Toriok Ramen in Adelaide for Treasure Tuesday

 

There is something slightly odd, yet strangely comforting, about eating ramen in Adelaide. Among the many bowls I sampled in the CBD, Toriok was one that lingered in memory.

Tucked away on Eliza Street, this tiny sixteen-seat ramen bar has the intimate, almost hidden character of a Japanese noodle shop. There is little pretence—just a communal table, steaming bowls, fresh noodles and the quiet concentration of a kitchen devoted almost entirely to ramen.

I had expected the familiar richness of pork-bone tonkotsu, but Toriok takes a different path. Its signature broth is a cloudy chicken paitan, simmered for an extraordinary 22 hours until it becomes creamy, deep and intensely savoury, yet somehow clean on the finish. The noodles are made fresh on site, adding their own springy bite to the warmth of the broth.

On a cold Adelaide winter day, it was exactly the sort of meal one longs for—a steaming bowl held between both hands, fragrant vapour rising into the air, rich broth warming the body from within. Perhaps it was not Tokyo, nor Osaka, nor anywhere in Japan, but for a moment, sitting there with the winter outside, Adelaide felt wonderfully far away.

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

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