsu(-Gyokai) Ramen (No. 149), click here. For my second visit to Momonoki and my review of their Yuzu Shoyu Ramen (No. 163), it&#8217;s coming soon. \u00a0My previous reviews expressed my admiration for Momonoki as the best ramen shop in Atlanta and for its notable [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[23,35,17,44,111],"class_list":["post-980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ramen","tag-atlanta","tag-rr","tag-tier4","tag-tonkotsugyokai","tag-tsukemen","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=980"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1017,"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980\/revisions\/1017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?pos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